STATE OF HAWAIʻI

KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM

KA ʻOIHANA HOʻOMOHALA PĀʻOIHANA, ʻIMI WAIWAI A HOʻOMĀKAʻIKAʻI

JAMES KUNANE TOKIOKA

DIRECTOR

KA LUNA HOʻOKELE

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

WENDY GADY

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

HAWAI‘I AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO CONDUCT ITS FIRST BOARD MEETING ON MAUI ON OCT. 16 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 25, 2025

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) announced today that its next board of directors meeting will be on Maui on Thursday, October 16, 2025. The state agency was established by the Legislature in 1994 to replace and repurpose lands, irrigation systems and other agricultural assets left idle after the closure of sugar and pineapple operations.

The ADC board meeting will be at 10 a.m. at the University of Hawai‘i Maui College Pilina Event Center, 310 W. Ka‘ahumanu Avenue. This will be the first time ADC has conducted a board meeting on Maui, reflecting the corporation’s responsibility to prepare and execute a statewide agribusiness plan that transitions former plantation lands, strengthens diversified agriculture, invests in irrigation systems and delivers economic, environmental and community benefits across Hawai‘i.

Why This Matters Now

ADC is completing its statewide strategic plan and setting clear priorities for the next one, five and 10 years. This includes identifying agricultural lands for acquisition, strengthening diversified agriculture on former plantation lands and investing in infrastructure that delivers economic, environmental and community benefits. Earlier this summer, ADC’s board traveled to Kaua‘i to gather public input, with a Hawai‘i Island meeting scheduled for November.

ADC Chair Jayson Watts said the Maui meeting underscores the urgency of this work: “Local food security is bigger than any one agency — it takes all of us. Farmers, educators, food industry leaders and community partners are collaborating with ADC to shape the future of Hawai‘i agriculture. It will take coordinated action — from infrastructure investment and farmer support, to education, innovation and market development — to move local agriculture forward and create a stronger, more resilient agricultural future for Hawai‘i.”

Focus Areas for Maui Input

At the Maui meeting, the board will invite public testimony and input on:

• Strategic land acquisition opportunities.
• Infrastructure investments for farmers, including shared cold storage, warehouse facilities, processing capacity and aggregation hubs to reduce costs and improve market access.
• Building the next phase of Hawai‘i’s agribusiness value-added ecosystem. The Legislature has tasked ADC with conducting stakeholder research and strategic planning to expand food manufacturing and processing capacity throughout the state. The vision is to create facilities that take graduates of UH Maui College’s Food Innovation Center and other entrepreneurial training programs to the next level — moving beyond classroom learning and small-batch prototypes into commercial-scale production. This is the role of the planned Entrepreneur Product Manufacturing Facility (EPMF) in Wahiawā, designed as part of a broader O‘ahu Food Hub that also incorporates the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center, Leeward Community College’s partnerships and the High-Pressure Processing (HPP) facility.

Meli James, co-founder of Mana Up, emphasized why this next-phase infrastructure is critical: “Our companies are scaling because of the infrastructure ADC is investing in. Facilities like Wahiawā Value-Added and the HPP machine make it possible to extend shelf life, reach new markets and export Hawai‘i products globally. These projects help transform local ideas into world-class businesses that bring new dollars into our economy. Maui has the same opportunity to build on its Food Innovation Center by ensuring there are commercial-scale facilities that allow entrepreneurs to grow from prototypes into thriving enterprises.

Mana Up has supported more than 100 companies statewide with graduates generating more than $100 million in annual revenue and creating thousands of local jobs. Beyond Hawai‘i, Mana Up has also proven the global potential of local products through initiatives such as its Aloha Market pop-ups at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport — the most successful retail activation in the airport’s history. These efforts demonstrate that when local entrepreneurs are given the tools to scale up, Hawai‘i products can succeed not just at home but in international markets.

Context and Complementary Work

ADC is advancing the Entrepreneur Product Manufacturing Facility (EPMF) in Wahiawā as part of a broader O‘ahu Food Hub. This initiative is designed to give Hawai‘i food companies the ability to move beyond prototypes into commercial production. The Wahiawā EPMF serves as a footprint and proof of concept for the next phase of Hawai‘i’s agribusiness value-add ecosystem. The Maui community is invited to help ADC and the Legislature determine how that next phase should take shape — ensuring local farmers, entrepreneurs and food businesses have the facilities they need to scale and compete in both local and export markets.

Community members are encouraged to share ideas on where ADC can be most helpful on Maui — identifying priority lands for purchase, as well as infrastructure, innovation and value-add needs.

Public Testimony at the ADC Board Meeting

Public testimony will be welcome in person and in writing. Instructions, deadlines and livestream details will be provided once the agenda is finalized. An official Sunshine Law notice will be posted separately. For more information on ADC meeting dates/times and agendas, please visit dbedt.hawaii.gov/adc/meetings/.

The public does not have to wait until the October 16 meeting to provide input and can also engage with ADC now by emailing [email protected] or calling 808-586-0186.

Note to media: See attached photo of the state Agribusiness Development Corporation board of directors’ recent visit to Kaua‘i. 

About the Agribusiness Development Corporation

The Agribusiness Development Corporation (“ADC”) is a state agency created in 1994 by the Hawai‘i State Legislature and administratively attached to the Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Its mission is to conserve and convert arable lands and their associated infrastructure that were formerly large mono-crop plantation lands into new, productive uses. The agency’s ultimate goal is to ensure that agricultural production and agribusiness ventures will be responsive to the current food and other agricultural needs of the state of Hawai‘i. For more information about ADC’s statewide projects, please visit:

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Media Contacts:

Laci Goshi

Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, State of Hawai‘i

Cell: 808-518-5480

Email: [email protected]

Scott Ishikawa

Becker Communications

Cell: 808-227-2350

Email: [email protected]