An outpouring of aloha welcomed U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono as she received the Ka Lei Hano award this April—the highest honor from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR).
The Ka Lei Hano award recognizes exceptional leaders who have advanced Hawaiʻi’s agriculture and uplifted the people and communities of the state through their service and advocacy.
“She has been one of our strongest champions. The senator’s support makes it possible for us to strengthen food systems, help improve community well-being and protect natural resources,” said Parwinder Grewal, dean at CTAHR who noted that the senator’s support makes it possible for his department to address some of the state’s greatest challenges.
Support for farmers
A UH Mānoa graduate and longtime supporter of local farmers, Hirono has been instrumental in securing millions of dollars of research funding to fight invasive species such as rapid ʻōhiʻa death, the coffee berry borer, and the macadamia felted coccid. She also worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help Hawaiʻi farmers obtain the same insurance tools as other farmers, especially for those who suffered vog damage.
“There was no USDA insurance to cover crop loss from vog. We listened to the community and then put in language to make sure Hawaiʻi farmers were on equal footing with farmers on the continent,” Hirono said.
Her advocacy in fixing the long-neglected maintenance backlog at agriculture schools nationwide led to the allocation of billions of dollars within both the federal House and Senate versions of the Farm, Food and National Security Act.
“Thank you, senator, for being a powerful voice for the downtrodden, for immigrants, for women, for civil rights. And for universities, where at the moment it feels like we’re under attack a little bit every day,” said UH President Wendy Hensel during her address at the awards ceremony.
