Before contact with Europeans, the Hawaiian people practiced aquaculture through development of fish ponds ( Hawaiian: loko iʻa), the most advanced fish-husbandry among the original peoples of the Pacific. While other cultures in places like Egypt and China also used the practice, Hawaii's aquaculture was very advanced considering the much smaller size of the area of Hawaii compared to other aquacultural societies. ^[6] Hawaiian fishponds were typically shallow areas of a reef flat surrounded by a low lava rock wall (loko kuapa) built out from the shore. Several species of edible fish (such as mullet) thrive in such ponds, and Hawaiians developed methods to make them easy to catch.

Hawaii is one of the few U.S. states where coffee production is a significant economic industry – coffee is the second largest crop produced there. The 2019–2020 coffee harvest in Hawaii was valued at $102.9 million. ^[8] As of the 2019-2020 harvest, coffee production in Hawaii accounted for 6,900 acres of land ^[9]

The coffee industry in Hawaii is well supported by organizations such as the Hawaii Coffee Association, the Hawaii Agriculture Resource Center and the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa and the state's Department of Agriculture.

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation is the world's largest processor of macadamia seeds. The American company was a subsidiary of The Hershey Company from 2004 to 2015, when it was acquired by Hawaiian Host, Inc. ^[10] The company takes its name from the volcano Mauna Loa. Their headquarters and main processing plant are near the mountain, south of Hilo in the Puna District of the island of Hawaiʻi, known as the Big Island.

Sugarcane was introduced to Hawaiʻi by its first inhabitants in approximately 600 AD and was observed by Captain Cook upon arrival in the islands in 1778. ^[11] Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a century. ^[12] The sugar grown and processed in Hawaiʻi was shipped primarily to the United States and, in smaller quantities, globally. Sugarcane and pineapple plantations were the largest employers in Hawaiʻi. ^[13] Today the sugarcane plantations are gone, production having moved to other countries.

Hawaii wine refers to wine made in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of Maui is where the bulk of the state's wine is produced though there is some production on the island of Hawaii. The state mainly produces fruit wine such as a pineapple sparkling wine. ^[14] In July 2021, the Ulupalakua AVA was designated on Maui, the first American Viticultural Area in Hawaii and the only outside of the contiguous United States.

Genetic engineering in Hawaii is a hotly contested political topic. The Hawaiian islands counties of Kauai, Hawaii and Maui passed or considered laws restricting the practice within their borders due to concerns about the health, the environment and impacts on conventional and organic agriculture. ^[15]

Hawaii is attractive to researchers and seed companies because of its moderate year-round climate—an average of 75 °F (24 °C), which allows 3 or more harvests per year, greatly reducing the length of time required to develop a new seed. ^[15]

The main companies working with genetically modified crops in Hawaii are Monsanto, Syngenta, Pioneer Hi-Bred, BASF, Mycogen Seeds and Agrigentics.^{[ citation needed]}

Gene manipulation is generally conducted elsewhere. Hawaii sites cross the engineered strains with other strains to eliminate undesirable traits and cultivate the hybrids to produce seeds that are then planted elsewhere.