| PROJECT SUMMARY |
This project was intended to reduce price risk for Hawaii’s small farmers, educating them how to market directly to the visitor industry. Many of Hawaii’s 4,000 small farmers operate uncompetitively, and are subsequently on the edge of failure; however, a few entrepreneurial farmers have successfully implemented a number of agtourism strategies to broaden their market and substantially reduce their risk.
It was launched with three regional one-day conferences on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island offering about 300 farmers information on a wide range of agtourism activities, including farm visits, B&B operations, and selling directly to chefs. About 20% of this group pursued their particular interests by participating in three follow-up workshops focusing on the details of a specific strategy implementation. Finally, seven of these participants were selected to work one-on-one with specialists to create plans to reorganize their existing farming operations to accommodate one or more agtourism strategies. |
| NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 286 |
| TOPICS COVERED |
| Product and enterprise diversification |
| Marketing strategies, plans and clubs |
| Direct, wholesale, and processing markets |
| Tools for managing legal liability |
| Understanding of economic risks associated with new production technologies |
| Business and strategic planning |
