Ken Kamiya can't prevent a repeat of last spring's deluge of rain, which flooded fields and wiped out about half his papaya crop. But now Kamiya can buy insurance that could offset a similar loss in the future.

Starting this year the federal government is making it possible for Hawai'i farmers to insure papaya, banana and coffee crops against weather and pests. However, relatively few farmers so far are taking advantage of the pilot program, which offers subsidized rates as low as $100 per farm. For example, there were 205 papaya farms statewide in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Only 18 policies were purchased by papaya growers for 2007 before a Jan. 1 cutoff.

"Trying to stay in business in farming is difficult anyway," said Kamiya, owner of papaya grower Kamiya Gold Inc., which has seven acres of papaya in La'ie and Waikane. But, "Last year was my worst year in farming in 10 years. I wish we had insurance back then."

The insurance program allows farmers to insure their crop at reduced rates against potential losses. Weather and pest-related losses can jeopardize the future of farming operations, reduce the availability of certain crops and drive up the cost of produce for consumers.

For Kamiya the cost of last year's rain damage was about $45,000, which was not covered by insurance, he said. Kamiya was not alone. The state has no estimate of the total cost of crop losses following last spring's more than monthlong rains. However, the state has given Hawai'i farmers who suffered crop damage 45 emergency low-interest loans valued at $1.65 million.

Papaya growers weren't the only farmers who did not take full advantage of the new insurance. There were only 23 insurance policies sold covering coffee bean damage and three more policies sold covering coffee tree damage. That's a fraction of the 790 coffee growers statewide, according to the USDA. Similarly, there were 190 banana farms in 2005, but only five insurance policies were purchased by banana growers for 2007.

Among the farmers buying insurance was the state's largest banana grower, Richard Ha, president and owner of Mauna Kea Banana Co. and Kea'au Banana Plantation on the Big Island. Ha, who has about 600 acres of bananas in Kea'au and Pepe'ekeo, said it makes sense to buy insurance. At the same time, many farmers likely are unaware of the availability of insurance or are daunted by the application process, he said.

"The reporting requirements will probably discourage a bunch of farmers from buying the insurance," Ha said.

Most of the crop insurance policies sold in Hawai'i only cover so-called catastrophic losses. This type of insurance only costs farmers a $100 administrative fee per crop. However, the policies only pay 55 percent of the price of a commodity on crop losses in excess of 50 percent. The cost of the insurance is low because the government pays the program's overhead costs and subsidizes a substantial portion of premiums.

The federal crop insurance program is administered by the Risk Management Agency, which underwrites crop insurance policies that are sold and serviced by private insurance companies.

Crop insurance is too good a deal to pass up, said Kent Fleming, an extension economist with the University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

"I think every farmer should have that," he said. Not buying crop insurance "is like having a car without car insurance," Fleming said. "On the Mainland if there's crop insurance available, you can't farm without it; banks won't lend you money."

Unlike Mainland farmers, Hawai'i farmers don't have a lot of experience or history with crop insurance.

"I think (interest in insurance) will grow over time, but it's very hard to educate farmers because they've got a lot of competing interests."

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.