Agriculture & Food
System Map & Data

The market system map provides an overview of the various functions, rules and stakeholders of the agriculture market system. This helps to understand the various inter-relationships and interdependencies that shape performance and opportunities for producers.

Click on any of the items in the diagram below to see the underlying data for Hawaiʻi Island's Agriculture and Food System. See an explanation of each part of the diagram in the following section along with a summary of the analysis for our agriculture market system.

Click on any of the buttons below to see an explanation of the system component, what functions it includes and a summary of information about those functions in relation to the Hawaiʻi Island's Agriculture and Food System.

Rules

The core value chain functions encompass all activities involved in bringing a product from the initial stages of production to the final consumer. This includes every step from cultivation and harvesting to processing, distribution, marketing, and sales. By analyzing the value chain for the island's agricultural products, we can focus on systemic constraints and identify strategic opportunities for producers.

This helps to identify the factors that determine the prices producers get for their products and where different market opportunities might exist, particularly for more value-add to products that can increase farm profitability. Analyzing vertical linkages amongst value chain functions and horizontal linkages amongst producers can yield potential new opportunities. The following diagram displays each of the value chain functions and market segments determined by farm size and income.

Staple Food Crops Value Chain Diagram_ed

Horizontal linkages among producers of similar products are crucial for achieving economies of scale, sharing resources, and collective marketing. Several industry groups and producer associations exist, demonstrating a reasonably high level of horizontal linkages within the value chain.

Vertical linkages involve the connections between different functions in the value chain, from production to processing, distribution, marketing, and sales. Effective vertical linkages ensure smooth transitions of products through the value chain, enhancing overall efficiency and profitability.

The relationship between producers and processors is critical for timely and efficient processing of agricultural products. The data indicates that many small-scale farmers lack access to adequate processing facilities, creating a bottleneck in the value chain. Initiatives to develop localized processing infrastructure, such as The Food Basket's Agriculture Innovation Center, aim to address this gap by providing shared facilities for value-added production. This will enable farmers to process their products locally, adding value and reducing the need for costly off-island processing.

Visit HIAP's Value Chain Analysis Page

The supporting functions within Hawaiʻi Island's agricultural sector are critical to enhancing the productivity, sustainability, and competitiveness of the local agricultural value chains. These functions are provided by both public and private entities and support producers with needed input supplies, information, infrastructure, finance, services, and training. Below is an overview of each of these key areas, emphasizing their role in supporting the staple food crops and export crops being analyzed.

Training & Education

Programs and resources that enhance the technical, business, and operational skills of farmers and agricultural workers.

Training and education are vital to enhancing the skills and knowledge of producers on Hawaii Island, yet gaps remain in both technical and business training. As of 2022, educational initiatives such as those by GoFarm Hawaii and the University of Hawaii at Hilo provide crucial support, but many farmers report a lack of access to more advanced training, particularly in areas such as farm management, ag-tech, and marketing. Additionally, traditional Hawaiian agricultural knowledge is increasingly recognized as a valuable resource, but more integration with modern techniques is needed. Expanding training programs, including virtual and peer-to-peer learning, could help close the knowledge gaps and empower farmers to adopt new technologies and practices.

Support Programs & Services

Technical, advisory, and extension services that provide farmers with essential knowledge and resources to improve productivity and sustainability.

Support services, including extension services, technical assistance, and business advisory, are critical components of the agricultural value chain on Hawaii Island. However, the data highlights a significant mismatch between the demand for these services and their availability. The report points out that extension services, like those provided by the University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), are spread too thin, with only a limited number of agents serving the entire island. This leaves many producers without access to essential support. Expanding the reach of these services, particularly through public-private partnerships and digital platforms, would improve the technical and business capabilities of small and medium-sized producers.

Input Supplies

Essential resources like seeds, fertilizers, and equipment that farmers need to grow crops and raise livestock.

The availability and cost of input supplies, such as seeds, fertilizers, and equipment, are major challenges for Hawaii Island producers. Due to the island's isolation, input costs are significantly higher than on the mainland, and supply chain disruptions can leave producers without access to essential resources. The high cost of imported inputs also impacts the profitability of small-scale farms. Efforts to localize input production, such as seed banks and community-based fertilizer production, could help reduce costs and increase resilience. Additionally, cooperative purchasing arrangements could enable producers to buy inputs in bulk, reducing costs and improving access to essential supplies.

Infrastructure

Physical facilities, transportation, and storage systems that enable the efficient movement, processing, and sale of agricultural products.

Infrastructure limitations, particularly in transportation, storage, and processing facilities, are a major bottleneck for Hawaii Island’s staple food value chain. The geographic isolation and lack of cold storage and distribution centers make it difficult for producers to maintain product quality and access distant markets. In particular, the fruit sector, with over 1,300 operations, suffers from high post-harvest losses due to inadequate cold chain logistics. Investing in infrastructure, including centralized processing hubs, better transportation links, and improved cold storage facilities, would significantly enhance producers' ability to add value to their crops and reach new markets, both locally and abroad.

Information

Market intelligence, research, and data systems that help producers make informed decisions about production, pricing, and marketing.

Access to market information, including pricing, demand trends, and new technologies, remains limited for many producers on Hawaii Island. The data highlights that many farmers lack the ability to make informed decisions about what to grow, when to harvest, and where to sell their products. This results in missed market opportunities and inefficiencies in the value chain. The development of digital platforms that provide real-time market data, as well as improved access to research and extension services, would help producers better align their production with market demand and optimize their operations for profitability.

Finance

Access to capital and financial instruments, including loans, grants, and credit, that support agricultural investment and growth.

Access to finance is one of the most critical constraints facing Hawaii Island's agricultural producers. Traditional financial institutions are often reluctant to lend to small-scale farms due to perceived risks, and the cost of capital remains high. In 2022, few producers reported accessing formal loans, with most relying on personal savings or informal loans from family and friends. Programs such as the USDA’s Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's loan program have helped some producers, but more innovative financial solutions, such as microloans, cooperative financing, or crowd-funding models, are needed to meet the needs of smallholders and niche market growers.

The Rules within the island's agricultural market ecosystem encompass various legislative, regulatory, and informal frameworks at the county, state, and federal levels. These rules significantly impact the operations of farmers, ranchers, and other stakeholders, influencing everything from land use and water access to food safety and marketing standards. Below is a detailed summary of stakeholder feedback on compliance issues and suggested changes in legislation, categorized by the type of rule and the level of government.

Informal Rules & Norms

Unwritten customs and community values that influence producer behavior and decision-making within the agricultural market system.

Informal rules and norms significantly shape the operational environment for producers on Hawaii Island. These include community-based practices, traditional methods, and unwritten codes of conduct, such as the value placed on sustainability and environmental stewardship, or 'malama 'aina' (caring for the land). While these norms contribute positively to long-term sustainability, they can also hinder the adoption of new technologies or market-driven solutions. For example, many smallholder farmers rely on long-standing relationships and informal agreements with buyers, rather than formal contracts, which limits their ability to scale or engage with larger retail or export markets. A shift toward more structured, yet flexible, market partnerships would help producers access broader market opportunities while respecting local values and traditions.

Industry Governance

The structure and coordination of leadership and organizations that shape policy and support for the agricultural sector.

Industry governance for Hawaii Island's staple food commodities remains fragmented, with limited coordination among key stakeholders. Several industry associations, such as the Hawaii Farmers Union United and the Hawaii Farm Bureau, play important roles in representing producers' interests, but there is a lack of centralized governance that can drive systemic change. Governance gaps are particularly evident in areas such as aggregation, processing, and distribution, where the absence of clear leadership has led to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Collaborative governance models, similar to the Hawaii Beef Industry Council's efforts in the livestock sector, could help strengthen industry-wide coordination, set common standards, and develop market-driven solutions to systemic constraints.

Standards & Certifications

Formal requirements that producers must meet to access premium markets, including organic certification and food safety regulations.

Standards and certifications, such as USDA organic certification and Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) compliance, are critical for accessing high-value markets. However, the data shows that many Hawaii Island producers, particularly small farmers, struggle to meet these requirements due to the high costs and complexity of the certification process. In 2022, only a limited number of producers were certified organic, and compliance with FSMA has been challenging due to the island's geographical isolation and limited infrastructure. Support for certification processes, such as technical assistance and cost-sharing programs, would enable more producers to achieve certifications and unlock premium market opportunities, both locally and abroad.

Legislation & Regulation

Government policies and legal frameworks that dictate how agricultural businesses operate, including land use, water rights, and safety regulations.

Legislation and regulation have a significant impact on the success of Hawaii Island's agricultural producers. Issues such as restrictive land use policies, water rights, and the high cost of compliance with federal regulations like FSMA have been consistently highlighted as constraints in the value chain. Additionally, state-level regulations, including the inability to use catchment water systems for commercial kitchens, create barriers for small-scale food processors. There is a need for policy reform to reduce regulatory burdens while still ensuring safety and environmental standards. The Hawaii Island Agriculture Partnership (HIAP) is working to advocate for regulatory changes that would promote more flexibility in the system, supporting smaller producers without compromising food safety.

HIAP's members seek to increase Hawaiʻi Island’s collective capacity to build competitiveness and sustainability for our local farms. We strive to understand the systemic factors that shape our agricultural economy and leverage those factors to increase farm growth and profitability. The term market systems refers to a lens for understanding the ecosystem of functions, rules and interests in an economic cluster. Market Systems Development (MSD) is the set of guiding principles and analytical tools used to study challenges in an economic sector and identify opportunities for facilitating systemic change. Targeted solutions seek to leverage the full potential of market driven growth to increase employment, income and resiliency on the island.

Market systems approaches address the root causes of why markets often fail to meet the needs of agricultural producers. They focus on facilitating market "interventions" that modify the incentives and behavior of businesses and other stakeholders – public, private, formal and informal – to ensure large-scale beneficial change for the island's farms. The essence of this market systems approach is outlined below.

Objectives

To increase agricultural employment and income.
To focus on transforming the economic systems in which farms participate.
To catalyze change in how these systems function – making markets more financially rewarding, accessible, inclusive and resilient in the long term.

Principles

Tackle the underlying causes of market failures, rather than just the superficial symptoms.
As each market is a complex 'system' involving many stakeholders, each with a particular set of unique characteristics, any solution must take this complexity into account.
Recognize that while grant funding for conventional approaches to agricultural growth can have a powerful yet temporary influence, market systems approaches ensure that desired behavior changes reflect genuine incentives and capabilities that can succeed and scale up in the long-term.

Methods

A thorough analysis of how and why systems function as they do.
Recognize the limits to initial analysis and commit to on-going review and learning, being willing to adapt/revise plans.
Start with pilot projects to validate potential solutions for overcoming systemic constraints. Stimulate 'crowding in' by spreading benefits beyond a few initial partners to a wider circle of farms, industry groups and regions as outlined in the diagram below.

Agriculture & Food
System Map & Data

Supporting Functions

Core Value Chain Functions

Rules

Stakeholders

Visit HIAP's Value Chain Analysis Page

Training & Education

Support Programs & Services

Input Supplies

Infrastructure

Information

Finance

Informal Rules & Norms

Industry Governance

Standards & Certifications

Legislation & Regulation

Agriculture & Food System Map & Data

Supporting Functions

Core Value Chain Functions

Rules

Stakeholders

Agriculture & Food
System Map & Data