The Maui News

Mahi Pono will lease 15 acres of its West Maui agricultural land to a University of Hawaii extension program to use for a farmer development training program, the company announced Friday.

The partnership between the farming company that owns and operates 41,000 acres in Central Maui and GoFarm Hawai’i, an extension program of UH’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, aims to increase the state’s agricultural workforce and help reduce reliance on imported crops.

“Increasing food security in Hawai’i is our top priority at Mahi Pono and we believe it begins with investing in aspiring farmers,” Jayson Watts, director of external affairs and strategic affairs at Mahi Pono, said in a news release Friday. “Instilling both the passion and know-how required for success in the agricultural industry is critical. CTAHR’s GoFarm Hawai’i program is perfectly aligned to meet this challenge, and the 15-acre lease will enable further expansion and progress.”

The 15 acres will be used to support students at the program’s Maui project site as they progress through rigorous hands-on, science-based curriculum and business training. GoFarm Hawai’i students independently manage parcels of land and start their own farm businesses. The leased land also includes a farmstand area that will be used as a classroom space and for processing produce.

“We look forward to working with our Maui collaborators and supporting the next generation of farmers,” GoFarm Hawai’i Director Janel Yamamoto said in the news release. “We will be offering educational opportunities and volunteer days over the next several months and hope to start our first cohort on the new site in the fall.”

During the pandemic, GoFarm Hawai’i and CTAHR provided free business and production courses to farmers at Mahi Pono’s Community Farm lots. The new land lease will be an extension of the partnership between Mahi Pono and Go Farm.