Federal coverage would be for natural disasters In past years, Kaua’i tropical fruit growers have lost their crops because of attacking pesticides, fungi or lack of water, resulting in bankruptcies and hardships for families. Protecting farmers from such setbacks through
Federal coverage would be for natural disasters
In past years, Kaua’i tropical fruit growers have lost their crops because of attacking pesticides, fungi or lack of water, resulting in bankruptcies and hardships for families.
Protecting farmers from such setbacks through federal insurance coverage will be among topics that will be discussed during statewide meetings scheduled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the next seven days.
The University of Hawai’i-Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources is a co-sponsor of the meetings.
Some Kaua’i tropical fruit growers may have insurance, but the federal insurance coverage would increase the survival of their farms with federal coverage, said Roy Oyama, president of the Kaua’i Farm Bureau.
“The farm bureau supports it, and we want the insurance, in case there is a storm or hurricane,” Oyama said. “At least with insurance, we know they won’t lose everything.”
A meeting for Kaua’i is scheduled for Thursday at the state Department of Agriculture office in Lihu’e from 2:30 to 5 p.m.
The meetings around the state, which begin today and continue through next Wednesday, are intended to educate farmers about crop insurance and to elicit information for a study by AgriLogic Inc., a Texas-based agricultural consulting firm, on the feasibility of insuring tropical fruit farmers, according to Kent Fleming, an official with UH-Manoa on O’ahu.
“To create an effective crop insurance program, we need to hear from the growers,” said Fleming.
Fleming said that Hawai’i lags far behind other states and U.S. territories in securing federal insurance coverage for damaged tropical plants.
The situation might exist because Hawai’i tropical flower growers unaware of the existence of such financial assistance, Fleming said.
Under the program, large corporate farming operations and small farmers would be eligible for the insurance coverage, he said, noting “one acre to 5,000 acres is irrelevant.”
The study takes into account coffee, guava, bananas, pineapple, papaya, mango, rambutan, atemoya and lychee.
Crop insurance is currently only available to macadamia nut farmers and nurserymen.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
