HI SB2960

Requires the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to establish and implement a food safety certification training program in partnership with the agricultural community to assist farms with less than $500,000 in annual food sales in obtaining USDA Good Agricultural Practices certification or equivalent.

Appropriates $265,000 from general revenues for fiscal year 2022-2023 to the Department of Agriculture under general administration for agriculture (AGR192) to establish and implement the training program.

Addresses Hawaii's high foodborne illness outbreak rate (11.2 per million people in 2016) and the need for compliance with the federal FDA Food Modernization Act, which affects approximately 90 percent of Hawaii's 3,682 farms that are small to very small operations.

Aims to reduce farm closures caused by expensive compliance costs, maintain local food production capacity, and reduce Hawaii's dependency on imported food (currently 92 percent of food is imported).

Takes effect on July 1, 2022.