$600K to Train UH Students in Sustainable Poultry Farming
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Research » $600K to train UH…
October 27, 2026
Undergraduate students will manage newly hatched chicks through a 35-day production cycle, learning bird husbandry, feed nutrition, and health management.
The next generation of sustainable poultry production students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) received a significant boost through a $600,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture. Undergraduate students from all UH campuses, including community college students, can qualify.
Key Takeaways:
- Trainees will receive a stipend of $2,800 to $3,000 per month, plus a $500 bonus upon completion.
- Grant funds will cover housing, food, and living expenses, as well as travel for students from the neighbor islands.
- The four-year project aims to train 32 undergraduate students to start or support local poultry farms.
- Poultry and egg production currently account for only 2% of farms in the state.
Project Details:
The eight-week program, starting in summer 2027, will train eight undergraduates annually at the college’s Center for Applied Research and Extension Services in Waimānalo.
- Students will learn about raising chickens on small plots of land and conduct lab research on using local agricultural byproducts as feed.
- They will also gain business skills in marketing, leadership, and farm management under faculty mentorship.
- Students are expected to host community workshops to promote poultry farming.
Quotes:
- "For cattle you need large land, and for pigs you need big structures, but people can raise chickens on small patches of land," says Associate Professor Birendra Mishra of CTAHR.
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