Getting the soil cleared and tilled remains hectic. Meme division is located in the rain forest. Trees abound, making it challenging to use tractors. The other concern tackles young people. They are fond of white collar jobs. The scarcity of workforce seeks sustainable solutions. Another issue deals with farm inputs. Pineapple farming is so demanding with regards to pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Unfortunately, farmers are heavily charged, limiting their access to those inputs. One top headache is linked to farm to markets roads. 6 months out of 12, they are useless.
Even 4 wheel drive cars hardly ply those roads. The rainy season becomes the devil’s time. The crops that are harvested end up getting rotted. City dwellers find themselves without fruits while inputs fail to reach farmers in the bush. The price of pineapples is an additional misfortune. It lacks stability, thus jeopardizing possible and serious forecast, and planning. Things are made worse due to the very nature of pineapples. Fruits are perishable. It happens in a short while. The bargaining power of farmers is then diluted, with the purchaser always having an edge on the grower.