Hawai'i Island Agriculture Partnership

The Hawai'i Island Agriculture Partnership (HIAP) is pioneering a transformative approach to revitalizing Hawai'i’s agricultural and food systems. By fostering a collaborative environment among diverse agricultural stakeholders, HIAP aims to enhance economic growth, sustainability, and community resilience on Hawai'i Island.

System Innovation through Market Systems Development

HIAP applies a market systems approach to agricultural development to address the interconnected elements that affect Hawai'i's agriculture and food cluster, analyzing value chains, support services, and the formal and informal rules that govern the cluster. By aligning these components to function more cohesively, HIAP is trying to remove the silos in the system that have caused inefficiencies such as duplication of efforts, lack of coordination, and scattered impacts. This strategic alignment enables a more integrated approach to agricultural development, ensuring efforts lead to scalable and sustainable impacts.

Enhancing Agricultural Value Chains

HIAP’s strategy is deeply rooted in enhancing the value chains within Hawai'i’s agriculture and food cluster. HIAP supports the development of technical assistance, infrastructure, and services that enable local producers to increase production, add value to their products, and reach broader markets. This initiative not only aims to boost local food production but also ensures that agricultural practices contribute to the island’s economic vitality and sustainability.

Strategic Outcomes and Projects

The partnership’s efforts are geared towards achieving substantial outcomes such as increasing food processing capacity, enhancing food safety standards, and creating more effective waste management systems. HIAP’s members are planning projects that include developing agricultural hubs like the The Food Basket's Hilo Food Campus and Hawai'i Community College's Agriculture Systems Innovation Lab (ASIL). These projects are designed to build a more resilient and competitive agricultural sector that can effectively respond to local and global market demands.

Facilitating Collective Impact

HIAP operates on a collective impact model, emphasizing the power of collaboration across public and private sectors. This approach ensures that various stakeholders, including farmers, researchers, and policymakers, are jointly engaged in a concerted effort to drive systemic change. Through this model, HIAP facilitates shared strategies, resources, and information, creating a unified front to tackle the systemic challenges of Hawai'i’s agriculture.

As a beacon of innovation and collaboration, HIAP is setting a new standard for how agricultural systems can be transformed through strategic market systems development. Its comprehensive approach not only addresses immediate agricultural needs but also ensures long-term sustainability and growth. By breaking down operational silos and fostering a spirit of cooperation, HIAP is paving the way for a robust and thriving agricultural economy on Hawai'i Island.