{"id":115730,"date":"2020-04-09T16:04:21","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T02:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=115730"},"modified":"2020-04-15T13:50:21","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T23:50:21","slug":"pigs-and-papaya-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/04\/09\/pigs-and-papaya-during-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"What do pigs and papayas have in common during COVID-19?"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"pigs\"<\/p>\n

Two local industries hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic have been brought together by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources<\/a> (CTAHR<\/abbr>) Cooperative Extension Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pig farmers had no feed for their pigs and papaya farmers had no market for their papayas. Approximately 75 percent of swine producers\u2019 feed comes from food waste generated by schools, restaurants and hotels. This supply has dwindled radically since Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> residents began sheltering in place. Papaya growers have also found their markets slashed since U.S.<\/abbr> mainland distributors stopped buying papaya during the crisis, as consumers focus on stockpiling canned and other non-perishable items.<\/p>\n

Faced with the shortage, pig farmers quickly switched to purchasing mainland grain. However, this caused a shortage of pig pellets at local feed stores, leaving the islands without feed until the next boat. It is also not a sustainable solution. Pig pellets are more costly and require more fossil fuel to transport, and local farmers have to rely on a supply chain that may break down at any stage. Transporting large amounts of feed also puts a strain on the shipping industry which is already struggling to keep Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> supplied with essentials for humans.<\/p>\n

At the same time, papaya growers were in danger of going under. Approximately 50 families, independent growers and members of the non-profit Hawaii Papaya Industry Association (HIPA<\/abbr>) are in desperate need of immediate assistance. They have no other income than selling papayas, and their market has crashed, yet they do not qualify for unemployment.<\/p>\n