HONOLULU - Hawai‘i has been awarded $524,773 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under its 2024 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). Through this grant program, the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) will fund nine projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crop products and create new market opportunities for the state’s specialty crop producers.

Specialty crops are defined by the USDA as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops (including floriculture). Much of Hawai‘i’s diversified agriculture falls under this specialty crop designation. Eligible crops must be cultivated or managed and used by people for food, medicinal purposes and/or aesthetic gratification.

“Hawai‘i agriculture is uniquely different from the mainland in that specialty crops comprise the majority of our agricultural industry,” said Sharon Hurd, chairperson of the Hawai‘i Board of Agriculture. “This block grant program is an important source of funding in support of both food and horticultural production in the state.”

The projects that will be funded this year include: research on disease resistant varieties of coffee plants, improving ?awa and corn production, education and outreach activities for macadamia nuts and horticultural crops, as well as expanding markets for various specialty crops.

“We are happy to once again be partnered with Hawai‘i on the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The innovative projects funded through this program will strengthen U.S. specialty crop production and markets and ensure Americans have sustained access to fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops, and support the region’s specialty crop growers to help ensure their long-term success.”

The funding for Hawai‘i is part of a total of $72.9 million in non-competitive Fiscal Year 2024 funding awarded to 54 states, territories and the District of Columbia through the 2018 Farm Bill.

More information about these awards is available on this webpage: https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/add/scbgp/