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Pineapple Ends Reign in Hawaii
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"Everyone is trying to do what we're doing here," said Laakea Kamauoha, president of the Kamauoha Foundation, which educates farmers and helps get their products to market. "Noni is a product that we're looking to use to get farmers back on the land. A lot of land is now open."
Macadamia nut production also has increased in recent years, as more pineapple fields become available, said Dana Gray, chairman of Oils of Aloha, which processes macadamia nut oil.
"There's an impression that after sugar and pineapple went, agriculture was dead, and we would just turn the islands over to tourism. That's not the case," Gray said.
At Dean Okimoto's herb and salad greens farm in Waimanalo, the narrow green rows of inches-high arugula, basil and chili peppers add to dishes at 120 restaurants.
"Farmers are having to change to meet market demands," said Okimoto, president of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.
In many ways, the loss of pineapples is a natural response to globalization trends, said Sandra Lee Kunimoto, Board of Agriculture chairwoman. Poorer countries have lower labor and land costs, and it's more efficient for them to grow common fruits in bulk, she said.
A Hawaii pineapple brand, Maui Gold, emphasizes its sweet, juicy flavor and its local origins to attract customers, said Brian Nishida, president of Maui Pineapple Co.
"Imagine being a tourist and coming to Hawaii and not having pineapple," Nishida said. "We are very much niche players. . . . We believe that gives us an advantage over the mass marketers."
