The Nature Conservancy and Hawaii Ulu Cooperative are teaming up to disperse $6 million of funds from the United States Department of Agriculture to Hawaii farmers as incentive payments to grow more trees over the next five years.
"Good candidates are farmers or beginning farmers who have at least one acre available to install new agroforestry systems," Chris Ka‘iakapu, HUC's agroforestry manager who is leading the program on behalf of HUC, told Pacific Business News via email. "They can be either landowners, leaseholders, or negotiating leases for new agroforestry. Individuals, businesses, and nonprofits are all eligible, and underserved producers are encouraged to apply as well."
Called the Expanding Agroforestry Project, the funding will allow farmers to expand or begin agroforesty operations, according to the HUC website. The funds will be dispersed up front before installation activities, and assistance is available to support project planning and implementation.
EAP is being funded through the USDA's Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative, a $3.1 billion investment in 141 projects across the nation. Of those funds, $60 million was designated to EAP, a national program with a goal of adding 30,000 new acres of agroforestry across 30 states, according to the HUC website.
Selected producers can receive up to 75% of their estimated installation expenses for projects as an incentive payment, plus $450 per acre in three installments as a transition incentive, Ka‘iakapu told PBN. No single project will receive more than $450,000 in funding, he said.
HUC is a farmer-owned business working to revitalize ulu, or breadfruit, and other Hawaii-grown staple crops, according to its website.
The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit, has been selected to administer grants with HUC serving as the lead partner in managing projects in Hawaii.
Specific agroforestry practices supported by the program include alley cropping, silvopasture, and windbreaks. Alley cropping involves growing crops alongside trees, silvopasture is the integration of trees and grazing livestock on the same land, and windbreaks are when lines of trees are planted to protect people, livestock or soil and water resources, according to the USDA's Forest Service website.
“We are very excited to be a part of this innovative project with The Nature Conservancy and expect it will accelerate adoption of agroforestry practices among farmers across Hawaii,” said Dana Shapiro, general manager of HUC, in a written statement. “While eligible projects are not limited to those that include ulu, our priority as Hawaii’s regional lead organization will be to support commercially viable initiatives that contribute to the revitalization of traditional cropping systems and to the Islands’ food security.”
HUC was formed in 2016 with nine growers on Hawaii Island and has since expanded to 140 farms on four islands: Hawaii Island, Maui, Oahu and Kauai.
Interested farmers can apply for EAP’s incentive payment program by submitting applications by Dec. 31. Future application cycles are scheduled for March and July of 2024. To apply, go here: ulu.coop/eap.
