Bill Text: HI HR86 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Resolution 86 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Urging The Department Of Agriculture To Assist Coffee Farmers In Purchasing Organic Fertilizer To Prevent Coffee Leaf Rust.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-1)

Status: (Passed) 2022-03-31 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HR86 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-HR86-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	86
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

URGING THE Department of agriculture to assist coffee farmers in purchasing organic fertilizer to prevent coffee leaf rust.

WHEREAS, coffee is one of the largest agricultural crops in the State and a highly valued commodity in the State's economy; and

WHEREAS, in 2020, coffee leaf rust, caused by a devastating plant pathogen that can devastate fields of coffee plants, was discovered for the first time on the islands of Hawaii and Maui; and

WHEREAS, considered to be one of the most damaging diseases of coffee plants, coffee leaf rust has also been found on Kauai, Lanai, Molokai, and Oahu; and

WHEREAS, the spread of coffee leaf rust on all Hawaiian Islands threatens the viability of the State's coffee industry; and

WHEREAS, Act 105, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014 (Act 105), appropriated funds for the development and implementation of a pesticide subsidy program, which was implemented in 2016, to assist coffee growers with offsetting the cost of purchasing pesticides containing Beauveria bassiana, a naturally occurring fungus known to cause mortality in coffee berry borers; and

WHEREAS, Act 152, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015, established a full-time, exempt, temporary pesticide subsidy program manager position; and

WHEREAS, subsequent legislation extended the sunset dates of the pesticide subsidy program and pesticide subsidy program manager position to June 30, 2023, and June 30, 2024, respectively, and expanded the pesticide subsidy program to also offer subsidies to purchase contact and systemic fungicides that, when combined, are effective against coffee leaf rust; and

WHEREAS, tree health is a vital component in fighting the infestation and spread of coffee leaf rust; and

WHEREAS, according to the Kona Coffee Farmers Association, the cost of fertilizer for the maintenance of coffee tree health is at least equal to the cost of fungicides that are used to control coffee leaf rust on organic farms; and

WHEREAS, the pesticide subsidy program established by Act 105, as amended, does not cover the cost of fertilizer, which prevents coffee farmers from applying and receiving financial assistance for fertilizers that strengthen coffee tree health and immunity to diseases; and

WHEREAS, pesticides and fungicides may present risks to human health and are expensive to obtain and properly store; and

WHEREAS, sustaining coffee tree health reduces reliance on pesticides and fungicides to mitigate the impact of coffee leaf rust; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that the Department of Agriculture is urged to assist coffee farmers in purchasing organic fertilizer to prevent coffee leaf rust; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.