$1.8 Million Earmarked for Coffee Borer Beetle Battle

The state and federal governments are teaming up to take on a tiny pest that has been ravaging Big Island coffee farms since 2010.

US Sen. Mazie Hirono today announced the first major federal initiative to battle the coffee berry borer.

The US Department of Agriculture has agreed to spend at least $1 million to fight the pest, Hirono said in a statement.

Hirono said she and other members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation have been working to get funding to fight the beetle inserted into the Farm Bill currently being debated in Congress.

Hirono said she recently convinced Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to take action.

“USDA shares your concerns about the agricultural and economic impacts of this noxious pest,” Vilsack wrote to Hirono in a letter earlier this month. “As such, I am pleased to announce the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service has funded an Area Wide Integrated Pest Management program to aid in controlling the coffee berry borer in the United States.”

Read the entire piece here: http://bigislandnow.com/2013/07/11/usda-to-spend-1-million-battling-coffee-borer-beetle/