There has been pushback against a request to use taxpayer funds to help the recovery effort for Aloun Farms and Kauaʻi Shrimp following the recent storms that struck the state.
Earlier this month, Aloun Kauaʻi Farming, on behalf of its operations, asked the Agribusiness Development Corporation for $1.85 million. It would cover the next three years of bills such as rent as it recovers from damages it sustained to more than 530 acres of land it uses for farming, and 140 acres for the Kauaʻi Shrimp farm.
It announced last month that it would close Kauaʻi Shrimp permanently because of the damages it sustained.
The ADC board deferred the request on Friday, however, following calls from testifiers to do so.
Opposition mounts to proposed farm bailout
Earthjustice said at the ADC meeting that Kauaʻi Shrimp discharges waste into fishing and recreational waters, and its wastewater has led to fish kills, or mass fish die-offs.
" This discharge from the shrimp farm is occurring at Kinikini Ditch, right at traditional fishing grounds and where people surf and recreate. In our view, this is not the kind of company that deserves a bailout," said Kylie Wager Cruz, a senior attorney at Earthjustice.
Resident Lisa Rhoden said taxpayers shouldn't pay to help one private company when other farmers were also impacted by recent storms.
"Private companies typically explore options such as selling assets or obtaining a loan rather than immediately shifting the financial burden onto taxpayers," Rhoden said at the meeting. "ADC's limited funds should support long-term improvements that benefit all tenants and strengthen Kauaʻi's agriculture infrastructure."
Resident Bonnyjean Manini said the fees paid by Aloun Farms help maintain the Kōkeʻe Ditch Irrigation System, which in turn supports water for west Kauaʻi farmers. Getting rid of those fees will hurt farming on the island, Manini argued.
Manini is a state Department of Hawaiian Homelands lessee in the Pu‘u ‘Ōpae area, home to a farming and irrigation project.
It's maintained by fees from the Kekaha Agricultural Association, a farmer cooperative made up of ADC tenants who have agreed to maintain common areas and infrastructure on Kekaha agricultural land.
Aloun Farms says aid would support food production
Aloun Farms estimated around $4.4 million in damages to buildings and equipment, and about $400,000 in shrimp losses.
President Alec Sou said the state's job is to support food production, which might suffer if Aloun Farms doesn't get the requested help from the state.
" We have a choice, through force majeure and in terms of disaster of a hurricane such as this, to say, 'We're not gonna continue to increase the production of food production in Kekaha,'" he told the ADC board. "We're going to shrink it down. It doesn't make any sense."
He also said that Aloun Farms has brought more land into production, and that much of what it's asking for from the ADC would be used to increase food production.
Its request calls for forgiveness and reduction in rent, fees and other charges for three years.
ADC to consider disaster relief policies
The board's deferral is meant to provide the ADC and other stakeholders time to discuss the request further.
The ADC will also look into adopting formal policies on providing relief for tenants after disasters. It created a permitted interaction group to study potential policies.
