Non-Traditional Agriculture for the Caribbean

 Arnold Krochmal Connie Krochmal
 Division of Continuing Education
 University of North Carolina/Asheville
 119 Bell Road, Asheville, NC 28805


 Non-traditional agriculture is a multi-phased approach to
the production of farm crops, and their marketing. Here we
refer only to plant crops, not animal.
 There are parallel approaches required to insure maximum
possibility of a successful and continuing program. Rather
than being compartmentalized, techniques required include
information on production possibilities, market needs, pack-
ing and grading standards, shipment to markets and subse-
quent sales.


 Best results usually follow from using a crop somewhat
familiar in cultural requirements to those grown by local
farmers, and one for which there is an existing market.
Packaging and grading must be uniform and are often best
served by being done at one central point.
 One of the promising areas of production is the harvesting
of marketable forest understory plants concurrently with
planting of small plots of the same plant to produce a
marketable volume.


 The term non-traditional agriculture, is a relatively new one
used to describe an old established approach to agricultural pro-
duction and marketing. It is an inter-disciplinary area in which
agricultural production knowledge must go hand in hand with
marketing skills and organizational activities at all levels of the
operation.
 We will describe some of the non-traditional programs we have
been involved in, each somewhat different from the others, but
all offering potentials for Caribbean agricultural development,
both for export as well as local needs.
 Our first experience in this area was in Afghanistan. Here we
had a great need for hard currency to buy equipment and
manufactured goods of all classes from abroad. We determined
that there were two large categories of farm products available in
quantities sufficient to market, for which there were existing
markets, deciduous fruits and karakul fur. We decided to focus
on the fruit export. We knew that there were strong markets in
Saudi Arabia. We then had to make arrangements for transport.
Study showed that in the fall of the year the Afghans went to
Mecca, and the local airline, under Pan American guidance, had
to fly empty plans to Mecca to bring the pilgrims back. Negotia-
tions with Aryana Afghan Airlines led them to agree to transport
the fruit we wanted to market, to Saudi Arabia in the empty
planes at a modest share of the selling price.
 The next step was to arrange a satisfactory pack of fruit in grad-
ed cartons. We designed a simple shook box. The participating
growers, all small farmers, agreed that our group would provide
the grading of incoming fruits and keep records of the marketable
quantities each farmer provided. This allowed us to have a
uniform pack, important for sound arrival as well as establishing
acceptable quality.
 The shipment sold out at the airport, and led to continued
shipments which later expanded to include karakul fur.
 The essence of the success of this program was a steady supply,
a good strong market, available transportation, and proper pack-
ing and grading.
 The next non-traditional program we launched was here in St.
Croix. The decision had been reached to try to increase fruit and
vegetable production, to sell to hotels during the tourist season,
to maintain farming at some level on the island, and to possibly
provide an export market crop.


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 Export requires a substantial quantity of produce. Work at the
 Federal Experiment Station had shown that the papaya variety
 'Solo' was of high quality, small size, good bearing without irriga-
 tion or supplemental water, and had a larger percentage of bear-
 ing trees than did the criollo varieties. With this in mind, a small
 growers association was launched which agreed to plant small
 quantities of the plants. To insure that we had standard planting
 material, the Federal Station began production of young 'Solo'
 papaya plants, using seeds the first author obtained in Hawaii,
 with the help of Harvey Aluminum of St. Croix.
 Research on disease control was carried on with cooperation
from Dr. Julio Bird of the University of Puerto Rico, and Dr.
George Zentmyer of the University of California. An incorrect
diagnosis of phythphthora was correctly diagnosed by Bird as a
totally new disease, transmitted by insect vectors, and con-
trollable. Funds provided by Harvey Aluminum allowed for in-
coming travel of scientists as needed.
 The plants were produced in plastic shade houses, in black
plastic bags. While this operation continued, contacts were made
with a marketing middleman in Puerto Rico. He made contacts
with Pueblo Supermarkets and Miami outlets. At the same time
Dionisio Trigo, president of Caribair, offered to move the crop to
market at the lowest possible rate, the amount he received for
moving the U.S. mail. Then Pan-American offered to do the
same.
 When the plants were big enough to set out, they were
distributed to the growers. Nine or ten months later, as the fruits
matured, a carton had to be designed. Hawaii, the main source of
'Solo' then and now, produced a larger fruit because of its greater
rainfall. The Caribbean Container Corporation of Puerto Rico
designed a carton for twelve fruits of the size being produced on
St. Croix. Again it was agreed that the growers would bring in the
fruits to the Federal Experiment Station for grading and packing,
to insure standards, and to insure appropriate payment to the in-
dividual. The program took off and did well until two unex-
pected events intervened. One of the leading growers, Norman
Smith of St. Croix, was killed in a plane crash, and the first
author was transferred back to the mainland.
 A very intensive cassava production project was launched, not
for food, but to be used in a proposed alumina plant to be built
in St. Croix. The project of Harvey Aluminum of California was

 PROCEEDINGS of the CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY-VOL. XX