About Us

The Agricultural Development Division (ADD) serves to promote the economic viability of commercial agriculture in Hawai`i by sponsoring joint marketing programs for agricultural products with high revenue growth potentials; facilitating the development and expansion of marketing opportunities for targeted agricultural and processed products; and providing timely, accurate and useful statistics.

Fiscal year 2006 highlights are as follows:

• Started administering the USDA national Organic Certification and Cost-Share Program, which encourages organic farmers in Hawai`i to certify their farm.  Nearly 80 organic growers have taken advantage of the program, which reimburses 75% of their certification cost (up to a maximum of $500).
• Awarded export readiness-training (ERT) funds totaling $245,000 from USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to train and prepare new-to-export, minority and women owned businesses in Hawai`i.  The grant from the FAS Emerging Markets Program will be jointly administered by the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA).
• Received approval for pilot crop insurance program in Hawai`I for bananas, coffee, and papayas and conditional approval for AGR-Lite, a whole-farm revenue insurance program for the USDA-Risk Management Agency (RMA).  Thes insurance programs for Hawai`i farmers will encourage higher production and reduce potential income losses.
• Coordinated and hosted the Associated Press (AP) television and wire service journalists on an assignment to review the expansion of diversified agriculture in Hawai`i.  The AP story was a hit and was featured in newspapers across the US mainland and in foreign countries.
• Launched the Hawai`i Seals of Quality (SOQ) branding program, which promotes genuine, grown-in or made-in Hawai`i premium products.  This program attracted 12 leading producers and 8 leading chefs (Hawaii Regional Cuisine).  The SOQ launch received widespread press coverage.
• Established the Agricultural Research Program to provide financial assistance to fund research projects, which would support local agricultural products with high-revenue growth potential or significant production in the next ten years.  The goal of this program is to maintain Hawai`i’s competitive edge with foreign producers and to sustain the long-run viability of Hawai`i’s agriculture.  In FY 06, this program funded 12 research contacts totaling $468,478 to study new crop varieties for melons, tomatoes, pepper and yams, pickleworm control, detection of ohia rust, cacao trials, improve noni germplasm, reduce papaya blemishes, pest infestation in Wili-Wili trees and other diverse agricultural projects.
• Assisted in organizing the 2006 WUSATA/WASDA/NASDA Conference in Honolulu.  State marketing officials and Directors/Commissioners from 13 western states met with senior USDA officials including then Assistant Secretary of Agriculture William Hawks, and officials from other regional agricultural trade groups to discuss various marketing and legislative issues relating to US agriculture.

The Division consists of the following units:

• Market Development Branch
• Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Branch
• Market Analysis and News Branch

Market Development Branch

The mission of the Market Development Branch is to facilitate the development of the agricultural industry, consisting of commodity groups of agricultural producers and food processors, through the expansion of new and existing markets.

Hawaii Agricultural Statistics

The Hawai`i Agricultural Statistics (HAS) Branch is a cooperative effort between the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.  This partnership, spanning four decades, allows the efficient use of state and federal resources, while at the same time providing a comprehensive way array of agricultural intelligence and reducing respondent burden.

Major activities of the HAS included data collection, analysis, and timely publication of agricultural statistics for the State.  The result of these efforts was a measure of total farm-gate estimated value of $576 million during 2005.  Most of the HAS data collection efforts were in the diversified agriculture sector, which was valued at $438 million in 2005.

Market Analysis and News Branch

The Market Analysis and News (MAN) Branch is responsible for enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of agriculture by conducting economic, market and business feasibility research, evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of market development programs, collecting data on agricultural commodity shipments, supply and wholesale prices and disseminating information through various media.  Through these functions, MAN assists the state’s agricultural industry in its development and expansion efforts and provides sound input for program planning and policy making within and outside the department.

MAN is tasked with two primary, yet distinct functions.  The first involves research on all aspects of agricultural products.  Towards this end, MAN conducts some ten research or program evaluation studies annually.  The second function is carrying out the market news program, jointly with the Market News Branch of the Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.  This program provides up-to-date information on current market conditions – wholesale market prices throughout the state, movement of fresh fruits and vegetables, and supply and demand information on different products.