{"id":210858,"date":"2025-02-13T12:48:12","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T22:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=210858"},"modified":"2025-02-13T12:48:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T22:48:12","slug":"growing-hawaiis-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/13\/growing-hawaiis-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s future: 东精影业<\/abbr> program brings modern business skills to local farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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GoFarm Hawaiʻi<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ian Kennedy credits GoFarm Hawaiʻi<\/span><\/a> (GFH<\/abbr>) with leveling up his farming business, Strata Farms. “It gave me the financial literacy of startup costs in a farm, my first exposure to cash-flow projections to determine business viability, and allowed me to feel confident investing into farming as a career,” said Ian Kennedy, a 2024 graduate of the Waim\u0101nalo GoFarm AgIncubator. Through the program, Ian joined a hui of 10 other farmers to learn diversified vegetable production.<\/p>\n

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GoFarm Hawaiʻi<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An extension program of the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience<\/a> (CTAHR<\/abbr>), GoFarm Hawaiʻi<\/span> is training the next generation of agriculture leaders in modern farming and business practices. More than 600 local farmers have graduated from the program since 2013 and are using the knowledge gained through the program to build their small-scale operations. Supporting small farmers is vital for the future of local food production—90% of the state\u2019s farmers cultivate crops on less than 50 acres of land, according to the 2023 Hawaiʻi<\/span> State Data Book.<\/p>\n

GoFarm Hawaiʻi<\/span> blends classroom instruction with hands-on experience in sustainable vegetable production and business management. This approach empowers participants to succeed as “agri-preneurs,” driving local food production and strengthening the agricultural economy. Last year, the program provided 15,430 training hours to 88 participants, who are projected to produce 1.8 million pounds of food in the next five years. <\/p>\n