KAILUA-KONA — A long-awaited subsidy program for farmers battling the coffee berry borer came online in September, more than two years after the state legislation creating it was passed.
A product of House Bill 1514, authored by Rep. Nicole Lowen of Kona’s 6th District in 2014, the subsidy program offers substantial reimbursement for farmers purchasing pesticides containing the fungus Beauveria bassiana — the driving ingredient to battle the invasive beetle.
“I’m really glad it’s finally up and running,” Lowen said. “There has been ongoing funding through other appropriations from the state and some from federal funds earlier, so this is pretty timely because it’s coming online just as those funds are running out.”
The program, which was allocated $500,000 and is set to run through 2019 or until funds dry up, reimburses farmers retroactively for the purchase of certain pesticides. Thus, even though the program wasn’t up and running in 2015 and early in 2016, farmers can still recoup a significant portion of money spent during that time.
The fiscal year runs from July 1, 2016, until June 30, 2017. Those interested have until that date to fill out the online application and set an appointment to produce receipts and have their reimbursements calculated for last year.
Caps on reimbursements are $600 per acre up to $9,000 per business annually. For the first installment covering the last fiscal year — July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016 — farmers who apply will be refunded 75 percent of their pesticide costs up to the cap limits. Moving forward, reimbursement for 50 percent of pesticide costs will be available.
Reimbursements should be received within three months of the end of each fiscal year.
“This is short-term monetary assistance to get farmers up to speed,” said Rob Curtiss, the Department of Agriculture’s Hawaii entomologist for West Hawaii Island. “This program should help the industry catch up with controlling this pest until it becomes part of farmers’ everyday management programs.”
Curtiss said the department estimates the number of coffee farms in the state at around 1,000. Between 700 and 900 of those farms are located on Hawaii Island, almost all of them in Kona.
Owners of every one of those farms are eligible to apply, but both Curtiss and Lowen said the program was designed with the intent to aid small farmers specifically. That tends to be most farmers, however, as Curtiss added the average size of coffee farms in Hawaii is under 5 acres.
One such farm is Rancho Aloha, which is just shy of 4 acres in size and is owned and operated by Bruce Corker and his wife Lisa. They filled out their application for the subsidy program last week.
Corker said he’s appreciative of the help but is skeptical that the roughly $450,000 left in the reimbursement fund will be enough to see the program through to its scheduled end date in 2019, especially considering the size of the cap.
“The program is an incentive to farmers to use the fungus, and I hope the state will provide more funding because I’d be very surprised if (the money) lasted through 2019,” Corker said. “I think the cap is probably higher than it should be. But at least there is a cap so a disproportionate amount of the grant doesn’t go just to the large acreage farms.”
Kate Hickey, who owns an operates the 8-acre Sunshower Farm in Holualoa with her husband, said she will partake in the program next year. She would have done so this year, but doesn’t have all the paper receipts for pesticide purchases required for reimbursement.
Last year, Hickey spent a little more than $1,800 on pesticide, or a little more than $225 per acre, spraying once every three weeks. If she had the receipts, the program would have saved her upwards of $1,300 for last fiscal year. If her costs remain the same this year, she stands to hold onto $900 she wouldn’t have otherwise.
“It’s a little bit of a hassle, but for the amount of money you get back, it’s definitely worth it,” Hickey said. “This is far better than what we used to have.”
While Hickey recognizes the program’s value, she said a few adjustments could have provided for farmers even more effectively.
“On the scale of our farm, our (pesticide) costs are small. We spent more on our mowing,” she explained. “Also, the labor costs to have it sprayed on, that’s a large cost as well. We spent more on our labor to have it sprayed, which this program doesn’t include.”
Even though labor costs aren’t a part of the subsidy, Curtiss said there is more farmers can do to save beyond participating in the newly implemented program. Extra savings can be found via the Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council, or SHAC.
“There is another subsidy program run through SHAC, and farmers are able to be in both programs at the same time. We actually encourage that,” he said. “With that program, they basically get a discount at the point of sale. It works out in farmer’s best interest to be in both programs at the same time.”
According to an email from Gwen Hicks, CBB subsidy program coordinator, as of last week 43 coffee farmers had signed up for the program online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HDOAcbbPesticideSubsidyProgram.
She added that her and Curtiss will set up a booth at the Ka’u Coffee Workshop Saturday with computer access so farmers can register on site. More emails and physical letters will also be dispersed in an effort to spread the word about the available subsidy and encourage all farmers to apply.
“Coffee is a big part of our economy, but also it’s such an important part of the culture and history and richness of this area,” Lowen said. “We don’t want to have to imagine Kona without Kona coffee.”