Pesticide Workshops Scheduled for Coffee Farmers

The Department of Agriculture is holding two workshops this month in Kona for coffee farmers looking to obtain state subsidies for the purchase of pesticides to help fight the coffee berry borer.

The workshops will be held at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources facility in Kainaliu from 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, and 1-3 p.m. Saturday, June 14.

According to a statement from the Kona Coffee Farmers Association, farmers need to attend one of the workshops to qualify for the subsidy vouchers.

The vouchers cover half of the cost of Botanigard and Mycontrol, which contain the Beauvaria bassiana fungus which kills the beetle.

The KCFA said it has partnered with farm and garden stores in Kailua-Kona and Kealakekua to provide the pesticide.

“KCFA is looking forward to seeing its members at the workshops and hopefully making a significant reduction in CBB infestation rates in North and South Kona for the 2014 growing season,” the association said in a statement.

The $500,000 in state subsidies is part of $2.2 million pledged by the state and federal governments to battle the berry borer, which has caused more than $9 million in damage to the state’s coffee crops since it was discovered in 2010.