Today we started our day by visiting a banana plantation. We were able to walk through the fields and see the fruit growing around us. We even used some of the fresh plantains to help make lunch. So cool!
In the afternoon, we traveled down the road to an organic pineapple plantation. Here we took a tractor around the farm and saw different stages of the pineapple, and I even got to harvest one! We also were able to sample fresh fruit and even have a piña colada!
When looking at the supply chains of coffee vs fruit, coffee seems much more complex with more “middlemen”. For fruit, there is a grower, then an exporter. Very simple! In terms of sustainability, both bananas and pineapple plantations use all of the crops, making sure to not waste anything. They also take good care of the workers, giving them health insurance and other benefits. One threat that bananas face is diseases. Bananas are often or always one single species, making them vulnerable to one disease wiping them out. Pineapples face issues with climate change and weather conditions, similar to many other crops.
If I had to choose to work at a coffee, banana, or pineapple plantation, I would choose a pineapple plantation because there is always good fruit for lunch and because of the benefits that they have!
Flower Time!
