Patsy T. Mink: “I recently introduced H.R. 473, to ensure that farmers who suffer crop losses due to plant viruses and plant diseases…”

“I recently introduced H.R. 473, to ensure that farmers who suffer crop losses due to plant viruses and plant diseases are eligible for crop insurance and noninsured crop assistance programs and that agricultural producers who suffer such losses are eligible for emergency loans. Pandemics of plant viruses and diseases regularly destroy the crops of entire farms and often the crops of entire geographic areas. A single plant virus or disease outbreak can send farms into bankruptcy and farmers are left without any means of recovering. Agriculture producers can qualify for emergency loans when adverse weather conditions and other natural phenomena have caused severe physical crop property damage or production losses, however, under current law, crop viruses and diseases are not considered 'natural disasters' and thus are not eligible for these types of loans. For example, in Hawaii, the State recently ordered the eradication of all banana plants on the entire island of Kauai and in a 10 square-mile area on the Big Island in an effort to eradicate the banana 'bunchy top' virus.”