Natural Resources and Forestry
 Most of the Caribbean nations have experienced tremendous growth in both permanent and
transient populations. In the Virgin Islands our population has, for example, doubled in the last
ten years. More and more land is being used for housing, roads and shopping centers. The natural
landscape is changing and trees are disappearing. In many Caribbean areas, these land changes
and clearing of vegetation are upsetting the ecological balance.
 Preservation of genetic diversity in local plant and animal species is necessary to secure supplies
of food and preserve our natural resources and wild life. It is also necessary to ensure that the loss
of species does not impair the effective functioning of ecological processes. The preservation of
genetic diversity is both a matter of insurance and investment, necessary to sustain and improve
agricultural, forestry and fisheries production, to keep open future options as a buffer against harm-
ful environmental changes, and as the raw material for much scientific and industrial innovation.

Integrated Rural Development
 In order to bring about any meaningful change in agricultural production in the Caribbean, an in-
tegrated rural development is of paramount importance. Caribbean farmers live in rural areas and, in
order to achieve success, priority must be given to involve them in policy making and implementa-
tion processes. Access of rural communities to land, water and other natural resources must be im-
proved. Small rural farmers' access to inputs like seeds, plants, machines, chemicals, markets and
services need to be improved. Delivery structures and institutions that are responsive to farmers'
needs must be established. Special programs to meet rural women's education and training needs
must be given priority. Non-farm rural activities and educational facilities for farm children and
adults must be developed. Greater equity in economic opportunities must be insured in order to
enable small farmers to play an important role in increasing food production. Skyrocketing land
values are squeezing the small farmer out of business, and the national governments must take
steps necessary to ensure that young people who choose to farm have access to land.
Appropriate Mechanization and Irrigation Technology
 The use of large size machinery has proven to be inappropriate for most field operations on
small farms and the shallow tropical soils of the Caribbean. Machinery and equipment for small
farms need to be developed on a priority basis. Farmers need to be offered short training courses in
operations and maintenance of farm machines and tools. Mechanization of farms will make farm-
ing more attractive to young people, for if we expect our youth to practice farming, the old tradi-
tional ways have to change and agriculture has to turn into a technology-based business enterprise.
 The use of trickle or drip irrigation has revolutionized crop production in the tropics. Surface ir-
rigation results in loss of water and sprinkler systems encourage disease development on crop
foliage. Drip irrigation provides an optimum amount of water to the root zone on a continuous
basis. Our irrigation specialist has produced unbelievable yields of 92.6 tons/ha of tomatoes and
103.6 tons/ha of watermelons.
Pest and Pesticide Management
 People love the Caribbean for its year round warm climate and, in fact, the U.S. Virgin Islands
are referred to as an American paradise. Unfortunately, pests also find it a paradise and love it. I
remember a few years ago we were discussing priorities for agricultural research in the Caribbean
and Mr. Dean Davis, a former Agricultural Research Service Area director, asked Jose Vincent
Chandler, who is a highly respected agricultural scientist in Puerto Rico, as to what, in his opinion,
is a priority issue in Caribbean agriculture. Jose thought for a while and said, "If somebody could
develop a pill that could be put in the soil and all plant pests would be controlled I would be very
happy." This illustrates the importance of plant protection in the Caribbean. Keeping in mind the
need for pest control and a sensitivity to the use of chemicals that could hurt fragile ecosystems, in-
tegrated pest management is the most viable solution. Authoritative identification of pest,
beneficial and non-target organisms is fundamental to effective pest management. We are pro-
viding diagnostic and referral services on insects, plant diseases, nematodes and weeds, to our
clientele in the Virgin Islands. Also, in tropical climates pesticides deteriorate easily and proper
storage use and disposal safeguards need to be developed.
Development and Transfer of Technology
 Effective research and extension are vital to any drive to modernize agriculture in the Carib-
bean. Whereas we must be aware of the large body of knowledge available at major universities
and international agricultural research centers around the world, we must awaken to the fact that
testing that knowledge under local conditions, demonstration of new technology, and finally the
adoption of new practices by the Caribbean farmer is our responsibility. We need to develop
regional research efforts in certain areas. However, the experimental and demonstration work on
each island is still the basic need. Additionally, continuing education of the farmer in all areas of
agriculture, including production, post-harvest technology and marketing, is of paramount im-
portance. We need vocational agriculture schools, junior colleges, and internship programs for
senior undergraduates and graduate students. Most of the students from the Virgin Islands go to
mainland universities for advanced college educations in agriculture and home economics, but we


PROCEEDINGS of the CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY-VOL. XX