Organic mangoes, organic pork and a cabbage-and-fig farm were winning ideas in a Hawaii farm plan competition last year that awarded land leases and startup cash. Now more land and seed capital are up for grabs in another round of the contest.

Kamehameha Schools and Ke Ali’i Pauahi Foundation recently announced that they will repeat their Mahi’ai (farmer) Match-Up competition, which gives winners initial free rent of farmland and $10,000 to $25,000 each.

"Last year was such a great success," Keawe Liu, the foundation’s executive director, said in a statement. "The (first) Mahi’ai Match-Up winners are preparing to begin their dreams of farming on some of Kamehameha Schools’ most valued agricultural lands."

The contest, which is also sponsored by investment firm Ulupono Initiative, intends to decrease Hawaii’s dependence on food imports. It also is a creative way to find agricultural tenants to lease unused parcels of farmland owned by the trust, which is the largest private landowner in the state and embarked on a strategic plan in 2009 to make millions of dollars of infrastructure improvements to its agricultural land holdings.

Last year the trust offered six parcels for lease through the contest and received 148 applications.

Winning applicants, who must be Hawaii residents, receive a land lease with free rent up to five years, after which the lease may be extended at market agricultural rental rates if agreed-upon goals in the business plan are reached. Winners also split $50,000 provided by the foundation.

Three winners were selected in December by a panel of judges that included the trust’s then-CEO Dee Jay Mailer, Richard Ha of Hamakua Springs Country Farms, Toby Taniguchi of KTA Super Stores, Ed Kenney of Town restaurant and Kyle Datta of Ulupono.

The first-place winner was Holoholo General Store LLC, a community-supported agriculture business that delivers fresh produce weekly from local farms to 200 customers, including schools and businesses.

Holoholo’s plan is to grow organic vegetables mostly in the cabbage family alongside fig and other specialty fruit trees. The company won $25,000 and a lease for 6 acres on Oahu’s North Shore.

Second place went to organic produce farmer Max Bowman and restaurateur Brandon Lee, who plan to raise pigs in pastures and feed them fresh fruits and vegetables grown on 22 acres of Kamehameha Schools land on Hawaii Island’s Hamakua Coast.

Bowman and Lee’s venture, Kaunamano Farms, won $15,000 and aims to become a leading local producer of organic Berkshire pork, including ribs, chops, sausage and hams that compete with high-quality imports.

Lee, who owns Napua restaurant at the Mauna Lani Resort, said Kamehameha Schools paid for a water system on the property and fencing materials. "They were really, really awesome," he said. "They just really want us to be successful."

The third-place winner was Mapulehu Farms, which was awarded a lease for 44 acres on Molokai and $10,000.

Mapulehu Farms plans to grow organic mangoes supplemented by coconut, banana, taro and sweet potato. Part of the business will also include farm tours to teach people about Hawaiian farming practices and traditional varieties native to the area.

This year three land parcels are being offered to contest winners: 5 acres in the Paalaa area on Oahu’s North Shore, 3.7 acres in the Keei area of Hawaii island’s Kona Coast and 9.5 acres in the Pahoehoe area of Hawaii island’s Hamakua Coast.

Kamehameha Schools and the Pauahi Foundation encourage farmers, entrepreneurs, aspiring farmers or "anyone with fresh, innovative ideas" to fill out an application with a business plan summary before Aug. 15.

An initial round of finalists will be notified Sept. 30 and given until Nov. 30 to submit a detailed business plan. A culled list of finalists will be selected early next year to make presentations before judges who will pick winners.

For more information and to apply, visit pauahi.org/mahiaimatchup.