New Release: From Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity

STATE OF HAWAIʻI

KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI 

JOSH GREEN, M.D.

GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & BIOSECURITY

ʻOIHANA MAHIʻAI A KIAʻI MEAOLA

SHARON HURD

CHAIRPERSON

KA LUNA HOʻOKELE

DEAN M. MATSUKAWA

DEPUTY TO THE CHAIRPERSON

KA HOPE LUNA HOʻOKELE

Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity and University of Hawaiʻi Secure More Than $322,000 in Federal Funding to Advance Plant Pathogen Detection and Biosecurity Innovation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                               

May 14, 2026

HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi — The Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (HDAB) and University of Hawaiʻi (UH) have secured more than $322,000 in federal grant funding through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Plant Protection Act Section 7721 program to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s ability to detect, assess, and respond to emerging plant pathogen threats.

The awards fund two new projects — a nursery and ornamental survey and a machine learning decision support tool for phytopathogen risk assessments — with Ph.D. Josiah Marquez, HDAB’s State Plant Pathologist, as lead Principal Investigator (PI), and Ph.D. Garrett Roell, Ph.D. Huaijin Chen, Ph.D. Alberto Ricordi, Ph.D. Marian Luis, and PH.D. Jing Zhou as co-PIs. These projects are a joint research effort between HDAB and UH focused on monitoring and surveillance of important plant pathogens and developing advanced machine learning–based tools to identify and prioritize high-risk phytopathogens and model potential pathways of introduction into Hawaiʻi and the continental United States.

“Hawaiʻi sits at one of the most strategically important agricultural crossroads in the world,” said Sharon Hurd, Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture & Biosecurity. “These investments strengthen our ability to proactively identify emerging threats before they become costly impacts to agriculture, natural resources, and trade.”

The initiative will integrate existing datasets involving plant hosts, climate conditions, and international trade pathways to improve predictive risk modeling and strengthen surveillance targeting statewide. HDAB officials say the project is intended to help move the State toward a more proactive, technology-driven biosecurity framework capable of addressing increasingly complex global agricultural threats.

“Hawaiʻi’s central location between Asia and the Americas makes it a potential gateway for invasive species introductions between the East and West,” said Dr. Josiah Marquez. “This project seeks to address this critical gap in understanding biosecurity risks, while also serving as a replicable model that can be adapted by other states to strengthen their own phytopathogen risk assessments.”

The funding was secured through HDAB’s continued federal grant development and strategic biosecurity initiatives coordinated in partnership with departmental leadership and grant administration staff.

According to HDAB Grant Writing Specialist Lesley Harvey, the awarded projects represent a significant advancement in Hawaiʻi’s long-term biosecurity capabilities and demonstrate growing federal confidence in the State’s leadership on invasive species and plant pathogen preparedness.

The projects align with HDAB’s broader efforts to modernize agricultural biosecurity systems, strengthen interagency coordination, and leverage emerging technologies to protect Hawaiʻi agriculture and the broader U.S. food supply chain.

If you own a plant nursery or have ornamental plants and are interested in participating in the nursery and ornamental survey project, please reach out to the Plant Pathology Unit at [email protected].

Additional details regarding implementation timelines and project coordination are expected in the coming weeks.

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