Service Providers
Businesses providing agricultural and businesses services to producers and other agribusinesses.
Associated Challenges:
High Labor Costs and Shortages | Labor-intensive crops like coffee and flowers are heavily impacted by Hawaii’s high wage rates and a shortage of skilled workers. The difficulty of attracting seasonal workers during peak harvest periods further exacerbates this issue. |
Logistical Inefficiencies | Inefficient distribution networks and a lack of cold storage facilities increase the risk of product spoilage during transportation. These inefficiencies disproportionately affect perishable products, such as tropical flowers and seafood. |
Pests and Plant Diseases | Insufficient services and high costs for pest management make it challenging for small farmers to protect crops from pests and diseases. This leads to lower productivity and increased financial strain on producers. |
Aging Producer Workforce | With an average age of 61 and reduced access to extension services, Hawaiʻi Island's agricultural workforce faces a challenge in transferring knowledge and skills to new farmers. This creates gaps in productivity and sustainability. |
Workforce Housing Challenges | A lack of affordable housing and allowances for farmworkers to live on the farm creates challenges for attracting and retaining labor. These housing barriers make it difficult for workers to remain in rural farming areas. |
High Input Costs | The high costs of imported agricultural inputs, such as seeds, fertilizers, and equipment, significantly raise production expenses. This reduces profitability and scalability, especially for small and beginning farmers. |
Cost and Availability of Farm Labor | The high cost and limited availability of farm labor are critical barriers to farmers' ability to maintain operations. This issue stems from competition for labor with higher-paying sectors and unattractive employment conditions for farm labor. |
Service providers encompass a wide range of businesses and organizations that support agricultural and agribusiness activities in Hawai'i. This includes consultants offering technical assistance, businesses focused on compliance and regulatory guidance, marketing specialists, and providers of business development services. On Hawai'i Island, the University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), and local agribusinesses like agricultural consultants and marketing firms, provide critical services to producers across staple and export commodities. However, the accessibility and affordability of these services remain inconsistent, particularly in rural areas, which has left many small-scale producers struggling to access much-needed resources.
Staple Food Commodities
Service providers are essential to increasing the efficiency and productivity of staple food value chains, especially as small and medium-sized farms face growing pressure to adopt more efficient practices and meet regulatory requirements. Key challenges in this space revolve around the limited number of service providers on the island and the high cost of accessing services for smaller farms. For instance, small-scale farmers producing fruits, vegetables, or livestock may not be able to afford technical assistance or marketing services, which can stifle growth and limit market access. Many service providers focus on larger operations, leaving smaller farms underserved. There is a clear need for better outreach and coordination among service providers to help ensure equitable access to the services that could help smaller producers thrive. Collaboration between government programs and private service providers, potentially through subsidized services or targeted outreach, could bridge this gap.
Export Commodities
In the export commodities value chain, service providers play an even more critical role due to the complexities of transporting and marketing high-value crops like coffee, macadamia nuts, and tropical flowers. The logistics involved in getting these products from farms in Hawai'i to international markets are significant, and service providers who specialize in cold storage, transport logistics, and compliance with international export regulations are in high demand. However, the primary challenges faced by these service providers are high transportation costs, logistical inefficiencies, and the lack of robust cold chain infrastructure. These issues directly affect the ability of producers to maintain the quality of their goods during shipping and reduce profitability due to increased expenses. Improving the infrastructure that supports export logistics—such as enhanced cold storage facilities at ports and airports—would allow service providers to offer more efficient services to producers, thereby reducing costs and improving competitiveness in international markets.