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HIAP Business Model

HIAP Business Strategy

The Hawai'i Island Agriculture Partnership (HIAP) is a dynamic coalition dedicated to cultivating a stronger, more resilient agriculture sector on Hawai'i Island. Our business strategy leverages both public and private resources to elevate local producers—especially small-scale and emerging farmers—through practical support, innovative programs, and market-focused solutions. By uniting government agencies, research institutions, private enterprises, and community organizations under one collaborative framework, we create a space where our partners can jointly address challenges and capitalize on new opportunities. Below you will find details about our Vision and Mission, Strategic Outcomes, Public-Private Partnership approach, and Revenue Model—each a vital component that collectively drives HIAP’s commitment to sustainable growth and enhanced livelihoods for Hawai'i’s farming community.

Vision and Mission

Vision

Our vision is to leverage public-private collaboration to create a thriving, interconnected agricultural economy on Hawai'i Island, where producers and agribusinesses flourish through seamless access to knowledge, resources, and markets.

Mission

​We strive to empower agricultural producers and agribusinesses with new resources, labor-saving technologies, and dynamic market access opportunities, ensuring they can grow sustainably and profitably. By uniting public agencies, private enterprises, and research institutions, HIAP fosters a culture of innovation and inclusivity across the agrifood ecosystem. For those who share a commitment to Hawai'i Island's agricultural development and food self-sufficiency, we provide a platform for sharing information, facilitating transactions, and nurturing long-term partnerships throughout the island. In doing so, we champion economic vitality, environmental stewardship, and a more equitable future for Hawaii Island’s agricultural community.

Strategic Outcomes

A.  Public/private collaboration and coordination strengthens the linkages between supply and demand of local agricultural products, services and input supplies.

B.  A sustainable market is established for local service providers to increase the availability of market data, analysis and market development opportunities that sustainably build regional competitiveness.

C.  A sustainable market is established for training, research and technology services utilized by local agribusinesses, cooperatives and producer associations to grow production and increase profitability.

Public-Private Partnership

HIAP's business strategy centers on harnessing the collective strengths of government agencies, private enterprises, research institutions, and community groups to tackle the root causes of inefficiencies in the agricultural market. By aligning traditionally fragmented efforts, we can unlock a powerful synergy that targets systemic barriers—from limited infrastructure and access to finance, to gaps in technical expertise and market connections. Working together under a unified framework, these diverse actors can pool resources and knowledge, enabling more focused and meaningful interventions that spark sustained growth in Hawaii Island’s agrifood ecosystem.

Guided by market systems development principles, we recognize that true transformation emerges when all stakeholders share a common vision and understand how their actions affect one another. This holistic, collaborative approach helps channel public investments toward areas where they can catalyze private sector innovation, rather than duplicating or crowding it out. Through sustained public-private alignment, we can deliver strategic, well-coordinated solutions that address the interconnected challenges holding back local agriculture. In doing so, we create the conditions for continuous learning, problem-solving, and adaptation—driving progress at a scale previously unreachable by siloed or short-term initiatives and ultimately reinforcing our island’s food security.

Revenue Model

Historically, HIAP has relied heavily on grant funding from the County of Hawai'i, USDA, and Kamehameha Schools to support core operations and programming. While these grants have been instrumental in getting projects off the ground, our evolving business model seeks to expand funding sources to ensure greater sustainability and resilience. In addition to ongoing grant support, we plan to increase outreach to public institutions and private philanthropic organizations across Hawaii and beyond, building diverse partnerships that align with our mission to strengthen Hawaii Island’s agricultural economy and food security.

A key component of this strategy involves bringing private investors on board through revenue-sharing opportunities linked to HIAP’s growing digital platform. Through membership fees, transaction fees, subscription-based services, and service fees, we aim to create a stable flow of income that supports continuous platform improvements and targeted growth initiatives. Project management fees will also be assessed for specialized undertakings, ensuring that operational costs are met while still providing high-value outcomes for all stakeholders. By diversifying funding streams in this way, HIAP can deliver lasting impact, expand services offered to local farmers and agribusinesses, and foster innovative collaborations that benefit the entire agrifood ecosystem.

Market Analysis

Paragraph introducing the Market Analysis and Value Chain analysis done on for HIAP via MSDI

Target Market

The primary focus includes small and mid-sized farms that lack access to adequate services but have potential for growth. However, to achieve the necessary scale for economic viability, the ASC project will also target secondary markets, including other small businesses, service providers and small non-profits. This broader approach ensures that services such as financial support, technical assistance, and training are accessible to a wider audience, generating the volume needed to make these services sustainable while maintaining a strong emphasis on the core agricultural clientele.

Demand Analysis

The business plan builds upon a series of detailed analyses that began with a system-wide examination in 2020. This effort identified broad trends, challenges, and opportunities across the agriculture sector. Following this, the focus narrowed through root cause analyses of key value chain constraints. These investigations pinpointed critical bottlenecks and systemic gaps, such as limited access to information and services essential for productivity and growth. The final stage involved designing targeted systemic interventions aimed at resolving these challenges. These interventions prioritize improving the availability and accessibility of agricultural information and tailored support services for small and mid-sized farms. 

Demand Analysis.png
Agrifood Market Ecosystem

The market system map below provides an overview of the functions, rules and stakeholders of Hawaiʻi Islandʻs agrifood system. This helps to understand the various inter-relationships and interdependencies that shape performance and opportunities for producers. Click on any of the System Components below to see the underlying information.​​​​

Value Chain Pilot Projects

The agribusiness services value chain diagram below illustrates the relationships and flows between service providers and producers within Hawaiʻi Island's agricultural market system. It highlights how various entities interact through core value chain functions to support the agricultural sector to improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability for producers of staple food and export commodities.

Development Plans

Introduce fundamental components of business plan, phased development approach and timetable, structure.

Timetable
Governance
Management & Operations
Projections

© 2021 by Hawai‘i Island Agriculture Partnership. Website Design by PECO Arts.

Photo credits to the amazing Andrew Richard Hara and Hoʻōla Farms

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