PIA CIG Classic projects (Fiscal Year 2023):

Partner: Bishop Museum
Lead State: Hawaiʻi
Project States: Hawaiʻi
Amount Awarded: $697,754
Project Title: Eliminating Critical Bottlenecks to Conservation in Hawaiʻi. Developing Information Resources and an Island-wide Network of Native Seed Producers
Summary: This project will develop the Native Ecosystem Restoration Program which will incubate and support a collaborative framework for native seed distribution, host a repository of native seed data, and lead a community of practice. This project approach will link data with conservation to fill an existing knowledge gap and help to streamline conservation implementation on Oʻahu Island, Hawaiʻi.

Partner: E kūpaku ka ʻāina 
Lead State: Hawaiʻi
Project States: Hawaiʻi
Amount Awarded: $1,253,241
Project Title: Recovering Hawaiian Kalo and ʻUala Cultivar Diversity and Indigenous Cropping Systems Knowledge: Indigenous Approaches to Climate Resilience in Agriculture and Hawaiian Food Sovereignty 
Summary: This project will revive indigenous crop cultivar diversity in kalo (taro) and ʻuala (sweet potato), two culturally significant Hawaiian food crops that will provide resilience against climate change for historically underserved growers. In addition, the project will revive knowledge from Hawaiian lunar planting systems practices, an indigenous tool for improving productivity and crop quality while adapting to seasonal and climate shifts without expensive inputs.

PIA On-Farm Trials projects (Fiscal Year 2023):

Partner: University of Hawaiʻi
Lead State: Hawaiʻi
Project States: Hawaiʻi
Amount Awarded: $2,425,773
Project Title: Farmer-driven Evaluation and Adoption of an Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Weather-Based Irrigation Scheduling Tool in Hawaiʻi via Intensive On-Farm Trials
Summary: Water is by far the major constraint to crop production for regions with high agricultural potential and value in Hawaiʻi. Even areas with abundant rainfall experience a high seasonal variability that does not maintain adequate water for vegetable crops throughout the year. In this project, climate data from a dense network of weather stations in Hawaiʻi will be transmitted to an innovative weather-based irrigation management technology, allowing farmers across Hawaiʻi to take advantage of this technology. Intensive on-farm irrigation trials will be implemented at 14 collaborating farms. The results of the on-farm trials will be evaluated and presented to agricultural producers through field days and workshops to enhance the broad adoption of the developed irrigation management technology.

Partner: Hawaii Institute of Pacific Agriculture
Lead State: Hawaii
Project States: Hawaii
Amount Awarded: $1,169,491.00
Project Title: HIP Agriculture Soil Conservation Project: Scaling Soil Conservation
Summary: HIP Agriculture Soil Conservation Project will emphasize the use of cover crops, Polynesian crop agroforestry and varying composting methods to improve Hawaiʻi’s soil health, increase crop production and build resiliency against impending climate change conditions. To maintain project stasis and ensure overall success, HIP Ag will work in collaboration with University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa, Ridge to Reefs, and Hoʽōla Farms.