USDA Provides more than $2.5 Million to Hawaii to Support Projects that Protect Agriculture and Natural Resources

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Media Contacts:
Cecilia Sequeira, 301-851-4054
K.Cecilia.Sequeira@usda.gov

Suzanne Bond, 301-851-4070
Suzanne.m.Bond@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, January 18, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating more than $2.5 million to Hawaii as part of a nationwide effort to strengthen the country’s infrastructure for pest detection, surveillance, and mitigation, as well as protect the U.S. nursery system. USDA is providing more than $70 million in funding this year to support 350 projects in 48 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The Plant Protection Act Section 7721 gives USDA the authority to provide this funding.

“Hawaii has more than 7,000 farms operated on more than a million acres of farmland. It’s a major producer of macadamia, coffee, papaya and avocado,” said USDA Under Secretary Jenny Moffitt. “These projects will help Hawaii protect its resources and continue contributing to our strong national agricultural economy.”

These funds will support projects covering a range of plant health protection activities, including, but not limited to:

  • $1.4 million to trap, identify and manage invasive fruit flies in the state;
  • $492,183 to support Hawaii’s invasive-pest detector dog program;
  • $275,110 to manage the coffee berry borer, an invasive pest that threatens Hawaii’s coffee bean industry, through the use of biological control organisms;
  • $133,760 to respond to invasive snails and worms in Hawaii;
  • $99,910 to develop a diagnostic catalog for invasive moth introductions in the state; and
  • $51,225 to survey for and manage hala scale.

Since 2009, USDA has supported more than 5,170 projects and provided nearly $809 million in PPA 7721 funding. Collectively, these projects allow USDA and its partners to quickly detect and rapidly respond to invasive plant pests and diseases. These projects also enable our country to maintain the infrastructure necessary to ensure disease-free, certified plants are available to U.S. specialty crop producers.

View the fiscal year 2023 Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 spending plans on the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website: www.aphis.usda.gov/ppa-projects.

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APHIS protects the health of U.S. agriculture and natural resources against invasive pests and diseases, regulates genetically engineered crops, administers the Animal Welfare Act, and helps people and wildlife coexist. We also certify the health of U.S. agricultural exports and resolve phytosanitary and sanitary issues to open, expand, and maintain markets for U.S plant and animal products.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.