Thanks to policy change, Hawaiian Home Lands loan program now available to farmers Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (Source: Hawaii News Now/file) By HNN Staff | April 23, 2021 at 4:09 PM HST - Updated April 23 at 4:23 PM HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Hawaiian Home Lands loan program previously only available for residential properties has been made available to farmers for the first time. The first loan to a Native Hawaiian farmer was recently issued. Officials with the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Association said that since the program was enacted by Congress 20 years ago, mortgages were only distributed for residential purposes. But in 2019, a farmer contacted the SCHHA ombudsman to seek help in applying for a trust land mortgage for farming.