Coffee farmers can now receive federal relief, with the crop recently becoming eligible for the second round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
The program provides producers with financial assistance that gives farmers the ability to absorb some of the increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced on Sept. 17 that the USDA would expand the program and include coffee. The first round of CFAP funding ran May 26 to Sept. 11.
Coffee producers impacted by the economic fallout from COVID-19 are now eligible to apply for the CFAP-2 payments through Dec. 11. Some $14 million is available to agricultural industry members across the nation.
“We are thrilled the USDA has added coffee to the list of eligible specialty crops for this round of CFAP funding,” said Chris Manfredi, president of the statewide Hawaii Coffee Association.
Manfredi credited the many HCA members who testified on the importance of securing eligibility and others who “went to bat” for Hawaii’s coffee industry. Supporters included Hawaii’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.
“I urge all those who have been impacted, and are now eligible, to apply for CFAP and CARES ACT funding,” he said.
For Kona Coffee and Tea owner Malia Bolton Hind, sales of coffee grown at her family’s 180-acre farm have decreased by more than 50% over last year.
“It’s going to be a tight next three months,” she said, noting the loss of sales with cancellation of the Ironman World Championship in October and the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival in November.
She will be applying for CFAP as well as an SBA loan and the Hawaii County Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and encourages other farmers to do the same.
“We are all hurting. We don’t know when there will be a bounce-back or how long it’s going to take,” she said. “Working as a community and relying on each other is what it is going to take for us to get through this.”
Kona Coffee Farmers Association president Colehour Bondera said one significant things that has come out of coronavirus impacting some coffee farmers is their markets may have shifted.
“For some farmers that is something that is hard to deal with,” said Bondera. “If your coffee market is focused on coffee shops, restaurants or hotels and it turns out those places no longer have the same kind of business, you may have to change how and where you are marketing.”
He said for small farmers who already have one market structure in place, it is difficult to change.
Funding for CFAP-2 is also available to farmers and ranchers impacted by COVID-19. To check funding eligibility visit www.farmers.gov/cfap.