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Agriculture biologique en Martinique

 | 
Martine François
, 
Roland Moreau
, 
Bertil Sylvander

Part One. Synopsis and recommendations. English Version

Introduction – Why consider organic farming?

Texte intégral

Martinique: a Caribbean island and a French overseas department

1Martinique is an island of the Lesser Antilles (map 1, insert), in the Caribbean Sea, between Dominica and Santa-Lucia (see map 2, insert). While its climate, culture and agriculture are similar to those in neighbouring islands, it is governed by French and European Union law, having the status of a French overseas Department (DOM). Like Guadeloupe, Reunion Island and French Guiana, Martinique is governed both as a Department and as a Region. All three entities are governed by French law, but with special provisions governing exports and taxation. These provisions also apply within the European Union, which classes them as "ultraperipheral regions".

2Martinique therefore has the benefit of French social security provisions and services, which severely limits the competitiveness of its labour force compared to neighbouring islands and countries.

3This dual membership of the Caribbean community and the French nation has marked the island's history and still affects its development. The people of Martinique must take this into account in planning their future.

Martinique's main economic sectors: bananas and the tourist trade

4Martinique's main involvement in world trade is through tourism and exports of its two main cash crops, bananas and cane sugar for rum distilling. Metropolitan France takes 72 % of its exports and supplies 79 % of its tourists (figures for 2001). The export cover rate is low, and worsened in 2001 (17 %). There is little trade with other Caribbean countries.

5In Martinique and the other French DOMs, the tertiary sector has been playing an increasing role since the 1970s, owing to increasing employment in the public services and tourist trade. The farm sector is declining and industry is developing only slowly. The island's resources partly depend on state transfers and European aid, making its economy a consumer economy. This is an economy that creates few jobs; unemployment and lack of job security are high and are increasing faster than in metropolitan France. However, living standards have risen fast in the past twenty years and are much higher than in neighbouring Caribbean countries.

Agriculture in an urbanised island

  • 1 UAA: utilised agricultural area.

6Utilised agricultural area has been shrinking fast. Martinique has been called an "urban island", and a part of its agriculture "peri-urban", owing to its omnipresent (and increasingly dense) scattering of houses. In the thirty years between 1973 and 2000, 37 % of Martinique's UAA1 was withdrawn from agricultural use. This trend has slowed, however, and UAA now seems to be stabilising at about 32,000 hectares. One of the main worries for Martinique's agricultural officials is that there may not be enough farmland left to maintain agriculture on the island in the medium to long term. Many of Martinique's farms are classed as "peri-urban".

Table 1 - Martinique in figures

Table 1 - Martinique in figures

A growing but ageing population

7At the last census in 1999, the population of Martinique stood at 381,500, 5 % up since the previous census in 1990. Between those dates the average age of the population rose from 32 to 35 years, and the proportion of people over 60 years of age rose from 14 % to 17 %. Population density is high (346/km2), so that pressure on the habitable parts of the islands is intense. On the agriculture side, pressure on arable land has led to land speculation. Land is not available for farming, and this trend could worsen in future. The average number of people per household is 2.9 compared to 2.4 in metropolitan France. Whereas in metropolitan France retirement pensions amount to 17 % of national income, in Martinique they amount to only 7 % of local income. Contrary to a widespread belief, household incomes in Martinique come mainly from economic activity, and only to a lesser extent from government allowances such as the Revenue Minimum d'Insertion. Private sector wages are equal to or below those in metropolitan France. Food accounts for 26 % of household consumer spending compared to 14 % in metropolitan France. If organic food means bigger food bills, only a limited percentage of consumers will be able to afford it. The unemployment rate is high, at 26.3 % in 2000 compared to 10 % in metropolitan France. The farming population amounts to 14 % of the economically active population, higher than in metropolitan France. An essential feature of Martinique's farming households is that many draw income from more than one economic activity – a key point for understanding the island's many smallholdings.

Mountains and rain in the north, drier areas in the south

8Martinique can be divided into three climatic zones with markedly different agricultural potentials. The combined effects of relief and exposure result in a well-watered region in the mountainous north and a far drier region in the south. But in the northern part, the Caribbean coast (west coast) receives less rain than the Atlantic coast (east coast) because of the warm, dry wind from the mountains (föhn effect).

9So the climatic zoning of Martinique is as follows (map 3 insert):

  • A low rainfall area in the south, distinctly dry along the coast;
  • Microclimates in the centre-south of the island, where the rugged country changes abruptly between sheltered spots and fully exposed areas within a few hundred yards.
  • A moist northern zone, but which is wetter on the east (Atlantic) coast. The west (Caribbean) coast can be distinctly dry.

10The dry season lasts three months, from January to April. During the wet season the water balance is in surplus throughout the island, with considerable surface runoff and underground flow.

11Pest pressure is potentially more severe in the wetter north, and this is a limitation for organic farming. Lack of water in the south means less pest pressure but makes it necessary to water crops, especially as certain features of the soils in this part of the island make them more susceptible to drought. So there could be competition for water resources in the south.

12Furthermore, Martinique is in a cyclone risk zone. Tropical storms and hurricanes bring winds that destroy crops and fierce, long-lasting rainstorms that can cause erosion. Over the centuries a number of these storms have devastated crops. In 1713, 1724, 1766 and 1780 hurricanes destroyed a large proportion of the island's coffee and cacao plantations (these crops were then abandoned), and those of 1963, 1967 and 1970 caused massive destruction in the banana plantations. Tropical storms can be a handicap for tree crops, whether organically or conventionally grown.

Crop farming in Martinique

From cacao to bananas: two centuries of innovation in export crops

13Crop farming became the driving force in Martinique's economy in the early 18th century. French settlers who were allocated 25-hectare plots planted coffee, cacao, indigo and tobacco. When hurricanes devastated the coffee and cocoa plantations installed by the first trading companies, they were replaced with sugar cane, grown for sugar production from the 17th to 19th centuries and for rum from the early 20th century. The history of sugar cane farming in Martinique is bound up with its history of colonisation and slavery: the cane plantations depended on the cheap labour of the African slaves. Slavery was definitively abolished in 1848. In 1946 the island became a Department of France, with the result that labour costs rose and only the most profitable distilleries could survive. Today, sugar cane farming and the rum distilleries are focusing on a high-value-added product with an "AOC" protected designation of origin. This enables small distilleries to remain profitable in today's economic context. The Galion sugar refinery, the only one left In Martinique, is in serious deficit and is subsidised by the authorities.

14The decline of sugar cane marks the beginning of a thriving banana sector. Exports to metropolitan France developed from the early 20th century and flourished in the 1950s. Several climatic incidents in the 1960s prompted the government to subsidise the industry. But international negotiations soon made it clear that banana output, already in surplus on the European market, could not be supported indefinitely. From 1968, Martiniquan output was restricted to 215,000 tonnes. Banana growing in Martinique is now subsidised by the European Union. There were 9,308 hectares under banana in 2000 and the acreage is increasing, especially in the south of the island.

15Banana growing involves heavy inputs of fertiliser, insecticides, nematodes and fungicides. This is polluting the land and rivers, although growers are now trying to reduce the nuisance caused. The population is increasingly aware that the chemicals used are persistent and a danger to human health. Growers will have to change their cropping system to a low-input system, integrated farming systems or organic farming.

16The pineapple is thought to have been brought to Martinique by the Arawaks. The first pineapple processing factory opened in 1908. Production increased to about a thousand hectares in the 1960s, but then declined because it was not sufficiently competitive. In 2000 there were only 510 hectares under pineapple. Most of the output is crushed and packaged as “crush” for the food industry. Although a pineapple crop is less polluting than a banana crop, the chemicals used may add to the pollution of soils and surface water.

17Traditional mixed farming with Caribbean food crops and livestock has been in decline since the late 19th century. There are several reasons for this. Consumer tastes have changed as living standards and urbanisation increased, inexpensive imported products have become available and farm structures have changed.

Agriculture in Martinique today: mainly banana and sugar cane

18Banana and sugar cane, the island's main crops, occupy 29 % and 10 % of its UAA respectively. Both figures are on the increase. Bananas also account for most of the island's agricultural output in terms of value. Vegetable crops represent 12 %, and this figure has been shrinking constantly for the past thirty years.

Table 2 - Main crops in Martinique, 2000

Table 2 - Main crops in Martinique, 2000

Source: Agrest

19Martinique's banana plantations are mainly in the northeast of the island, where the climate is most favourable for this crop. Since 1990 some bananas have been grown in the south, with the help of irrigation.

20Smallholdings constitute a high proportion of banana growing holdings but only a small proportion of output; 43 % of banana holdings are of less than 3 ha, but these produce only 3 % of gross tonnage. One banana farmer in four cultivates 3-5 hectares, and this group accounts for 5 % of gross tonnage. Holdings of 20 to 50 ha account for 4 % of producers but about 30 % of tonnage. Only 2 % of holdings are larger than 50 ha, but these few produce nearly half the commercial banana output. Plantain bananas are mainly grown by smallholders, with areas rarely exceeding one hectare. Caribbean banana production for export is governed by the EU's Common Market Organisation (CMO) for the banana sector, which makes allowance for the de facto exceptional situation of French bananas – at least until the new agreements planned for 2006.

  • 2 AWU: Annual work units (1 AWU is equivalent to one person working full-time for one year).

21The second most important crop in Martinique is sugar cane. It has a direct impact on the island's economy and employment. The sugar cane, rum and sugar sector totals 2,400 AWU2, plus numerous seasonal jobs. The cane fields account for nearly half these jobs (1,100 AWU), rum production 1,000 AWU and sugar refining 300 AWU. The number of cane holdings has diminished from 1,100 in 1981 to 300 today. The holdings that supply the distilleries have declined most, from 950 to 200 in the space of twenty years. Martinique rum has an AOC label (Appellation d'origine contrôlée, or protected designation of origin) which gives it better value-added on the market. One sugar refinery, the Galion, supplies about half the sugar consumed in Martinique; it receives a government subsidy.

Caribbean food crops and local livestock: beloved of Martinique's people but area shrinking

  • 3 For a description of the Creole garden see Question 5, paragraph 4.2. Organic farming for smallhol (...)

22Caribbean food crops and livestock are declining in terms of both land area and livestock numbers, although these products are much appreciated by local people. This is a paradox of food habits in Martinique: most of the island's food is imported and distributed through “modern” channels, but the Martiniquans like local food. Local crops are associated with local identity and dietary traditions. They include yam, pigeon pea (eaten at Christmas), and many plants formerly grown in "Creole gardens"3. Demand for local fruit, vegetables and livestock products is strong. Local meat costs more than imported meat and is much appreciated. However, the small quantities sold suggest this consumption may be mainly for festive occasions, while everyday consumption is determined more by price.

23Market garden produce and Caribbean food crops rank second in terms of land area. According to INSEE data for 1966, output covered 67.5 % of demand on the island, including 75 % for tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber and 57 % for fruit. Fruit and vegetables distribution is little organised, although there is a cooperative. Production is on smallholdings, often run by families with a fairly low level of education.

24Root, bulb and tuber crops are the main vegetable crop category, accounting for about 1,222 hectares in 2000.

25Of the fruit produced (excluding bananas), only melons are exported (about 1,500 tonnes a year). According to the definitive figures of the farm census, market gardening occupied 1,838 hectares in 2000 and concerned 2,200 holdings. Between 1989 and 2000, the number of holdings decreased by 54 % but area increased by 3 %, reflecting greater specialisation. Holdings are small, 5 ha on average, and use the family's labour. The main crops are melon, tomato, cucumber and lettuce, followed by chayote, turban squash, water-melon and cabbage. There is some regional specialisation, with melon on the vertisols of the south, tomato and local onion on the Caribbean side of the north, condiments and cabbage in the central highlands. Lettuce and cucumber are grown throughout the island; in the wetter areas there is also intensive green-house cultivation, with lettuce, cucumber and tomato.

26Martiniquan livestock numbers are declining sharply for most species. Between 1989 and 2000, cattle numbers fell by 19 %, sheep by 55 % and goats by 31 %. Pig numbers remain relatively stable, but with growing specialisation the number of holdings raising pigs has fallen by 72 %. The number of stock farmers is shrinking, but the term “stock farmer” covers a variety of situations: rearing livestock is often one activity in a multi-activity household. A minority are specialist stock farmers, while the majority are either mixed crop and stock farmers or simply people who rear a few animals. Permanent grassland, at 12,400 ha, accounts for 38 % of UAA, but this too is shrinking. Livestock farming is becoming concentrated mainly in the south, except for pigs, which still predominate in the north. The island's livestock provides only a small percentage of supply: 1 to 3 % for small ruminants, 21-22 % for pigs, less than 10 % for chickens and 21 to 25 % for cattle. For milk, the shortfall in local output is even greater.

Table 3 - Output of the main livestock species, Martinique, 2000

Table 3 - Output of the main livestock species, Martinique, 2000

Source : Agrest

27Local livestock production has to face competition from imports, mainly from the European Union. Imports are often cheaper on the Martinique market. The cost of importing livestock feed is a handicap for local production.

28In Martinique, as in Guadeloupe, there is a strong tradition of on-farm slaughtering, not only for poultry, small ruminants and other small stock for family consumption but also for pigs and cattle. The carcasses are shared with neighbours or sold at the nearest market. This form of production and supply of authentic "home-grown" produce ("produits péyi") is also a characteristic feature of social and neighbourly relations and is greatly appreciated by Martiniquan consumers. Most livestock producers on the island who sell meat this way probably do not declare the income. Reportedly, a high proportion of slaughtering is clandestine, for lack of slaughtering facilities accessible to small-scale producers.

29At the last farm census, 105 farmers stated that they made processed "farmhouse products" at home, for sale – meat, jam, liqueurs etc. – and 5,073 (more than half) said they sold part of their output directly to consumers. This shows how important the direct link between producer and consumer is in Martinique. It is a deeply ingrained behaviour pattern, appreciated and highly regarded whether or not the produce is organic. But it is an expensive system, for livestock products in particular, and may limit consumption to the better-off social groups or to special occasions.

Open fields for export crops, hedgerow landscapes in the hills

30In terms of land use and ownership, most of the lowland and medium-altitude areas of Martinique are given over to large open fields. This is where the export crops of banana, sugar cane and pineapple are grown.

31Elsewhere the landscape is one of small fields (less than one hectare) separated by hedgerows, rows of fruit trees or windbreaks. In the north and centre these landscapes form a crown around the hills; in the south they reach the hilltops; and they are found in rocky river valley bottoms. These are the areas where the Creole gardens once were, and where mixed crops of fruit, Caribbean vegetables and market garden crops are now grown. They are located near towns and villages and are spreading, at the expense of woodland, forest and uncultivated land.

32The division between these two types of landscape arose for historical reasons. The open fields were originally under mixed crops in the colonial era, and were later turned over to industrial monocropping for exports. The hedgerow landscapes took shape after 1848, when the slaves were freed and were granted small plots where they created “Creole gardens”.

Types of holding

33There are three types of holding, according to farm size and crops grown: smallholders, major producers and an intermediate group.

34In 2000, smallholdings with less than 5 hectares of land, growing mixed food crops, represented 86 % of farms and 29.6 % of the island's UAA. These figures show that this group is of major economic importance, particularly in terms of employment. Many of these farmers have more than one economic activity, and this feature should in itself be regarded as a characteristic of the farming systems in this group. Crops are varied: maize, sugar cane, pineapple, aromatic herbs, ornamentals, etc.. Caribbean food crops (roots, bulbs, tuber crops such as yam, plantain banana) and market garden crops account for 36 % of the UAA of this group, with grassland (fallow land, temporary grassland, forage crops and areas destined for building) accounting for 55 %. The grassland is often used to graze tethered livestock, which are cared for individually and may be used for keeping down weeds in the fields. These holdings are mostly on the southern hills, on sloping land, and are susceptible to speculative land purchases: their continued use for farming is not guaranteed.

35Estates of more than 20 hectares account for 3.1 % of holdings and 47 % of UAA. The main crop on these farms is bananas for export (44 % of the UAA of this group). Grassland represents 30 % of UAA of this group; it is often used for grazing commercial herds. Sugar cane accounts for 18 % of UAA and market gardening for 2 %. These estates are owner-occupied, either as family farms or as companies. They are found mainly on the lowlands, and their continued availability for farming is assured.

36Intermediate holdings run composite systems halfway between the other two types. This group consists of holdings of 5 to 20 hectares, representing 10.9 % of the farming population and 23.4 % of UAA. They grow more banana and cane than do the smallholdings, less Caribbean food crops and market garden crops and about the same proportion of grassland.

37We should also mention Martinique's uncultivated land, woodland, forest and scrub, which is used for gathering wild produce: herbs and other useful plants, cabinet-making wood (mahonia), rough carpentry wood, wood for charcoal making, etc. Medicinal and aromatic herbs could be gathered more intensively if an organic farming policy is introduced.

Why consider organic farming? The “social construction of quality” in Martinique

Organic farming: general principles and specific regulations

38In France and other West European countries, agricultural development over the past fifty years has been based on a social contract combining mass production and mass urban consumption of agricultural produce, linked to the growth of the big supermarket chains. Under this system, city dwellers, whose incomes increased during the affluent post-war decades, could buy food increasingly cheaply in relative terms while achieving new levels of comfort in daily life with electrical goods, leisure, cars, travel etc.

39The conventional agricultural system is now showing its limits, particularly in its inability to protect the environment and control the techniques it uses, while people's memory of uncertain food supplies is fading. Most people now get all the food they need, which was not necessarily the case at the end of World War Two. New concerns have emerged, mainly to do with food safety and quality and the environment, while globalisation awakens the need for an identity, roots and social equity, and the younger generations worry about increasing unemployment rates.

40A new contract needs to be negotiated between society and its agriculture. In exchange for farm subsidies people want more and different services from their farmers. The development of organic farming in Europe is intended to meet this "broader" demand, incorporating environmental, social and humanistic aspects.

  • 4 Le Monde, 21 January 2000.

41Could the development of organic farming meet this kind of "broader" demand in Martinique while also incorporating concerns that are more specific to Martiniquan society? The question has been raised at the political level, and with some vigour, by a group of writers and poets from the French Antilles and French Guiana. In January 2000, four of them challeng4. The manifesto drew attention to "this hyperbolic consumption by which we so agreeably avoid investing, projecting, constructing". It appealed for people to identify "a project" which would "bind together energies and wills", to exclude sectors that would be beyond the means of such a project or undesirable for it, such as heavy industry, extensive farming or exclusive tourism. It suggested that a meaningful project for Martinique might be to "win on the world market with the irrefutable label 'Martinique, land of organic produce' or 'Martinique, the world's leading organic producer'". It suggests this could be significant economically (if this high-value-added activity in fact proves promising), politically (giving Martinique a place in a global movement), and stimulating for local energies, prompting discussion in the community and collective action on practical issues.

42It remained to catalogue the possibilities, taking all local factors into account: soils, landforms and climate, existing pollution, land tenure conditions, available skills, the supply and distribution systems, local and international markets, and the practices and regulations in force, which are particularly important and complex for organic farming.

43Given the situation, any organic farming project for Martinique will have to be defined after a full debate among the island's political and economic decision makers and the population. But the debate will only be meaningful if the technical facts are set out as fully as is possible in the current state of knowledge.

44It is for that reason that the Martinique department authority, the Conseil General, asked the IRD for an expert group review of the subject. The aim is not to advise on what should be done, as that is a matter of policy, not expertise, but to inform farmers, public opinion and decision makers. To tell them what can and cannot be stated with confidence in the current state of knowledge about production methods in organic farming (which have so far been developed mostly in the temperate regions), about the potential for developing such production methods in tropical regions (Martinique in particular), about trends in national and international regulations, about how the market for organic produce operates, etc.

45The expert group review method developed by the IRD is designed precisely to inform rather than decide. Scientific knowledge leaves many practical questions open and the answers uncertain. The instructions given to the panel of experts were to consider as fully as possible the questions raised by the partners in Martinique and to provide answers as precise and factual as possible, but also as honest as possible, i.e. stating what is not known when that is the case, and showing any points of disagreement among the experts. In the present case, one problem was the very definition of the subject of the review. Organic farming is a social construct, or at least the historical product of an international movement that follows some general principles but has also resulted, in practical terms, in French laws and European regulations that apply to Martinique. What was the best way to inform Martinique's farmers, decision makers and general public? By keeping strictly to the framework defined by the regulations, or by considering the principles of organic farming more broadly?

46On reflection, the experts decided not to limit themselves to the question of regulations. They chose to consider organic farming on a global scale and examine how Martinique might, by joining a movement whose values are similar to those promoted by one section of society, develop an innovative form of agriculture, supplement its revenues from bananas and tourism, and shape the relationship it wishes to develop with the rest of the world. This would mean projecting an image of Martinique as an island developing its environmental ambitions in the service of its economic development. Developing organic farming would be an excellent way to do this, and could benefit the entire Martiniquan economy.

Chlordecone pollution: a stimulus to the debate on food quality in Martinique

47The discovery that intensive farming had polluted some soils and water in Martinique, and the consequences of that for the land's ability to produce healthy food for the population, have raised major questions for decision makers and the public. Concern about pollution by chlordecone (a pesticide used mainly on Martinique's banana crops until it was banned in 1993) has served as a serious warning in recent years. Worry about pollution is also the expression of new expectations for food safety, environmental protection, and the link between food and the local area, the land. However, these demands need to be detailed and translated in terms of market segments.

  • 5 Notice of advice N° 36, adopted 26 March 2002.
  • 6 AB is the official French logo for certified organic products ("Agriculture Biologique") (translat (...)

48The Conseil National de l’Alimentation5 notes that specific quality labels, including the organic farming label, are a stimulus for generic quality policy. So one may rightly ask what role such labels can play, and the AB label6 particularly, in solving Martinique's current problems.

49However, having had a considerably impact on the structure of the food market, the new aspirations now raise issues of wider scope than policy on particular quality labels. The Conseil National de l’Alimentation mentions the “shift to an overall socio-political approach”. This means opening the debate on food quality to all sections of civil society – consumers, citizens, farmers, the food industry and other food chain operators – and organising input to the debate from the research sector.

50The Conseil National de l'Alimentation notes that decisions taken concerning food quality, the impact of these decisions, and the convergences and conflicts between different priorities, should be explained to the public so that a public debate can take place "to establish orders of priority and abandon the demagogy and exaggeration".

51However, Martinique has yet to create the tools for a debate between agriculture and society and for structuring the expectations of consumers and citizens around the drive to develop of food quality in general and organics in particular. Martinique is an island, where these questions are posed in a general way within a small territory. This situation offers great potential for innovation by the island's decision makers, farmers and citizens, in partnership with the research community.

Steps in the expert group review

52It will be useful to outline the steps that led to this report. We set out to meet two requirements:

  • Take into account as broadly as possible the experience and concerns of Martinique's stakeholders and decision makers.
  • Put together the available knowledge in the relevant disciplines and specialty areas, discuss them as a group of experienced scientists, and draw shared conclusions.

53In February 2001 a workshop was held involving conventional and organic farmers, research scientists, officials, representatives of non-profit bodies concerned with the development of organic farming and representatives of the Martinique General Council. The workshop produced a clearer definition of the questions posed for organic farming and its development in Martinique. Six questions were drawn up to structure the expert group review.

54Underlying any discussion of organic farming are its definitions and representations in Martinique, in Europe and world wide. In the European context, and hence in Martinique, the answer to the panel's Question 1 (Q1) is strictly a matter of applying the regulations. But around the world there are several different definitions and certification systems. In Martinique too, several networks have developed around the concept of organic farming, "Bio des Antilles" and Orgapéyi particularly. Based on the reality of Martinique's geographical and cultural situation, the work of the expert group review had to take into account the different definitions of organic farming that exist.

55Starting from these definitions and representations of organic farming, the expert group review assesses the situation regarding production and the markets for organic produce in the world (Q2). It then examines the state of scientific knowledge on the effects of developing organic farming on the environment (Q3) and on society (Q4), the better to assess the feasibility of developing organic farming in Martinique.

56So Questions Q1 to Q4 all concern the background against which organic farming would develop in Martinique. From this groundwork -the state of knowledge on organic farming – the panel drew out some elements for decision making. The Conseil General, which commissioned the report, formulated questions about the possible goals for organic farming in Martinique (Q5) and the conditions to be met for it to succeed (Q6).

57The experts then worked individually and in groups to deliver the results of their work to the Conseil General in Martinique in March 2004. At that meeting, a debate was organised with consumers, citizens and conventional and organic farmers. Based on this feedback, the panel added further information to their report.

Table 4 - Steps in the expert group review (question numbers reflect the order of development of the synthesis)

Table 4 - Steps in the expert group review (question numbers reflect the order of development of the synthesis)

Notes

1 UAA: utilised agricultural area.

2 AWU: Annual work units (1 AWU is equivalent to one person working full-time for one year).

3 For a description of the Creole garden see Question 5, paragraph 4.2. Organic farming for smallholders: the Creole garden as a source of inspiration (Translator's note)

4 Le Monde, 21 January 2000.

5 Notice of advice N° 36, adopted 26 March 2002.

6 AB is the official French logo for certified organic products ("Agriculture Biologique") (translator's note)

Table des illustrations

Titre Table 1 - Martinique in figures
URL http://books.openedition.org/irdeditions/docannexe/image/2781/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 325k
Titre Table 2 - Main crops in Martinique, 2000
Légende Source: Agrest
URL http://books.openedition.org/irdeditions/docannexe/image/2781/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 99k
Titre Table 3 - Output of the main livestock species, Martinique, 2000
Légende Source : Agrest
URL http://books.openedition.org/irdeditions/docannexe/image/2781/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 146k
Titre Table 4 - Steps in the expert group review (question numbers reflect the order of development of the synthesis)
URL http://books.openedition.org/irdeditions/docannexe/image/2781/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 294k

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