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Agriculture Planning & Long-Term Food Security
Collaborate
Medium
High
Planning
County
State
County & State
Private
Volunteers clean up the nursery, make ready for new plants at Lahainaluna High School. PC: JD Pells / Maui Now
Purpose
Historically, Native Hawaiians cultivated the land to feed and sustain generations, and Lahaina was particularly favored by ali’i for its abundant food and ideal climate. Today, Hawai’i’s communities are extremely food insecure and vulnerable to future disasters and supply chain issues. This places economic strain on residents and business owners due to high food costs. After the fires, community groups came together to form the Maui Emergency Feeding Task Force to address community food shortages and needs. Emergency feeding needs continue and future initiatives are needed for food resilience and for long-term self-sufficient food security. The Lahaina community and government agencies have expressed interest in reinvigorating sustainable agricultural practices to reshape Maui’s economy, generate jobs and feed the community.
Project Description
Building off the County of Maui Department of Agriculture 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, this recovery project involves the creation of a plan to develop and prioritize agriculture initiatives for Lahaina moku’s agriculture, farms, food systems, and ecosystems.
Goals of the plan include:
- Developing a regional sustainable and diversified agriculture industry
- Supporting local farming initiatives and building economic resilience
- Ecosystem restoration and stewardship to support community health
- Improving food security and access to healthy food
Key example efforts include:
- Supporting emergency feeding needs
- Supporting the recovery of damaged farms
- Establishing new agriculture and agroforestry industry areas return former plantation lands to agriculture production
- Building agriculture infrastructure such as cold and dry storage
Interdependencies and Roadblocks
This project is related to revegetating and reforesting Lahaina, as efforts to plant food crops and fruit trees will contribute to long-term local community food security. Challenges include: lack of funding; the need for collaborative strategies with community, private landowners, businesses, and government agencies; political, community, and tourist industry buy-in; conflict between tourism and agriculture as an alternative economic industry; lack of water supply and infrastructure in regions surrounding Lahaina; and the current ecological landscape and climate of Lahaina.
Next Steps
- Identify funding options and develop a Lahaina Moku Agriculture Plan
- Support revegetation and reforestation projects in planting of food crops and fruit trees
- Support revitalization of the Lahainaluna High School agriculture program
- Continued development of a Food and Nutrition Security Plan
- Continued work and next steps of the Maui Emergency Feeding Task Force
Maui ERC Project Crosswalk
Project Details
Cost Estimate:
TBD
Existing Funding Sources:
County Department of Agriculture
Project Lead:
- County Department of Agriculture
Potential Funding Sources:
- Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program (CFPCGP)
- County, State and federal
- Hawai’i Community Foundation
- Local community groups
- Micro Grants for Food Security (MGFSP)
Project Partners:
- County Office of Economic Development
- State Agribusiness Development Corporation
- State Department of Agriculture
- State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism
- State Department of Education
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Common Ground Collective
- Farmers, ranchers, agriculture community and value added producers
- Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United
- Maui Emergency Feeding Task Force
Alignment with West Maui Community Plan (WMCP)
- Goal 2.4 Economic opportunity through innovation and collaboration
- Goal 2.5 Safe, healthy, livable communities for all
- Action 4.01 Develop and implement a West Maui Agriculture Strategic Plan