posal, the "cut and carry" system, which involves more
 work but is easier to manage and involves less capital at the
 start.
 As a developmental tool, the TRD project has already used this
classification for two orientations. A proposal has been made for
the development of pig production oriented towards small
farmers (types IIIa, IIIb). Efforts have been made to organize an
adequate credit facility with IFAD, and develop a technical pat-
tern of feeding (trials on feeding with reject bananas and sup-
plements). The TRD project has also supported a Health and
Nutrition Project, established by a heath and agricultural team of
the district, whose aim is to ensure better nutrition to some poor
families of the area (mainly from type Vc "woman alone," and Vb
"aged couples") by helping them to establish small backyard
gardens to produce vegetables for the home consumption.

Further Investigations
 With the help of the Extension Officers and based on a recent
"Farm Register Survey" conducted with all the farmers of
Dominica, the TRD project has tried to get a first estimation of


the repartition of the farmers of the district between the different
classes, with absolute and relative figures.
 This exercise has pointed out some of the weaknesses of the
classification system. One example is that the district was con-
siered as one homogenous area; it appears that in fact the
classification is better suited for the northern part of the district,
which is more oriented towards banana production, than for the
southern one, which is more oriented toward traditional crops
such as bay leaf and cassava. The differences between these two
areas seem to be due more to historical factors (later arrival of the
road and settlement of boxing plants in particular) than to
ecological ones (the variation of rainfall, temperature, and soils is
not very significant from north to south).
 Another problem with this classification system is that it is dif-
ficult in some cases to classify the farmers because the criteria for
separation are sometimes structural (total available acreage), and
sometimes functional (main income from agriculture).
 A more systematic approach is needed to make this classifica-
tion system more practical, and to allow scientific control of its
validity.


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