Native Hawaiians urge congressional committee to meet its trust obligation by opening more access to funding

June 3, 2022 (Star Advertiser) 

Native Hawaiian leaders told U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs this week that more funding and program access is needed from Washington to better fulfill the government’s federal trust responsibility

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UH Hilo professor Noa Kekuewa Lincoln spoke about agriculture in the islands. He said Hawaii is a state of small farms, with 90% of the 7,328 farms being less that 50 acres in size — yet 90% of the value is produced by only 13% of the farms, the big producers.

Lincoln, who is president of the Mala Kalu‘ulu Cooperative and adviser to the Hawai‘i ‘Ulu Cooperative, said the federal government could help even the playing field by offering additional technical support and easier access to capital and by investing in the kind of infrastructure that would help small farms.

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