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Hawaii Farmers Union outlines county-funded training program, cites land and water as top barriers
Summary
Sara Gilligan of the Hawaii Farmers Union told the Committee on the Status of Women that the Maui Farmers Union teaching program is county-funded, free to participants, 11 years old, and that 20 of this year's 33 students are women; she said access to land and water are the program's main obstacles.
Sara Gilligan, a guest speaker representing the Hawaii Farmers Union, briefed the Committee on the Status of Women on the Maui Farmers Union teaching program and local barriers to farm entry. The program, she said, is in its 11th year, is funded by the County of Maui Department of Agriculture, and is free to participants; "20 out of 33 students this year are women," the report noted. Gilligan told the committee that "access to land and water are the two biggest barriers to farming entry county-wide."
Gilligan described local supports the program provides to encourage participation: a community garden plot on Lana'i for program members tied to a new Farmer's Market, a tool-lending library for current members and graduates, and a Moloka'i community table at that island's farmer's market along with workshops such as poultry processing and orchard care. The Committee did not take action on the presentation but discussed the program as part of ongoing outreach and workforce-development work in the county.
