TABLE 5. Selected characteristics of small farms, U.S. Virgin Islands: 1960, 1975, 1983. All Under 3 ac. 3-9 ac. 10-19 ac. 20-49 ac. Fars Ave. size farm (ac.) 1983 1.6 5.2 13.1 30.3 68.7 1975 1.1 5.5 12.8 28.6 75.5 1960 1.4 5.4 13.6 32.4 87.9 % Acreage in cropland 1983 50.4 41.1 28.0 32.9 8.8 1975 30.6 34.6 22.0 27.6 10.0 1960 39.5 44.2 42.1 30.8 25.7 % Acreage in pasture 1983 18.8 36.5 43.5 49.1 76.6 1975 21.0 35.6 44.0 41.0 62.6 1960 8.6 22.0 32.6 38.7 48.8 % Acreage in woodlands, etc. 1983 30.8 22.4 28.5 18.0 14.6 1975 48.4 29.8 34.0 31.4 27.4 1960 51.9 33.8 25.3 30.4 25.6 % Operators on farm (2-4 years) 1983 24.0 11.4 12.5 20.6 15.5 1975 24.8 10.6 25.7 15.2 17.7 1960 35.7 17.6 19.5 17.5 20.8 % Operators born in USVI 1983 57.3 64.9 71.9 67.6 66.3 1975 67.9 76.6 60.0 60.6 69.1 1960 69.6 55.3 55.2 49.1 57.5 % Operators working 200 or more days off farm 1983 53.3 53.5 37.5 35.3 45.5 1975 36.7 31.9 54.3 30.3 34.3 1960 50.0 51.3 35.6 42.1 46.5 % Farms using tractors 1983 5.3 8.8 25.0 29.4 18.2 1975 2.8 5.3 14.3 30.3 13.1 1960 0.0 1.0 1.1 3.5 6.0 % Farms using machines 1983 22.7 37.7 43.8 55.9 39.6 1975 13.8 16.0 11.4 27.3 23.2 1960 12.5 19.6 23.0 24.6 19.4 % Farms hiring labor 1983 12.0 21.1 25.0 44.1 27.7 1975 17.4 29.8 22.9 48.5 33.9 1960 12.5 32.6 29.9 26.3 30.3 % Farms purchasing feed 1983 64.0 66.7 59.4 58.8 70.0 1975 77.1 57.4 51.4 63.6 67.3 1960 25.0 22.1 28.7 22.8 24.8 % Farms purchasing fertilizer 1983 25.3 22.8 18.8 20.6 21.8 1975 11.9 23.4 28.6 24.2 19.9 1960 5.4 8.5 13.8 14.0 11.6 % Commercial farmsl 1903 65.3 68.4 71.9 76.5 71.6 1975 34.9 59.6 54.3 63.6 54.1 1960 30.4 22.6 37.9 38.6 36.3 SOURCE: See Table 2. 1Commercial farms indicate sales of $2,500 per year. TABLE 6. Distribution of total livestock and poultry production by small farm size. U.S. Virgin Islands, 1960 and 1983'. Under 3 acres 3-9 acres 10-19 acres 20-49 acres Total under S of total cattle 1983 1.5 2.6 1.6 5.6 11.3 1960 0.1 1.0 1.1 2.3 4.5 % of total hogs 1983 22.6 38.4 5.8 9.9 76.7 1960 17.2 25.1 10.8 10.6 46.5 % of total sheep 1983 13.5 15.2 5.3 24.9 58.9 1960 1.1 19.1 6.3 7.3 33.8 % of total goats 1983 13.5 30.3 14.1 17.8 75.7 1960 11.1 20.4 15.8 17.1 64.4 % of total chickens 4 months and over 1983 5.g 88.2 1.5 2.9 98.4 1960 5.9 44.3 13.1 3.8 67.1 % total turkeys and other poultry 1983 42.6 39.5 7.2 89.3 1960 18.8 32.5 27.4 1.0 79.7 Total eggs sold (doz.) 1983 0.7 99.0 (D)2 (D)2 99.7 1960 1.1 39.7 11.3 0.9 53.0 SOURCE: See Table 2 All figures 3re percentages ocf total territorial trodjction. 2Data rot reporter because disclos.r. t;uid re.l] inr individual farn identification. 20 specialization toward small livestock, but also some institutional distortions. For example, the extent of commercial farming (sales of $2,500) has certainly been affected by inflation. In addition, the increasing usage of hired machines/custom work may partly be influenced by the increased availability of subsidized clear- ing/spraying, etc., services provided by the USVI Department of Agriculture. Moreover, the comparatively high pasture acreage share of the two larger small-farm types (10-19 acres and 20-49 acres) may partly reflect merely "running a few goals" to avoid taxation and reduce the cost of holding land for speculative pur- poses. Land in the USVI certified as agricultural is eligible for a 95 % property tax exemption and a 90% farm income tax refund. These measures were implemented to retain land in agriculture but do not prevent realty speculation since on small farms with limited farm effort and income "the capital gain that can be realized is so much larger than the value of the tax break. .. " (D. Padda, et al. 1978). Finally, it is noteworthy that the smallest holdings of under 3 acres over the entire period were operated by the highest percen- tage of young farmers (2-4 years on farm). This can be primarily explained by the very minimal entry barriers assumed for such small farms in terms of relatively low startup costs, capital re- quirements, and labor effort. However, in conjunction with a sharp decline in the proportion of operators born in the Virgin Islands recorded only for farms under 3 acres between 1960 and 1983 (Table 5), this uncharacteristically large percentage of young small farmers may partly reflect the impact of massive West In- dian migration to the territory during the 1960's tourism and con- struction boom (De Albuquerque and McElroy, 1982). The sharply falling levels of new farmers for most all farm classes be- tween 1960 and 1983 indicate not only the increasing attrac- tiveness of nonfarm alternatives, but also the consequences of ris- ing population densities and an accomodative pattern of subur- ban sprawl on realty values and hence rising entry barriers. Relative Productivity Tables 6 and 7 present data on the relative importance of the small-farm sector in the territory's agricultural economy, and on the differing productivity of the four small-farm classes. Although these small-scale holdings contained approximately on- ly 10% of the total agricultural land, by 1983 they accounted for the bulk of production in hogs, goats, sheep, chickens, other poultry, and eggs. In every case, their share of production in- creased over the 22-year period with the largest gains in hogs, sheep, and poultry products. By 1983 small farms produced three-fourths of all hogs and goats in the USVI and over 90% of poultry products. Regarding fruits/nuts, the data available (1983 only) show that the small-farm sector accounted for 90-95 % of all limes/lemons and papayas, 80-90% of avocados and oranges, and 70-75% of all bananas, coconuts and grapefruits. Within the four small-farm classes, 3-9 acre plots demonstrated highest shares of total output in hogs, goats, chickens, and eggs while-again in terms of gross output shares-20-49 acre units dominated cattle and sheep raising, and under 3 acre units dominated other poultry (Table 6). The numerous 3-9 acre holdings, containing over one-third of total farms in 1983, also dominated the production of fruits/nuts: specifically avocados, bananas, coconuts, mangoes, and oranges (Table 7). The 20-49 acre holdings dominated grapefruits and limes/lemons while plots under 3 acres accounted for the highest production of papayas. In summary, these data identify the 3-9 acre holdings as the most productive in terms of the gross output contribution to the insular economy for the limited livestock/products examined. This is not surprising since such units contain almost half of the labor (as measured by number of farm operators) in the small-farm sector and 28% of the acreage (computed from Table 2). The experience of other Caribbean PROCEEDINGS of the CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY-VOL. XX