UH Maui College has years of experience in food manufacturing education, and now they will be sharing that knowledge with aspiring farmers.
With a new 3-year, $500,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, GoFarm Hawaiʻi will continue its partnership with UH Maui College to offer its beginning-farmer training program through the Agriculture & Natural Resources program, and will add an intensive value-added food production training course so students can consider revenue diversification options.
The goal is to help the Valley Isle develop its workforce by providing production, business, and leadership skills to those looking to enter the food and agricultural industry.
“We are excited to further collaborate with UH Maui College,” Janel Yamamoto, GoFarm Hawaiʻi director who was instrumental in landing one of only 19 Agricultural Workforce Training grants awarded across the country.
“Value-added products can increase the economic value of agricultural commodities and help farmers attain higher revenues and margins,” she adds. “We are looking forward to recruiting for our next cohort in May and adding food manufacturing to the curriculum!”
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Agricultural Workforce Training grants are part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and are designed to provide community, technical or junior college students with the skills and tools necessary to secure industry-accepted credentials in order to join the workforce.
This work is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative-Agricultural Workforce Training Priority Area, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.