Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism

Agribusiness Development Corporation
For Immediate Release: August 6, 2025

HONOLULU—The Hawaii Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) Board of Directors has elected Jayson Watts as its new chair, signaling a renewed commitment to strategic leadership, critical infrastructure investment and long-term land stewardship.

Watts, representing the county of Maui on the ADC board, currently serves as director of environmental health and safety at Mahi Pono, a Maui-based farming company. He was first appointed to the ADC board by Governor Josh Green, M.D., in 2022 and recently began a second four-year term on the board.

Watts brings a leadership style focused on collaboration, measurable results and delivering for Hawaii’s working farmers, ranchers and food producers. He previously served in various government and agricultural policy roles, including special assistant to the director of the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, senior advisor to two lieutenant governors, assistant sergeant at arms at the Hawaii State Senate and staff assistant to the late U.S. Representative Patsy T. Mink.

He serves in multiple leadership roles, including secretary of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, vice chair of the Hawaii Food Industry Association, board member of the University of Hawaii Alumni Association, U.S. Secretary of Commerce appointee to the Hawaii Pacific Export Council and member of the Alaska Airlines Inaugural Hawaii Community Advisory Board, which serves as a corporate–community sounding board on business initiatives, community investments and the local impacts of the $1.9 billion Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines merger.

“The ADC is entering one of the most ambitious phases in its history,” said Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. “With renewed commitments from the executive and legislative branches, this board — under Jayson’s leadership — is positioned to accelerate long-overdue investments in water security, land access and local food production. His commitment to transparency, collaboration and maximizing the expertise of board members will be critical to that success.”

Jason Okuhama, serving on the ADC board as an at-large member, will continue as vice chair. Okuhama is the managing partner of Commercial and Business Lending, a commercial loan broker company established in 2000. The company specializes in loan programs and commercial real estate financing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency, USDA Rural Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Prior to establishing his company, he was a vice president with Bank of America and was responsible for the government-assisted business lending programs in Hawaii and Pacific territories. Okuhama previously served on the board of directors for the Hawaii Community Development Authority and Aloha Tower Development Corporation.

The ADC board also welcomed David Hinazumi as its newest member representing the county of Kauai. Hinazumi is a senior vice president at Grove Farm Company, Incorporated, a land management and development company. He started at Grove Farm in 2004 and is primarily responsible for managing development projects and has experience with agricultural leases and infrastructure improvements. Born and raised on Kauai, Hinazumi earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997 and his law degree from the University of Denver College of Law in 2000. He worked as a deputy public defender for the state of Colorado prior to joining Grove Farm.

This leadership transition on the ADC board comes at a pivotal moment. Hawaii spends an estimated $3.1 billion annually on imported food, while its local agricultural sector generates $575 million — a gap that ADC is charged with helping to close. The agency is currently managing more than $100 million in active capital improvement projects and has been entrusted by the Hawaii State Legislature and Governor Green’s administration with new funding to modernize irrigation systems, expand agricultural infrastructure and return more lands to production.

“Under ADC’s leadership, we are pressing forward with expanding land inventory for farmers, constructing critical infrastructure and delivering the equipment needed to overcome longstanding challenges in local agriculture and value-added production,” said Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Deputy Director Dane Wicker. “These efforts not only strengthen food security and resilience for our communities, but also advance our broader goal of diversifying Hawaii’s economy.”

ADC is also actively partnering with the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) on the development of a planned $28–$64 million central kitchen in Whitmore Village outside Wahiawa. Situated on ADC-owned land, the facility will serve as a regional food production hub to support HIDOE’s school meal program, enhance local food procurement and advance the state’s farm-to-school goals. ADC is providing land access, permitting support and infrastructure coordination as part of this strategic collaboration.

“Jayson Watts has been a steadfast partner in advancing our shared goals around farm-to-school and local food sourcing. His leadership on the ADC board comes at a pivotal time as we work together to bring the regional kitchen model to life — an initiative that will directly benefit our students and Hawaii’s agricultural community,” said HIDOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi. “I look forward to continuing this important collaboration under his leadership.”

The ADC board of directors meets on the third Thursday of each month. For more information about ADC, visit: dbedt.hawaii.gov/adc.

Note to media: See attached headshots of Jayson Watts, Jason Okuhama and Dave Hinazumi.

About the Agribusiness Development Corporation
The Agribusiness Development Corporation (“ADC”) is a state agency created in 1994 by the Hawaii State Legislature and administratively attached to the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Its mission is to conserve and convert arable lands and their associated infrastructure that were formerly large mono-crop plantation lands into new, productive uses. The agency’s ultimate goal is to ensure that agricultural production and agribusiness ventures will be responsive to the current food and other agricultural needs of the state of Hawaii.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Laci Goshi
Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, State of Hawaii
(808) 518-5480

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Becker Communications
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