Caribbean Travels

Organic farmers are definitely alive and well in the Caribbean! I spent the week in St. Vincent and the Grenadines during the Caribbean Week of Agriculture and got to rub noses with several other people who are either planting organically or who are supporting regional organic farmers/gardeners.

One of the best connections was with Clive Bishop - the head of the St. Vincent Association of Organic Farmers. Not only has he helped to organize a wonderful group, but his grasp of agriculture in general means that he has a broad understanding of the issues and yet he has the clarity that natural farming methods bring to the picture.

I met farmers everywhere. Driving mini-vans, on the beach, in the shops, everywhere. Whoever is not planting at present used to plant. The soil is indescribable. To a Trini accustomed to the pathetic top soil that we have allowed to become more pathetic, the black heavy soil just looks good enough to eat. Why bother to plant anything (smile).

But there are some agricultural problems in St. Vincent. Many agricultural problems. Most of them would not exist if a permaculture approach were taken in the country but then how would people make big big bucks? And some people in St. Vincent agriculture do. With these big big bucks and the monoculture approach that allowed the big bucks to be made you can imagine the accompanying problems - overdependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, serious disease (first it was the fruit fly and now it is moko), and who knows what else. Do St. Vincent banana farmers have the cancer and infertility that has been detected in such communities in Martinique? I don't know but why shouldn't they?

The good news is that
1) Moko (a disease mainly found in St. Vincent) does not respond to chemical measures (just as the fruit fly didn't) and so obviously a biological control will have to be found - thus paving the way for reduced pesticide use. I found a good article on Moko treatment using EM (Effective Microorganisms - an amazing cocktail) Here's the link - http://www.agribusinessweek.com/controlling-moko-disease-in-bananas-with-em-application/
2) With the demise of the large scale banana industry there is a search for a different way to do things. Hopefully monoculture and heavy pesticide use will be seen for the rubbish that they really are.
3) Through the extensive cultivation of cannibis in St. Vincent young people have had some exposure to planting and to a version of agri-business. No, people don't talk about marijuana in agricultural conferences but when I spread the word on Facebook that I was going to St. Vincent even I - a hardcore non-supporter of anything but medicinal cannabis use - got lots of recommendations about the high-level 'grade' available all over the country. The fact is that it is one of the most important agricultural crops in St. Vincent (and in some other islands). Maybe one day we will be free to talk about this truth in agricultural circles.
4) Trinidad and Tobago has the ability to import a fair variety of produce from St. Vincent - unlike the crazy restrictions on produce from almost every other Caribbean nation. So that means that we should expect by mid-2009 there will be regular freighters from St. Vincent bringing high-quality organic produce to Trinidad and Tobago! What do you think?

I would love to go back again and visit the windward side properly. This is where much of the agriculture takes place and it is also the area from which most of my maternal ancestors came. Let me know what your experiences have been in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.