A statewide drop in tourism numbers and lingering impacts from the Maui wildfires are continuing to affect island farmers, Warren Watanabe, executive director for the Maui County Farm Bureau, told Pacific Business News.
The restaurants that burned down in Lahaina need time to get permits to rebuild — if they plan to rebuild at all, Watanabe said.
"The farmers lost that market," he said. "And I don't think there's other businesses on Maui that can make up the difference."
Statewide tourism numbers are also down, he said. Visitor numbers for Hawaii were down 8% in June compared to the same time period in 2019, as reported by PBN earlier this week.
Tourism is "part of the market that our farmers were supplying," Watanabe said. Chefs, including Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, have been supportive of using locally grown products, but with fewer people going to hotels and restaurants, the demand for that food is down, he explained.
In the immediate aftermath of the fires, food distribution and meal preparation by several groups for fire survivors allowed farmers to recover some of their expenses and continue operations, Watanabe added.
Immediately after the wildfires, Denise Yamaguchi, executive director of the Hawaii Ag Foundation, worked closely with the Maui County Farm Bureau to help farmers find new buyers for their produce, she told PBN in September 2023.
Watanabe hopes the community will support local producers at farmers markets and mom-and-pop stores, and ask larger grocery stores to carry more locally grown food.
"It always starts with the consumer," he said. "Continue to support the local farmers and ranchers. Ask for their products."
