The Kona Coffee Farmers Association (KCFA) is a nonprofit group made up of Kona coffee farmer members; KCFA seeks to promote and protect our Kona coffee heritage.
On June 30, Gov. David Ige signed into law legislation (Senate Bill 855) to extend the coffee berry borer beetle (CBB) subsidy program for two years. It also adds to the program a coffee leaf rust (CLR) pesticide subsidization for 2022 and 2023.
These are relatively new, and serious pest problems for farmers and coffee production. We must help farmers to ensure that programs are effective.
While thrilled to have the governor’s support on this, our work continues. Meetings are being called to encourage both House and Senate representatives to recognize that for many farmers, CLR input support must include fertilizers.
Whether a farm uses chemical-based products, or is certified organic (which requires annual inspection and an organic system plan for the farm and the broader environment), tree health is the best starting point for all farms. Since pesticides are a reaction to a problem, and not a preventive approach, we should emphasize tree health.
Many farmers cannot or will not, apply everything permitted on a list, due to cost, lack of labor, plus concerns about human health and/or the environmental impacts of toxic short-term chemical pesticides.
We will try to help legislators better understand what happens on-the-ground with small-scale (coffee) farmers’ decision-making. We will urge them to prioritize funding for the next fiscal year. Over the next few months, KCFA’s monthly Independent Voice newsletter will publish reports on our efforts to inform and educate legislators, including scheduling visits for them to small-scale farms in the Kona District.
We continue to work with the state Department of Agriculture. Their policies separate pesticides from fertilizer. The leadership of the department has indicated that they would likely include a fertilizer subsidy in their programs, if the Legislature appropriates the funding. We are striving to come up with processes for future subsidies to be easily obtained for farmers.
Together we must overcome human health concerns such as COVID19, as well as the pests and diseases that cannot be restrained by property boundaries (like CLR), and that we all face as coffee farmers. Farmers, the Department of Agriculture, the Legislature and other concerned groups must learn and work together to effectively manage the significant issues of CBB and CLR.
As the president for the Board for KCFA, you can communicate directly with me via email at colemel2@gmail.com.
Colehour Bondera is president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association.