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Abstract
The Sub-Regional Office of the Caribbean of the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO-SLC) facilitated the collation of information on sustainable production
practices in Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, Grenada and St. Lucia. The study, carried out by the Caribbean Agricultural
Development and Research Institute (CARDI) on behalf of the FAO, aimed to identify the use of
some of the 'tried-and-tested' methods in order to promote them by making them available to the
wider agricultural community in the Region. This is in keeping with FAO's sustainable crop
production intensification (SCPI) objective, which aims to increase crop production per unit area,
taking into consideration all relevant factors affecting productivity and sustainability, including
social, political, economic and environmental impact. In the current study, 'sustainability' included
environmental, financial and socio-economic elements. Current practices were determined via onfarm
observation and inquiry, as well as by reviewing marketing and legislative protocols.
Activities of over 2000 producers were drawn from individual interviews, field inspections,
Extension Officer reviews, and structured group sessions. Whilst several practices were seen to be
endemic and common to all seven countries, there were subtle inter- and intra-island differences.
Results indicate that in all countries, sustainability was more commonly defined in terms of
environmental aspects by way of soil and water conservation, and ' sustainable' practices dealt with
land clearing, erosion reduction and soil improvement. Additionally, water conservation as
opposed to rainwater harvesting and storage was a central pursuit. Appropriate cropping patterns
and other farming practices were largely determined by geography. There was a reasonable level
of understanding of the benefits of biodiversity as related to sustainability. Interestingly, there were
some practices which were not as widespread that could be expanded, and others that were
widespread but not effectively executed. Several recommendations are presented based on the
amalgam of practices recorded, on the areas of land use, soil quality, water use and reuse,
environmental sustainability, and financial sustainability.