Can Agritourism Save Small-Scale Farmers in Hawai'i?

Small-scale agriculture in Hawai‘i is difficult and riddled with many challenges particularly concerning the financial security of small farms. In an effort to leverage Hawai’i’s robust tourism industry to support local food security via agritourism, an initiative to pursue agritourism as a possible solution to the dilemma of small-scale farmers was implemented in 2017 to 2020. A study was conducted to understand the gaps in Hawai‘i’s agritourism industry. Concurrently, a network of agritourism farms was developed through a mobile app to serve as an electronic marketing platform to connect visitors with farmers in rural areas on Hawai‘i Island. This research examines the opportunities and challenges of agritourism for small-scale farmers in Hawai‘i.