Presidential Address:

 Innovative Technologies for Enhancing

 Food Production Capabilities in the Caribbean

 Darshan S. Padda
 Vice-President for Research and
 Land-Grant Programs
 College of the Virgin Islands



 Fellow agricultural scientists, it is a great privilege and honor for me to deliver this presidential
 address at the 20th annual homecoming meeting of the Caribbean Food Crops Society. The first
 general meeting of the Society was held on St. Croix from October 7 to 11, 1963 under the leader-
 ship of the late Dr. R.M. Bond.
 Since the first meeting of the Society, the Caribbean region has undergone major changes-
 changes that are political, economic, social, demographic and technological in nature. There has
 been welcomed economic and political progress in the Caribbean. This progress is generally ex-
 pressed in statistics that are macroeconomic descriptions. But in actuality, these statistics translate
 into human problems, problems of people: lack of opportunity for growth and inability to share
 the prosperity.
 In spite of a tremendous growth in tourism and tourist related industries, the majority of the
Caribbean people still live in rural areas that depend on agriculture. Their numbers are growing
each year. They seek a secure food supply, stable employment and the hope for upward mobility
so that they can have decent housing, education for their children and economic independence for
their families. They are looking for a road that will lead them toward these goals. For rural people
who love the land, agriculture can provide a stable, respectable, dignified and independent pur-
suit leading to the attainment of these goals. However, the Caribbean farmer, like any other
farmer in the world, cannot do it alone. He needs help. And we, the agricultural scientists, have
the obligation and opportunity to provide that help. The goal for us is clear. The food import bills
for Caribbean countries have more than doubled since 1975, while the average growth rate in the
agricultural sector has slumped to approximately 2% a year compared to 4 to 6% in the 1970s.
With half of the export earnings of 27 countries included in the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI)
coming from agriculture and with most of the population living in rural areas, a sound farm
economy is essential.


VOL. XX-PROCEEDINGS of the CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY