Loans offered to businesses who lost money in drought – Deadline to apply for loans is Nov. 7

The Maui News

Small nonfarm businesses in Maui and Hawaii counties that have lost revenue due to drought have until Nov. 7 to apply for a federal disaster loan, the U.S. Small Business Administration reminded residents on Wednesday.

The low-interest loans aim to offset economic losses caused by drought in both counties that began Jan. 1.

Small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.

Tanya Garfield, director of the SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West, said that the loans “may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster’s impact.”

“SBA eligibility covers both the economic impacts on businesses dependent on farmers and ranchers that have suffered agricultural production losses caused by the disaster and businesses directly impacted by the disaster,” Garfield added. “Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the applicant suffered any property damage.”

The interest rate is 3.875 percent for businesses and 2.75 percent for private nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

By law, SBA makes Economic Injury Disaster Loans available when the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture designates an agricultural disaster, which the secretary did on March 7.

Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are not eligible for SBA disaster assistance. However, nurseries are eligible for assistance in drought disasters.

Agricultural enterprises should contact the Farm Services Agency about U.S. Department of Agriculture assistance made available by the secretary’s declaration.

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at disasterloanassistance.sba.gov. They may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

MEO’s Agriculture Micro Grants Program

The Agriculture Micro Grants Program will allow operating farms on Maui, Molokai and Lanai to qualify for grant funds up to $25,000 that will have a direct impact on the availability of:

local produce
local livestock and poultry
and other products
while increasing the farm’s capacity, productivity, name recognition and income.

Requirements:

Operating farms throughout Maui County (crops, livestock, poultry and products)
GET License to conduct business in Hawaii as of July 1, 2020
Provide a copy of their IRS Schedule F form filed for 2019
Business owners and any partners are Maui County residents for a minimum of one year prior to date of application
Preference shall be given to socially disadvantaged farming applicants such as women and Native Hawaiians, and to food-producing farm businesses that operate on less than an aggregate of 12 acres within Maui County who meet the above mentioned criteria,

Grant funds will be approved for one or more of the following:

Expand farm yield capacity and production
Improve safety and health practices
Increase business acumen
Adopt or increase utilization of technology
Adopt or increase business visibility through marketing efforts
No funds will be distributed directly to the farmer. Payment will be made to the vendors providing the service, product or equipment to achieve the program goals and objectives.

Framers receiving grants must provide a report 90 days after receipt of grant documenting goals and objectives were met.

For more information on this program email bdcinfo@meoinc.org or call 249-2990 and ask for David Daly.

Click here to find the link to the program website for more information:
http://www.meoinc.org/content/5f7bc466c3380/Agriculture_Micro_Grants_Program.html

Click here to go directly to the program application:

$20 Million Allocated Toward MauiCARES Task Force Recommendations

MAUINOW

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino announced that the County of Maui has allocated more than $20 million in CARES Act funds toward recommendations made by his MauiCARES Task Force.

The MauiCARES Task Force consisted of more than 30 industry leaders, who identified areas of need and economic recovery opportunities during meetings from July 8 to Aug. 15, 2020. The team provided the Office of the Mayor recommendations for a number of programs and initiatives ranging from farm/ranch grants to support our county food system, to purchasing computers for students in virtual learning environments.

“I want to extend a deep mahalo to all our industry leaders for volunteering their time and effort to make these recommendations for the betterment of our community,” said Mayor Victorino. “My executive team and I carefully reviewed the numerous initiatives brought forth by the task force, and we sought to provide funding to as many of them as possible. There remains a great financial need for our residents and businesses, and we believe these funds will be key in helping them get through this pandemic.”

The MauiCARES Task Force developed its recommendations by focusing on areas eligible for CARES Act funding. This included workforce training, direct grants to businesses and individuals, distance learning and recovery planning/coordination.

The task force broke into six sector teams covering tourism and commerce; food and farm; healthcare; culture, arts and education; housing and construction; and environment. Decisions were guided by four key areas: immediate relief, jobs, duplication and geographic consideration.

“In partnership with members of the Mayor’s administration, this all-volunteer group enlisted the expertise of well-respected leaders in our community to develop proposals believed to offer the highest impact support to our residents,” said Karey Kapoi, MauiCARES Task Force lead facilitator. “It has been a privilege to work alongside these people, and I cannot thank them enough for their guidance, generosity of knowledge, and most of all, their shared commitment to Maui Nui and our people.”

The task force recommendations were broken into two rounds of funding. Round 1 of funding included $5.2 million toward the Adaptability Fund and $1.5 million toward the HealthCARES Hui partnership.

The Adaptability Fund, which is administered by Maui Economic Development Board, looks to support businesses and nonprofits with reopening safely, retooling operations and expanding customer markets virtually. Grants would be given to businesses and nonprofits to help modify operations, including physical space adaptations, expanding virtual platforms and investing into e-commerce.

HealthCARES Hui, which is administered by Hale Makua, is a countywide collaboration with various organizations to create healthcare jobs and expand services for kupuna and families. Funds will be spent on hiring and training staff, expanded nutritious food delivery and providing resources and care management.

Round 2 of funding from the task force recommendations has been allocated to a number of community needs through County partnerships and nonprofits. Mayor Victorino said more details on the various programs will be announced in the near future. Funding highlights include:

  • Continuation of the Hawai’i Emergency Laulima Partnership (HELP) Program, which offers financial assistance for Maui County residents with essential needs such as food, personal hygiene, medicine, rent, mortgage, utility services, phone or internet services and car payments. This would be the fourth round of funding by the County, which has already committed a total of $10 million toward the program.
  • Allocating additional funding to Maui Food Bank, Feed My Sheep and Salvation Army to assist the agencies with purchasing locally grown food and shelf stable products for residents in need. The additional funds would amount to about 8 million pounds of food for Maui County.
  • Improving food security for residents and keiki across Maui County, including support for on-island farmers and producers, as well as hiring of staff to manage intake, packaging and distribution of food to residents.
  • Developing internship program to fund paid-student internships to support businesses and nonprofits upgrade their communication, marketing and engagement strategies, while empowering a skilled new workforce through supervised on-the-job training.
  • Providing temporary employment to residents who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 through environmental efforts, such as conservation/restoration work and improving community infrastructure.
  • Supporting kupuna through virtual education and financial subsidies for personal care. Programs would also help increase independence and confidence through technology to help minimize isolation concerns and increase access to services.
  • Funds to support local entertainers and artists to perform and stream live, while physically distancing.
  • Continuation of the Farm Purchase Program. The program, which launched in April, is a partnership with Maui County Farm Bureau, Hawai’i Farmers Union United, local ranchers as well as farmers on Molokai and Lanai. The program purchases food from local farmers and ranchers, which helps them maintain their workforce and productivity, while providing food for people in need.

Richest Farms Reap Bulk of U.S. Agriculture Aid, Study Shows

Bloomburg
By Kim Chipman

As Republicans and Democrats in Washington try to settle a high-stakes dispute over agriculture aid, a study shows the bulk of billions of dollars in U.S. subsidies going to the country’s biggest and richest farms.

In the 2018-2019 crop years, more than half of about $23 billion in payments from the Market Facilitation Program went to the top 10% of farms, according to the Environmental Working Group, a critic of agribusiness subsidies. The funds are meant to offset harm from the U.S.-China trade war.

“We aren’t really helping people who need the help,” EWG analyst Anne Schechinger said in an interview. “Small farms don’t have a lot of assets to fall back on during hard times and then they are the ones most likely to actually go out of business.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are trying to resolve a disagreement over farm relief that raised the risk of a U.S. federal shutdown on Oct. 1. House Democrats on Monday released a short-term funding bill that lacks $30 billion sought by Republicans for the Commodity Credit Corp., a government-owned entity that aims to stabilize farm income.

Congress Holds Fresh Talks on Stopgap Funding to Avert Shutdown

A study of $5 billion in payments through June 30 under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which is intended to help farmers hurt by the pandemic, shows the top 1% of farms receiving 22% of the money, for an average payment of $352,432. The smallest 80% of farms got 23% of the aid, with the average payment $4,677, according to the advocacy group.

What You Need to Know About Hawai‘i Constitutional Amendment 2

honolulu

Next Tuesday, voters statewide will face five constitutional amendments, two of which relate to agriculture. Get to know what these amendment questions mean before heading to the polls so you can choose either Yes or No, since a blank vote counts as a No. Here’s what you need to know about Amendment 2, which would support the local food industry and agriculture.

What it says:

CON AMEND: Relating to Agricultural Enterprises

“Shall the State be authorized to issue special purpose revenue bonds and use the proceeds from the bonds to assist agricultural enterprises on any type of land, rather than only important agricultural lands?”

What it means:

Special purpose revenue bonds are issued to allow private investors to give loans to borrowers—say, a farmer. The investor, not the state, is responsible for paying back the funds if the borrower falls short. These loans come with a lower interest rate, which benefits the borrower, and the interest is tax-free, which benefits the investor. The state does nothing other than facilitate, meaning no taxpayer money is spent, and the state’s credit is not affected if the borrower doesn’t make payments.

Right now, only 6 percent of Hawai‘i is designated as important agricultural lands. It’s a lengthy and complicated process to apply, says Brandon Lee of Ulupono Initiative, and the designation requires the lands must be used only as ag lands, never for any other purpose, such as development. Farmers on these lands are allowed to seek special purpose revenue bonds; though, according to Lee, none has been granted in the past four years.

“There is an allocation [of bonds],” Lee says. Because the state can’t allow the special bonds for every single project, there are designated categories, such as early childhood education and nonprofit healthcare facilities. “But, roughly, in four years, four or five projects have been approved as special purpose revenue bonds, and none of them under agriculture. Ag hasn’t gotten its fair share.”

Broadening the category from important agricultural lands to ag enterprises on any lands will increase the chances that farmers, ranchers and other ag businesses can get the money they need to update their operations, improve facilities and, ultimately, grow more food.

A Yes vote is a vote for local food

Agriculture grant information session | About Town | 4-21-14

Agriculture grant information session planned for Thursday

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture is inviting the public to an agriculture grant information session and market development workshop from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday at the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Kona Cooperative Extension Service, 79-7381 Mamalahoa Highway in Kainaliu.

Attendees will discuss different funding sources, proposal preparation and reporting and grant requirements. There is no cost to attend but registration is required the day before the event.

For more information, call Marci at 973-9595 or email hdoa.md@hawaii.gov.