Coffee farmers to get licenses in new land deal

PAHALA, Hawaii >> Kau farmers who grow coffee beans on the slopes of Mauna Loa have agreed to enter into new licenses to continue farming the land.

Farmers working with expired land licenses have signed 15-year agreements with the buyer of 6,000 acres near Pahala and Naalehu. The sale could close as soon as next week, finalizing the license agreements, said Jim McCully, local partner to the buyer.

Colorado-based Resource Land Holdings and the farmers have settled on rent that starts at $450 per acre each year, and then increases to $600 by the third year where it will remain for the duration of the contract. The settlement comes after months of negotiations and several drafts of agreements, West Hawaii Today reported.

The new agreement allows farmers to get loans that they have not been able to acquire under old licenses. The contracts would also let the growers assign or sublet their orchards, said Brenda Iokepa-Moses, land manager for RLH.

“This allows them to retire and find another grower to take over, which was never allowable under the old license,” Iokepa-Moses said.

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Associated Press