Legislature Needs To Take Aim At Coffee Beetle
Hawaii鈥檚 coffee farmers are in jeopardy.
There is a new pest that has been ravaging the coffee crops for over two years now; it is known as the Coffee Berry Borer (CBB). This is an important topic this week, as CBB mitigation is being discussed in our State Legislature. Sadly, to date the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) has not disbursed any money to deal with the infestation on Hawaii Island, so it continues to metastasize, and threatens all of Hawaii鈥檚 coffee industry.
Rep. Nicole Lowen introduced HB353 in the House along with nine co-sponsors. The bill was written to fund practical research and subsidize the cost of mitigation for the small-scale farmers whose efforts are necessary to combat this pest.
Unfortunately the House Finance Committee stripped the research money from the bill and delayed the mitigation funding directed to HDOA鈥檚 own CBB Task Force until next year. HB 353 has crossed over into the Senate and goes to a hearing before the Senate Ag Committee today.
The Hawaii Farmers Union United (HFUU) asks that the bill be restored to its original form. The bill was thoughtfully drafted in consultation with coffee growers and researchers at the Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center. HFUU asks the Senate Agriculture Committee to follow Rep. Lowen鈥檚 lead 鈥 restore the funding and time frames of the original HB353. This issue is urgent as every day more CBB are hatching and spreading.
On a really positive note, last week I had the opportunity to take this issue to a national forum of farmers from around the country as a delegate and Hawaii鈥檚 representative to the National Farmer鈥檚 Union (NFU) 111th annual convention in Springfield, Massachusetts. At the convention in my capacity as HFUU Vice President and Legislative Chairman I was able to introduce two policies, which the delegates adopted and that will directly benefit Hawaii鈥檚 coffee farmers and other local producers by directing the NFU to advocate on their behalf in Washington, D.C.
At the convention it was also my good fortune to have a brief meeting with Kathleen Merrigan, the Undersecretary for Agriculture (USDA). The focus of our conversation was that Hawaii Island鈥檚 coffee crops are in a state of peril because of the CBB infestation. I handed her a joint letter from the Kona Coffee Farmer鈥檚 Association and the Hawaii Coffee Association addressed to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and President Obama. Included with the letter was our gift of one pound of 100 percent Kona Coffee.
HFUU was also able to get two amendments to the NFU policies that will benefit Hawaii鈥檚 farmers. Our amendment to the NFU policy relating to emergency responses to pest infestations reads as follows:
鈥淲here needed and requested the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) should provide聽adequate emergency funding for practical, applied research and Integrated Pest聽Management (IPM) programs to help farmers implement rapid, highly organized and聽cooperative IPM responses to infestations. It is especially important that the additional聽cost of such programs be wholly or partially underwritten for small-scale farms to聽enable them to participate effectively in them.鈥
The other win HFUU had was the addition of new language in the NFU policy regarding accurate product labeling to include: “Point of origin and producer-determined standards for geographic indications including percentage coming from that origin.” This means that producers would get to determine the amounts of origin products required to allow them to be labeled as being from that location.
Imagine Taro from Fiji mixed with our Kalo and made into poi, and called 鈥淗awaii鈥 poi. Most of the world鈥檚 taro comes from Fiji, and 1,800,000 pounds of taro are imported into Hawaii each year. Hawaii鈥檚 Kalo production was down 17 percent from the 2011 harvest to an estimated 3.4 million pounds. How are we to assure the purity of our poi without rules regarding the point of origin of products sold in Hawaii bearing our name?
Two bills died in the Ag committees earlier in the session, SB 558 and HB 213. These bills were written with the assistance of HFUU members to strengthen the regulations regarding the distribution of Hawaiian agricultural products. The county chapters, the state chapters and the national chapter of the Farmers Union speak with one voice, 鈥淭he growers should have the right to determine the quantum required to label a product as originating from the area where it is produced.鈥
The Hawaii Farmer鈥檚 Union United has chapters on each island, and we are offering a different path from the dominant Hawaii agricultural model of the last 150 years. The Hawaii Farmers Union United advocates for the sovereign right of farmers to create and sustain vibrant and prosperous agricultural communities for the benefit of all Hawaii through cooperation, education and legislation.
About the author: Simon Russell is a master gardener and vice president and legislative chairman of the Hawaii Farmers Union United.
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