Choices: Caribbean Agriculture: Our way

Agriculture and food production should not be occupations of last resort. Showcasing many fascinating insights, this title features individuals, farm families and community groups in the Caribbean who have made a deliberate choice to enter, stay and focus on achieving success in this vibrant and rewarding sector. With stories that inform, educate and inspire, Choices provides accounts of innovations in aquaculture, hydroponics, permaculture, shade-house technology and organic farming

Choices: Caribbean agriculture on way

122 páginasThis publication is dedicated to the many micro, small and medium entrepreneurs around the Caribbean, who maintain a positive attitude, devise local and practical solutions to big global challenges and adopt a proactive stance, oftentimes against all odds, to make the situation better for the rest of us in agriculture and the economy. You are like an egg – small, but packed with potential; the start of something much bigger than yourself. Stand up and be counted

Farming Change, growing more food with a changing resource base: critical, issues, perspectives and options

This publication seeks to provoke thought on the question of whether farming in the Caribbean will be able to take advantage of climate change and the changing natural environment to provide sustainable environmental, social and economic benefits for all. Part of the critical issues, perspectives and options (CIPO) series of publications, the book comprises three inter-related papers on: growing food crops without soil; forest cover (ecosystem services for sustainable farming); and combatting the invasive alien species (IAS) threat

Hunger and nutrition from belly-full to body-fuel

Part I-Exploring Hunger, discusses the various definitions and interpretations of the word hunger, its causes and global efforts to eliminate its extreme forms. Particular focus is placed on Goal 1 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which specifies the need to eliminate extreme hunger by 2015, with a focus on the vulnerable. This is based on the traditional understanding of hunger as ‘not enough food’ and hence a state of starvation and ultimately, ill-health. This traditional understanding led to a similarly traditional response of providing food, which according to Lennox Lampkin was merely ensuring ‘belly-full’. While such strategies are necessary and cannot be faulted in cases of extreme hunger, they are certainly not sufficient in all situations. This provides the basis for understanding hunger from another perspective, i.e., as having enough food but not consuming enough nutrients, or body fuel, which leads to the same outcome, ill-health. This sets the tone for the rest of the discussions on aspects of hunger, nutrition and health. Part II-Understanding Nutrition, draws from the contributions of Nkosi Felix and Lisa Hunt as they cite and locate elements of nutrition research in a Caribbean perspective. Attempts are made to clarify the concept of nutrition, underscoring both the benefits of proper nutrition and the adverse effects of poor nutrition on health. Both contributors emphasise nutritional guidelines as an important framework and information tool to support healthy consumption choices. Unfortunately, as Hunt noted, consumption patterns have shifted over time, away from recommended guidelines, towards ‘Western diets’ characterized by over-utilization of highly refined and processed foods. This process of ‘nutritional transitions’ is still having adverse consequences on health. Part III-Food the pathway to hunger alleviation and health, recognises that food and nutrition are not synonymous. Food is an important source of hunger alleviation, nutrition and ultimately, health. Therefore an efficient food system is critical. However, understanding of the food system depends on whether its products are classified based on trade commodity definitions or based on nutrient content. This has complicated the process for rooting food system policy on nutrition

Farming Change: Growing more food with a changing resource base

This publication seeks to provoke thought on the question of whether farming in the Caribbean will be able to take advantage of climate change and the changing natural environment to provide sustainable environmental, social and economic benefits for all. Part of the critical issues, perspectives and options (CIPO) series of publications, the book comprises three inter-related papers on: growing food crops without soil; forest cover (ecosystem services for sustainable farming); and combatting the invasive alien species (IAS) threat