<p>The state Department of Agriculture is exploring the possible creation of a cashew industry in Hawaii.</p> <p>It is making available $70,000 in program funds for a cashew project designed to show whether the prized nut can grow commercially on Hawaii’s lower-quality ag lands.</p> <p>It also is working with seven farmers on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island who have agreed to grow the trees.</p> <p>Agriculture officials are hopeful that cashews could help reverse the long downward spiral in the state’s agriculture industry following the loss of sugar and pineapple, once Hawaii’s major export crops.</p>