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DHHL outlines training, CTAHR extension agents and USDA, county partnerships for new ag lessees
Summary
DHHL staff described the department's support network for subsistence agricultural lessees — including a DHHL‑funded CTAHR junior extension agent on Maui, NRCS conservation planning, county agriculture grant programs, and workshops on hydroponics and small‑scale systems — and highlighted restoration projects and community programs.
Maui — DHHL planners and staff at a Maui orientation described the technical supports, agency partnerships and community programs intended to help subsistence agricultural lessees succeed.
Julie Ka'ohola, a DHHL planner who said she helped master‑plan the project areas, said DHHL funds salaried junior extension agents through the University of Hawaiʻi College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). "We pay the salaries of three full‑time CTAHR junior extension agents... One on Big Island, one on Molokai, and one on Maui," she said, adding that those agents can draw on university resources to support lessees.
Julie and other staff introduced partner tables and representatives at the orientation: La'akea Lo from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) was described as available to provide conservation planning and program resources; a representative from the new Maui County Department of Agriculture (Noilani/Noelani Perez) was described as handling grant programs and farmer supports; and DHHL staff explained that onsite contractors, lenders and community‑based organizations will be available at awards and post‑award events.
DHHL staff highlighted hands‑on programming already in place: hydroponics and small raised‑bed workshops in Keokea; community garden and limu restoration projects; and multi‑family or aggregation facility planning in the Pulehunui “piko” area to support value‑added activities like lei stands, small processing or market aggregation. DHHL also said it is negotiating to reuse treated county effluent for irrigation to reduce potable water demand for agriculture in the project areas.
Lehua Abrego, described by staff as a homesteader who usually leads agricultural supports, was cited as the staff member responsible for developing agricultural resource connections for lessees. DHHL urged beneficiaries to visit partner tables after the orientation and to take advantage of on‑island CTAHR support and NRCS technical assistance.
What’s next: DHHL said workshops and partner tables will remain available at an open house following the orientation and that staff contact lists and CTAHR resources are posted on the DHHL website.
