Article XI, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution establishes in part that the “State shall conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands.”

Smaller scale farming operations, particularly those associated with diversified agriculture, often do not have ready access to, or the resources to pay for, their own modern processing, packing, storage, and distribution enterprises to allow them to expand or maximize the productivity of their agricultural operations. Due to global competition and the recent implementation of national food safety standards, the department of agriculture has found it necessary to support the growth of diversified agriculture by encouraging agricultural enterprises on the department of agriculture’s lands. The department of agriculture encourages activities including the planning, design, construction, operation, and management of agricultural enterprises to ensure the economic viability of agricultural operations, and allows lessees to do the same. Therefore, it is in the State’s best interests to establish an agricultural enterprise program within the department of agriculture, which will also help meet state constitutional requirements to promote and support diversified agriculture and increase agricultural self-sufficiency.

Accordingly, the purpose of this chapter is to authorize the department of agriculture or its lessees to plan, design, construct, operate, manage, maintain, repair, demolish, and remove infrastructure or improvements on any lands over which the department has jurisdiction where the activity is necessary to support and promote agriculture; accept from the department of land and natural resources the transfer of any lands that will serve an agricultural purpose; and efficiently operate or manage those resources.