COM 0872.002 2022-2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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tt ' 1 . BACKGROUND Agriculture has deep-rooted significance in Hawai'i culture and plays an integral role in the well-being of our communities.Hawai'i Island boasts year-round weather conditions ideal for sustainable agricultural production.The State of Hawai'i has set a goal to double local food production to 20-30%by 2030 and has articulated a commitment to ``•°w"' Q perpetuating agriculture as a key component of Hawai'i's economic and social well-being'2.Despite this,the industry faces hardships that continue to impact the growth and viability of farm businesses,and Hawai'i still relies on imports "' for approximately 90%of its food. °. The University of Hawaii(UN)plays a central role in the agricultural cluster on Hawaii Island.The UH system provides ,. key functions that form the building blocks for a sustainable and resilient agriculture economy,including education, research,workforce development,technical support,innovation,capacity building,and advocacy.Therefore,strategic investments in the UH system can have transformative potential for the agricultural cluster. This report is the culmination of a collaborative effort between UH entities and agricultural stakeholders to identify : 0 priority investments that answer to specific needs of agricultural producers on Hawaii Island. ,, Cr. s` Much of the effort was driven by the opportunity to participate in an Economic Development Administration(EDA) Build Back Better Regional Challenge(BBBRC)Phase II grant application process led by the County of Hawai'i r Department of Research and Development(R&D).A Hawai'i Island coalition including UH entities and other stakeholders was convened by R&D in 2021 to shape a vision for agricultural progress and identify priority projects to expand agricultural services across the island.A 3-month outreach process was conducted around the BBBRC grant '"-; "ftesoso, application period in December 2021 through February 2022 to identify industry needs and gaps and determine a strategic direction for investments in the UH system moving forward. While the BBBRC grant was not ultimately awarded to the coalition,the outreach effort identified a number of .;. transformational projects and initiatives for UH to advance Hawaii Island's agricultural economy and established a foundation for collaboration which has continued beyond the grant application effort.The priority investments .7.:': (1171 presented in this report originated from the grant application effort,and were confirmed and updated in 2023 with the participation of the UH coalition members,who are listed on the following page. - Following this introductory section,the report is organized as follows. 1. Section 2 describes the approach and findings of the Needs and Gaps Assessment that was conducted to analyze industry needs in relation to UH's existing programs and services. 2. Section 3 presents the Priority Investments that were identified to improve UH's role in supporting the agricultural cluster on Hawaii Island. 1