Hawaii's recent catastrophic flooding has devastated local farms, leaving many farmers struggling and reducing the availability of fresh vegetables at markets. The reddish-brown mud that smothered Bok Kongphan's farm on Oahu's North Shore has hardened in the tropical sun. Irrigation tubes lie tangled where his lemongrass, cucumber, and okra once flourished. His niece, Jeni Balanay, also lost her crops — choy sum, bitter melon, and tomatoes — while the leaves of her newly planted banana, coconut, and mango trees have yellowed, unlikely to survive.
Widespread Damage Across Oahu's North Shore
Across the area famed for big-wave surfing, small farms that help supply the island's food are struggling after back-to-back storms in March brought the state's worst flooding in two decades. Officials are pleading with farmers not to give up, emphasizing that local agriculture is crucial for the isolated archipelago. “In some cases entire farms have been wiped out,” said Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. “These are farmers who were just days or weeks away from harvesting and now they have to start over.”
According to data collected by farming advocates, more than 600 of Hawaii's 6,500 farms reported nearly $40 million in damage, including to crops, livestock, and machinery. However, Miyamoto said the farm bureau estimates the full extent is much broader — $50 million at close to 2,000 farms.
Challenges for Hawaii's Small Farms
For most of the late 19th and 20th centuries, plantation-style agriculture dominated Hawaii, with companies like Dole growing immense fields of sugarcane or pineapple for export. That large-scale monoculture faded by the 1990s, and officials began promoting smaller farms with a wider array of crops sold locally. Worldwide shipping disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the importance of local food supply, leading the state to offer additional support, including infrastructure money, a farm-to-school program, and loans for those denied credit. However, Hawaii farms are often too small and diversified to afford or qualify for crop insurance. Many farmers are immigrants barely eking out a living even before the storms, Miyamoto noted. The majority of Hawaii's farms report less than $10,000 in annual sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Farmers Face Devastation Without Insurance
Without insurance, Kongphan, an immigrant from Thailand, has been seeking government aid and figuring out how to level earth moved by floodwaters. His niece has helped him and other Thai farmers navigate the process. Available help includes federal disaster relief, one-time $1,500 emergency grants and long-term loans from the state, and a charitable fund that raised about $850,000 after the floods. Many farmers also have online fundraising pages. Kongphan called the floods “very devastating” but said he will continue working his 5-acre plot, growing vegetables he sells at farmers markets, a swap meet, and shops in Honolulu's Chinatown. Balanay, who learned farming from her mother after the family immigrated, isn't sure she wants to continue. “Will it happen again?” she asked. “When you look at the land and it’s all destroyed, you want to give up.”
Government and Community Response
The flooding is the latest crisis for Hawaii's farmers, on top of wildfires, pests, and volcanic tephra, said state agriculture official Sharon Hurd. “These are the farms that we really need to get started again,” Hurd said. “We cannot have them give up.” Officials have been conducting tests to assure farmers their soil is safe and providing seeds and plant starts. Some farmers have been unable to attend farmers markets, a key income source. Many who do have less to offer, Miyamoto said. Farmer Kula Uli'i reported bringing roughly one-quarter of their usual output — instead of 200 pounds of tomatoes, they might sell 60 pounds. They lost starts due to be planted this month and face months of limited harvest. Even the taro, which thrives in water, is lost after being submerged in flood contaminants. “It’s all gone,” Uli'i said. “We can’t use any of it.”
