HONOLULU — Hawaii’s congressional delegation has continually urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand its coronavirus relief program to include coffee farmers, but the state’s roughly $50 million coffee industry waits in limbo.
The $16 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, funded through the CARES Act, provides money to farmers that have seen a 5% or greater reduction in yield. Producers of wool, livestock, dairy and crops such as apples, carrots and potatoes are eligible for the program. Coffee farmers are not, despite being the second most valuable commodity produced in the state, according to the Hawaii Coffee Industry’s website.
Leo Noberte, 75, works eight hours a day, seven days a week to tend to his 50-acre coffee farm in Kau, Hawaii Public Radio reported Tuesday. Noberte said he has lost over $20,000 per month since the pandemic began.
“I sell all roasted to all the store but now no can…
