Hawaii Flooding Damages Farms and Reduces Local Produce Supply

Back-to-back storms in March brought the state's worst flooding in two decades to Oahu's North Shore. The flooding damaged crops, livestock, and equipment on small farms that supply local markets.

Officials reported that more than 600 of Hawaii's 6,500 farms sustained damage totaling nearly $40 million. The Hawaii Farm Bureau estimates the full extent of losses reaches $50 million across close to 2,000 farms. One farmer lost lemongrass, cucumber, and okra crops when reddish-brown mud covered his fields.

His niece lost choy sum, bitter melon, tomato, and recently planted banana, coconut, and mango trees.

Plantation-style agriculture dominated Hawaii through much of the late 19th and 20th centuries before declining in the 1990s. Officials later promoted smaller, diversified farms to supply local grocery stores and farmers markets. Hawaii farms often lack crop insurance available to larger mainland operations.

The majority report less than $10,000 in annual sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Available assistance includes federal disaster relief, state emergency grants of $1,500, long-term loans, and a charitable fund that raised about $850,000. Officials are conducting soil safety tests and distributing seeds and plant starts. Some farmers have reduced output at weekend markets.

One family now brings roughly one-quarter of its usual produce, selling 60 pounds of tomatoes instead of 200 pounds. Officials stressed that local agriculture remains important for the isolated state and urged farmers not to abandon operations.