USDA opens aid program to restore Big Island farmland after quake

USDA’s Farm Service Agency is accepting applications through July 31 for the Emergency Conservation Program, the federal disaster-recovery aid that helps agricultural producers restore quake-damaged land to pre-disaster conditions. The program is aimed at farmers and ranchers whose land was damaged by the May 22 earthquake and who need financial and technical help to clean up, rebuild and stabilize their operations.

The county’s emergency proclamation tied to the quake said Civil Defense had received about 207 damage reports, concentrated in Kaū, North Kona and South Kona. The magnitude 6.0 quake struck at about 9:46 p.m. HST, about seven miles south of Hōnaunau-Nāpōopoo and roughly 14 miles deep, and it produced strong to very strong shaking on the west side of Hawaii Island. The damage included substantial impacts to residential structures and to residential, commercial and agricultural water catchment systems.

ECP eligibility is not limited to one type of crop operation. It can cover commercial farming, ranching and orchard land, nursery stock, Christmas tree plantations, grazing land and conservation structures such as waterways, terraces, diversions and windbreaks. Covered restoration work can include debris removal, grading or leveling land, restoring fences, restoring conservation structures and, in drought cases, emergency water measures. The program can pay up to 75 percent of approved restoration costs, or up to 90 percent for producers who qualify as limited resource, socially disadvantaged or beginning farmers and ranchers.

Producers must file a request for assistance with their local FSA office, along with an assessment of the damage, documentation of the disaster impact and a description of the conservation work they plan to do. Producers should document losses with dated photographs, videos and third-party verification, then report to the service center as soon as possible. Because ECP money is subject to annual congressional appropriations and paid on a first-come, first-served basis, producers must meet the July 31 deadline. The Hawaii and Pacific Islands FSA office is at 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 5-108, Honolulu, HI 96850, and the office phone is 808-541-2600. Civil Defense continues to ask residents and businesses to file earthquake damage reports while crews conduct on-site assessments.