Planting the seeds for progress

by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., President / CEO, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Like many local business owners, Hawaii’s farmers and ranchers have to deal with rules and regulations that often make it harder to run a successful enterprise.

They also share the same concerns about the high cost of housing and how it affects their ability to attract and retain employees.

This year, with encouragement from my colleagues at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, the state Legislature took steps in the right direction to help.

With the dust from the latest legislative session now settled, we know for sure that two measures proposed by Grassroot to advance agricultural development in Hawaii have become law.

One of them, SB3302, was really about fairness. It improved on a law passed in 2024 that made it easier for Hawaii residents to sell certain foods made in their home kitchens — also known as cottage foods.

But that law did not explicitly mention food products made in kitchens on agricultural land. SB3302 addressed that omission, so now local farmers and ranchers will also be able to sell homemade food that otherwise complies with the law.

The other successful measure, HB1737, will make it easier for farm and ranch owners to build small accessory dwelling units on their land for employees.

Earlier this year, Grassroot published a policy brief, “How to facilitate more housing for Hawaii farm and ranch workers,” that discussed the lack of a statewide standard for the construction of employee housing on Hawaii’s farms and ranches, and how that served as a significant barrier to expanding agricultural production in the state.

Without available housing on their properties, Hawaii’s farm and ranch owners cannot attract enough workers to grow crops or raise livestock. This has affected their ability to succeed financially or help reduce Hawaii’s dependence on imported foods.

Our state legislators and the governor deserve praise for supporting these bills. Farmers and ranchers should be able to easily sell cottage foods and build ADUs — just like anyone else in Hawaii.

I’m glad to see that local policymakers are recognizing the benefits of making it easier for Hawaii’s farmers and ranchers to thrive and prosper.

E hana kākou! (Lets work together!)