Navigation – Plan du site

AccueilNuméros26Hors dossierAlternative Agricultural Cropping...

Hors dossier

Alternative Agricultural Cropping Options for Chlordecone-Polluted Martinique

Agriculture alternative pour les sols pollués à la chlordécone en Martinique
Alfred Wong et Christine Ribero

Résumés

La Martinique est actuellement en proie un taux de chômage chronique élevé et une augmentation constante du coût de la nourriture et des autres produits essentiels. La catastrophe écologique s’ajoute à ce problème sociétal avec la contamination par la chlordécone d'environ un tiers de la surface de la terre et les eaux environnantes de cette île. La chlordécone est extrêmement toxique et récalcitrante, son utilisation fut interdite aux Etats-Unis dès 1979 mais elle fut utilisée continuellement jusqu'en 1993. L’agriculture alternative est un moyen pratique pour atténuer le malaise social profond résultant d’un taux de chômage chroniquement élevé et d’une dépendance totale envers les couteuses importations alimentaires de la France métropolitaine. L'un des objectifs de base de cette approche serait de ne pas utiliser de produits chimiques. La culture de certaines plantes solanacées comestibles, comme le poivron, semble être possible dans cet environnement avec l’installation de serres semi-ouvertes, dans lesquelles la lumière naturelle, les précipitations et les températures chaudes toute l'année sont abondantes. Dans cette perspective, l'empreinte carbone de telles productions réalisées en Martinique pourraient être livrées au Royaume-Uni avec une empreinte carbone sensiblement inférieure à celle de poivrons cultivés dans des serres chauffées autonomes d’Europe.

Haut de page

Entrées d’index

Index géographique :

Martinique
Haut de page

Texte intégral

Acknowledgement
The UK market information provided by Prof. Alan Hallsworth (University of Portsmouth, UK) was particularly helpful in the preliminary analysis of economic competitiveness of prospective Martiniquan bell peppers in the UK market.

Introduction

Historical context

1 Martinique, a Département d’Outre-mer (DOM) of France, is a small Eastern Caribbean island located about 7,000 km away from metropolitan France. See Figure 1. It is officially a part of the European Union. The dark 400-year history of colonial slavery has created some very intractable social and economic problems. In 2009, this social-cultural malaise had manifested into a month-long general strike among the lowly-paid and unemployed people (Meyer, 2009; Azikiwe, 2009). The underlying social-injustice issues including rising cost of food staples, inadequate labour wages, and chronic high level of unemployment have remained largely unresolved to this day (Wong and Gomes, 2013).

2

Figure 1. Martinique Location

Figure 1. Martinique Location

Source: www.naturavox.fr

Prevailing agriculture economy

3 The humid warm climate and rich volcanic soil are ideal for the cultivation of tropical crops. Cropping of sugar cane began in the mid-17th century with the mass importation of slave workers from Africa, after the indigenous Carib inhabitants had been exterminated from over-work. Because of substantial non-competitive production cost in Martinique, sugar cane juice is now used mainly to produce refined sugar products for the local market, and as a direct feedstock for local rum production (CTCS, 2011). The age of banana cropping began in the 1920s. Most major land and business assets including sugar cane and banana cropping in Martinique are controlled by descendants of the colonial plantation owners (also known as békés) who comprise about 1% of the total population (Azikiwe, 2009).

4 Virtually the entire banana crop of Martinique is exported to France under a highly state-subvented scheme. With the ending the 20-year old banana trade war between the USA and the EU, banana producers of former “Africa, Caribbean and Pacific - ACP” colonies will be receiving about €200 million financial over the next few years to offset the EU grant of lower import duty on Latin American bananas (Lamont, 2011). Although Martinique is not classified as an ACP any longer, it is almost certain that Martinique banana producers will be receiving EU financial aid similar to that to be granted to ACP producers (von Reppert-Bismarck and Dunmore, 2011).

5 In 2008, there were 28,000 hectares of designated agricultural area in Martinique, of which about 19,000 hectares (~68% of total agricultural area) were used for bananas cropping and approximately 3,100 hectares (~11% of total agricultural area) were deployed for sugar cane cropping (FAOSTAT 2012). The production levels of bananas and sugar cane have been essentially constant at about 300,000 tonnes and 200,000 tonnes respectively, during the past 10 years.

6 Table 1 shows the gross inadequacy of domestic food production to meet local demand. Most of the food is thus imported from metropolitan France. Continuation of this dependency appears to serve well the commercial interest of metropolitan France.

Table 1. Top 20 agricultural commodities produced in Martinique in 2010

Table 1. Top 20 agricultural commodities produced in Martinique in 2010

Source: Adapted from FAOSTAT, 2012

Pesticide pollution

7 Overlaying this societal problem is the continuing ecological disaster of chlordecone contamination of about 1/3 of the land surface, and surrounding waters. The widespread use of pesticides, particularly chlordecone (CAS No. 143-50-0) for the intensive cropping of bananas during the past 5 decades had caused a major ecological disaster in Martinique (Benkimoum and Nedelkovsi, 2010). Chlordecone is recognized to be a possible human carcinogen in 1979 (ATSDR, 1995; UNEP, 2006). Its use was banned in the USA in 1979. But the convergence of political and business interest had permitted the continued use of chlordecone for the control of banana root pest in Martinique officially until 1993, and unofficially until about 2003. Several versions of the history of chlordecone usage have been published by different interested parties (Anon., 2007; Patriarca, 2009; Inanoglu et al., 2010; Joly, 2010). It is interesting to note that current and past political regimes still do not concede any State responsibilities for this avoidable ecological disaster, and do not accept the need for immediate remediation (Le Déaut and Procaccia, 2009). Indeed, the State-funded Plan Chlordécone only recognizes “Protéger, Étudier, Prévenir, Surveiller“, with €33 million expended during 2008-2010 (Anon., 2010a). Voluminous reports and meetings were completed (Anon., 2011). More State-funded studies were planned for 2011-2013 (Anon., 2010b). It is evident that no meaningful remediation plan or action of any kind would be undertaken in the foreseeable future.

8 In the meantime, chlordecone usage has been implicated to be the leading cause of increases in the prevalence of prostate cancers in Martinique (Landau-Ossondo et al., 2009; Multigner et al., 2010; Belpomme and Irigaray, 2011). Chlordecone has a high affinity for solid particles such as soil and organic matter and has a high propensity of bioaccumulation. Chlordecone is recalcitrant to degradation by natural chemical, biological and photolytic means (ATSDR, 1995). The “natural” degradation of chlordecone into benign end products has been estimated to require about 400 years (Cabidoche et al., 2009). Indeed the only assured means of ultimate destruction of chlordecone in real time is controlled incineration of contaminated soil in a specialized furnace operating at more than 850 °C (Wong. 2011).

9 While research, surveys and discussion are being undertaken (Anon., 2011; Blanchard et al., 2012), serious public health problems have emerged in Martinique as people are exposed daily and continually to this persistent organic pollutant from the routine consumption of local foods and water. Cabidoche and Lesueur-Jannoyer (2011) have reported that certain non-root and tuber crops are essentially “chlordecone-free”. There remain considerable uncertainties about the fate of entrainment and transportation of chlordecone contaminated soil inadvertently during routine farming activities.

10 It is unknown presently if and when all chlordecone-contaminated soil would be remedied. Politics appears to be the major obstacle. The goal of this study was to assess the possibility of an alternative agriculture for the purpose of creating local employment and improving local food security, while discourse is continuing on ways and means to solve the lingering chlordecone pollution problem.

1. Alternative agriculture

11 Implementation of alternative agriculture is a practicable near-term means to alleviate the deep social unrest arising from chronically high unemployment rate and near total dependency on costly food imports from metropolitan France. One of the principal aims of this approach would be the zero use of synthetic chemicals for pest-and weed-control for all crops. The present monoculture banana cropping must be reduced substantially as a critical means to reduce the use of ever more potent pest control chemicals. Until the soil has all been successfully contaminated, it would be illogical to use the land for any other agricultural activities. Human health would be endangered with continued unstoppable transport of chlordecone from soil to food stuff.

1.1. Staples

12 Ideally, cultivation of staples such as rice and maize, as well as vegetables and fruits could be and should be prioritized for local uses. However, because of the limited availability of arable land (chlordecone free or not), total self-sufficiency on staples may be difficult to achieve. For example, if all 28,000-hectare arable land was converted to rice plantation, the maximum output would be about 72,000 tonnes of paddy rice annually. This amount of Martinique rice production would suffice about 34% of the local population. These calculations were based on Guyana rice production statistics (FAOSTAT, 2012) and fixed conversion rate of paddy rice to milled rice (EC, 2008b). In any case, the production of rice would also be problematic because of the acute lack of chlordecone-free arable land.

13 Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg) is a starchy plant which is native to Melanesia. It was transported originally from South Pacific islands for the explicit purpose of growing a low-cost crop to feed slaves working in sugar-cane plantations in the Caribbean region during the 19th century (Ragone, 2011). Its popular use in modern times as an alternative in place of imports such as wheat flour and rice has been somewhat limited. Breadfruit continues to carry the stigma of “slave food”. Moreover, large area of chlordecone-free land would be needed for its plantation cultivation of breadfruit.

14 The inevitable conclusion is that Martinique will continue to be dependent on the importation of food. In particular, because the population has been severely acculturated (syn., francisation) to the metropolitan France dietary pattern, viz., bread, milk, cheese, yogurt, water, etc., this dependency of imported foodstuff means metropolitan France will remain the principal supplier.

1.2. Energy crops

15 Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) is native to the southern slope of the Himalayan mountain range in the Indian sub-continent (Radovich, 2011). In terms of climatic conditions and soil quality, moringa cropping is feasible in the previous banana-cropping zone of Martinique. Nearly all components of this tree crop, i.e., seeds, stem, bark and leaves, are edible. The leaves are usable as fodder for cattle and other farm animals (Foidl et al., 2001). Moringa seed oil is a practical substitute feedstock for petrol-diesel (Rashid et al., 2008). The pulverized oil-depleted seeds could be used as a coagulant in the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater (Othman et al., 2008). Table 2 shows the example calculation of moringa oil productivity. Note that the land base for moringa to provide 100%% substitution of the petro-diesel usage would greatly exceed the total area of land presently designated for agriculture. It is unknown presently if chlordecone might accumulate preferentially in the oil-bearing moringa seeds.

Table 2. Example Moringa oil productivity for petro-diesel substitution

Table 2. Example Moringa oil productivity for petro-diesel substitution

Source : Authors

1.3. Export crops

  • 1 CARICOM: a Caribbean economic community comprising of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Beliz (...)

16 There are nevertheless opportunities for new development in the agriculture sector to address the underlying problems of Martinique: ecological disaster arising from use of toxic chlordecone in traditional banana cropping, un-competitive economy of banana production, chronic high level for unemployment. It is important to note that the labour structure of Martinique is essentially that of metropolitan France; it does not permit Martinique agricultural goods to be price competitive in neighbouring CARICOM1 countries (Wong and Gomes, 2013). Thus, the mainland EU market located more than 7,000 km away is effectively the only one available to Martinique.

17 Table 3 shows several specialty crops which could be grown, particularly after the soil has been de-contaminated. These candidate crops were selected on the basis of local climatic conditions, and perceived export market demand.

Table 3. Candidate specialty exportable crops considered for Martinique

Table 3. Candidate specialty exportable crops considered for Martinique

Source: Authors

2. Example bell pepper cultivation

18 Solanaceous fruit crop has particularly interesting export prospects. In particular, both bell pepper (Capiscum annuum L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are native to northern South America (Eshbaugh, 1993). Martinique is an ideal location for the operation of open-structure greenhouses for such warm weather crops. The incident solar radiation, daylight hours, air temperature, humidity and precipitation are essentially constant throughout the year. Thus, the operating costs for the provision of supplementary lighting and heating would effectively be nil.

19 The 22-year monthly averaged meteorological data for Le Lamentin (Martinique), De Bilt-Utrecht (Netherlands) and Alméria (Spain) are given in Figure 2. In view of the substantial incident solar radiation available year round, the small amount of electricity required for the production facility may be supplied by photovoltaic solar receptors. There would be no need to heat the greenhouse as the prevailing temperature is near-constant temperature prevailing through the year. Note the exterior air temperature of the competitive bell pepper production locations in the Netherlands and Spain.

Figure 2. Monthly averaged (22 years) incident solar radiation incident on a horizontal surface at 3 selected locations

Figure 2. Monthly averaged (22 years) incident solar radiation incident on a horizontal surface at 3 selected locations

Source: ASDC, 2012

20 There are certain weather-related risks as Martinique is located the geographic zone of severe tropical storms including hurricanes. Hurricanes could devastate the entire crop of bell peppers grown in screened passive greenhouses. In the Eastern Caribbean, the hurricane season starts typically in mid-July and ends in late October. Table 4 shows the frequency of hurricanes during the past 50 years. Because of severe changes in weather patterns globally during the past few years, it is not feasible to use historical data to predict future increased or decreased frequency of tropical storms and hurricanes passing through Martinique. The prediction of occurrence and severity of future severe topical storms is still largely an inexact science.

21 The practicable option available for assuring continuity of supply to export buyers in Europe would be to build identical production facility in either Guadeloupe or Guyane, as both locations are classified as DOM. It may be noted that Guyane is located entirely outside the Caribbean hurricane zone.

Table 4. Tropical storms and hurricanes passing through Martinique, 1960-2011

Table 4. Tropical storms and hurricanes passing through Martinique, 1960-2011

Source: adapted from CHN, 2012.

2.1. EU market

22 Although tomato is a Solanaceous fruit crop, its cropping possibility in Martinique is deemed to be limited as the market competition in the EU is very intense with many large-scale producers in the Italy, Netherlands, Poland and Spain. In contrast, the competition is somewhat less intense for “non-toxin” bell peppers produced in Netherlands and Spain. There is already some notable experience in the field cropping of bell peppers in nearby Guadeloupe (Anon., 2007).

23 Figure 3 shows the UK trade of bell peppers (Capiscum annuum L.). Only Germany has a larger import (326,433 tonnes in 2009) of bell pepper among EU states. In German, “paprika” means bell pepper as well as Hungarian paprika (also Capsicum annuum L.), a spice which is widely used in German cuisine. Thus, there is some uncertainty in the FAOSTAT (2012) statistical quantification of this apparently high level of German import.

Figure 3. UK trade in bell peppers in 2009

Figure 3. UK trade in bell peppers in 2009

Source: FAOSTAT, 2012

2.2. Soil-less horticulture

24 Because there is no certainty that the soil would be de-contaminated, soil-less cropping of bell pepper appears to be the best-practicable approach for the EU market. This plan would facilitate the production of “no-toxin” (i.e., no usage of chemical pesticides or herbicides). Soil-less hydroponic cropping would certainly permit the practical circumvention of the necessity of using any chlordecone-contaminated soil. The technology of soil-less cropping of bell peppers is well known (Jovicich et al., 2003; Jovicich et al., 2004; Cantliffe et al., 2007; Jovicich et al., 2007; Albaho et al., 2008; Jovicich et al., 2009).

25 The example natural greenhouse would have open ventilation to maximize the deployment of the favourable environmental conditions, viz., ambient temperature, incident solar radiation, humidity and rainfall. The physical structure would be similar to that described by Hochmuth et al. (2010). The screened structure would provide enhanced crop protection against harmful pests.

26Table 5 shows a pro-forma financial analysis of a natural greenhouse modeled identically after that described by Jovicich et al. (2005). The costs of chemical pesticides and herbicides, and energy for heating have been deducted for the production of “non-toxin” bell peppers in the case of Martinique.

Table 5. Enterprise budget costing of a Martinique natural greenhouse

Table 5. Enterprise budget costing of a Martinique natural greenhouse

Source: Authors

27 The preliminary assessment showed the project feasibility to be promising. Compare the close proximity of projected landed price (£1.29 per kg) and representative London wholesale price (£1.20 per kg). It would certainly be beneficial to improve productivity further to that of Dutch greenhouse operation, in consideration of unpredictable volatility in currency exchange rates.

28 In Martinique, if there were 50 cooperatives with 7 production units each, the total production would be 30,250 tonnes annually, with an estimated farm-gate value (at €1,350 per tonne) of ~€41 million. This sum would exceed the total value (~€34 million) of bananas, which was the top agricultural product of Martinique in 2010. This total annual export of bell peppers would have accounted for about 22% of the UK import in 2009.

2.3. Carbon footprint

29 The bell peppers would be shipped to the UK, in the same fashion as bananas from nearby Eastern Caribbean states. There are direct weekly sailings of container vessels from Martinique to Portsmouth (UK). As shown in Figure 4, the carbon footprint of Martinique bell peppers delivered to the UK market would be substantially lower than those grown in fossil-fuel heated greenhouses in the Netherlands or in open fields in southeastern Spain. Air freight shipment of bell peppers from Martinique to the UK is not a practical option for reasons of substantially higher carbon footprint and higher shipping cost.

30 This favourable “carbon footprint” outcome for Martinique bell peppers could expect to afford considerable competitive advantage at the consumer choice level in the UK. The population of Germany and the UK are notably the most “eco-conscious” in the EU.

Figure 4. Comparative avoidable CO2 emission for bell peppers, on a farm-to-fork basis, to be sold in Portsmouth (UK)

Figure 4. Comparative avoidable CO2 emission for bell peppers, on a farm-to-fork basis, to be sold in Portsmouth (UK)

Source: Authors

31Notes:

  1. Data for “NL heated greenhouses” and “Spain open fields” approximated from tomato data of Hallsworth and Wong (2012).

  2. The cropping conditions for bell peppers are considered to be the nearly the same as those for tomatoes. Both are warm-climate Solanaceous fruit crops.

  3. Travel distance from production location to Portsmouth (UK): Netherlands ≈ 600 km; Spain ≈ 2,400 km, and Martinique ≈ 7,000 km.

  4. The CO2 emission data for “Maritime container transport” are based those published by Defra (2011) for ocean-going containers at average 70% loading.

  5. The CO2 emission for “home to grocery store” is based on the use of a small car (KIA Rio; gasoline-fuelled; 2011 UK model) for a 1-km return journey to a grocery for the sole purchase of 1 kg of produce. Details are given elsewhere by Hallsworth and Wong (2012).

2.4. Production plan

32 These natural environmental conditions would permit year-round cropping in multiple greenhouse units to provide a continuous export supply. Table 6 illustrates a conceptual production scheme for the supply of bell peppers to the UK. The averaged weekly output would be 11,648 kg to fit the 12,000-kg loading capacity of a 20-ft refrigerated container.

33 The planned Martinique export of bell peppers under this scheme from a cooperative would be 605 tonnes annually, equivalent to about 0.4% of UK import in 2009. There is considerable opportunity for growth in the supply of these unusual “non-toxin, low carbon footprint” bell peppers to the UK.

Table 6. Conceptual bell-pepper production scheme

Table 6. Conceptual bell-pepper production scheme

Source: Authors

Note: Each cooperative has 7 production units. And each production unit has a greenhouse floor area of 0.78 hectare as per example given in Table 4.

2.5. Marketing

34 Bell peppers may be stored for 2 to 4 weeks at 7.5 °C plus several days after at room temperature (Anon., 2003; Lin, 2005; Cantwell, 2010). The typical transit time of refrigerated containers from Fort-de-France (Martinique) to Portsmouth (UK) is 14 to 17 days (see, for example, sailing schedule of Geest Line Ltd., http://www.geestline.com). The cited transit time is somewhat long because of multiple stops on the journey from Martinique to Portsmouth. In contrast, the transit time from Portsmouth to Martinique, within one routine stopover in Le Havre (France) is only 8 days. There is nevertheless sufficient time to distribute the Martiniquan bell peppers in the UK upon its arrival in Portsmouth.

35 In order for Martinique producers to accrue maximum economic benefits, a different distribution and marketing plan is required. The two key elements would be:

  1. The Martinique growers would export the bell peppers through its own export cooperative.

  2. Direct marketing of the produce in the UK would be made largely to smaller-scale green grocers and specialized restaurants of which their customers appreciate the intrinsic value of “non-toxin, low carbon footprint” bell peppers.

36 The recommended distribution-marketing scheme is illustrated in Figure 5. If the classical approach was undertaken, Martinique producers would be certain to receive disproportionately small economic benefits, in the same fashion as Caribbean and African vegetables and banana producers supplying to the UK market. Typically, these distant producers retain less than 2% of the retail price of goods sold in the UK (DAI, 2007; Morazán, 2010).

Figure 5. Alternative marketing plan

Figure 5. Alternative marketing plan

Source : Adapted from CBI, 2006

2.6. Regulatory

37 In the initial phase, it is desirable to sell directly to restaurants of which their customers have a high degree of “eco-consciousness”. The produce would not be sold directly to the UK households. In this fashion, the strict compliance of Martinique bell peppers with EC-regulated marketing standards pertaining to shape and size (EC, 1999; EC, 2008a) could be avoided in the beginning phase of export.

3. Societal implications

38 Because of the underlying deep social-cultural malaise in Martinique, there is a constant risk that the problem could manifest again into widespread social-economic unrest to interrupt export of bell peppers to the UK.

39 The government in metropolitan France spends about €250 million annually in social assistance to unemployed persons in Martinique (Wong and Gomes, 2013). Some portion of this fund could be re-deployed directly to aid the establishment of bell pepper production units. Figure 6 illustrates the socio-economic implication of the proposed “New Agriculture” initiative on the basis of the example greenhouse business model given in Table 5. The analysis of economic self-sustainability was made in the absence of customary financial subsidies available under the prevailing EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It is interesting to note if this prospective project was implemented in neighbouring Saint Lucia or Dominica, the overall cost structure would have decreased substantially. Note that the minimum wage in Saint Lucia and Dominica is equivalent €0.55 per hour and €1.40 per hour, respectively (Wong and Gomes, 2013). The minimum wage is €9.00 per hour in Martinique, the same as in metropolitan France. In the present study, an average wage of €12.00 per hour was chosen to provide a “livable” income for “Alternative Agriculture” workers.

Figure 6. Example societal outcome

Figure 6. Example societal outcome

Source: authors

40 This preliminary assessment suggests a net reduction in State expenses through the creation of 3,500 permanent full-time by this means. In comparison, the number of persons engaged (and dependent directly) in the banana plantation industry is about 6,000 (Anon., 2011b). It has been reported that under the current CAP, about €250,000 would be required from the EU budget to create one permanent job (Daly et al., 2011). In the proposed “New Agriculture” scheme, the required State intervention would be about €50,000 per job.

41 If the bell pepper export project was implemented fully, the annual state subvention of the banana cropping at about €285 million (representative €15,000 per hectare in 2008) could be decreased substantially. This banana subvention had been audited to be ineffective in rectifying the chronic high employment situation in Martinique (Cour des Comptes, 2011). Separately, Boulanger (2010) has noted that in 2007, 80% of the subvention actually went to about 15% of farm holdings. The social fairness of direct-payment subvention benefits has been grossly askew. Note that the projected net €327 million State savings to implement the “New Agriculture” strategy does not include the potential saving of up to €2.85 billion in State aid to Martinique banana growers over 10 years!

42 Provision of annual payroll of €103 million over 10 years through the bell-pepper export business would certainly cascade into additional beneficial effects on the wider local economy. Using an EU-27 example describing the link between environment and employment, the economic multiplier effect could range from 1.5 to more than 10 times (EC, 2012). Creation of small independently-owned greenhouse businesses would be a significant positive step in the alleviation of social injustice concomitantly.

Conclusion

43 The deep undercurrent of neocolonial social and cultural issues festering in Martinique is being exacerbated by the extensive pollution of arable land from the past widespread use of chlordecone to control banana crop pests. This continuing malaise could erupt again into widespread economic chaos, if there is no effective remedial action.

44The available natural resources in Martinique are plentiful sunshine, warm temperatures and adequate precipitation could be deployed for the creation of an alternative type of agriculture. However, the practicable options need to be selected judiciously in view of the continually unresolved issue of timely clean-up of chlordecone contaminated soil. Because of the regional cost competitiveness, the European Union market is the only one of economic importance.

45 Hydroponic cropping of tropical vegetable crops is suggested as a means to afford satisfactory export revenue for the creation of enduring significant local employment. For example, hydroponic bell pepper production for export to the UK could be owned and operated by local rural citizens (as members of new agricultural cooperatives), with appropriate start-up financial aid from the State. It is recognized that the establishment of a bell-pepper export business does not solve the entire massive chronic unemployment of about 35,000 persons. However, this approach could provide a practical first step in alleviating the persistent unemployment problem, and related social-economic issues in Martinique.

Haut de page

Bibliographie

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (1995). “Toxicological profile for Mirex and Chlordecone”, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta (GA), USA.

Albaho, M., B. Thomas and A. Christopher (2008). “Evaluation of hydroponics techniques on growth and productivity of greenhouse grown bell pepper and strawberry”, International Journal of Vegetable Science, Vol.14: 23-40.

Anon. (2003). “Peppers – Postharvest care and market preparation. Postharvest Handling”, Technical Bulletin No.7, Guyana Ministry of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock, Georgetown, Guyana.

Anon. (2007). « Le poivron et le piment », Centre Antilles-Guyane, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe.

Anon. (2008). Plan d'action chlordécone en Martinique et en Guadeloupe 2008-2010 : Sommaire, Coordination interministérielle chlordécone, Direction générale de la santé.

Anon. (2010a). Plan Chlordécone : Protéger, Étudier, Prévenir, Surveiller, URL, <http://www.ars.martinique.sante.fr/fileadmin/MARTINIQUE/Votre_Sante/Votre_environnement/ JAFA/brochure_planchlordecone.pdf>.

Anon. (2010b). Plan d'action contre la pollution par la chlordécone en Guadeloupe et en Martinique 2011-2013, Coordination interministérielle du plan chlordécone, Direction générale de la santé.

Anon. (2011a) « Remédiation a la pollution par la chlordécone aux Antilles », Les Cahiers duPRAM, No. 9-10, Pôle de recherché agro-environnementale de la Martinique, April.

Anon. (2011b). Tableaux Économiques Régionaux Martinique, Service Regional Martinique, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE), Paris, France.

Atmospheric Science Data Centre (2012). Surface meteorology and solar energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Langley (VA), USA, URL, <http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov>.

Azikiwe, A. (2009) “French colonies in the Caribbean demand decent pay, end to racism”, San Francisco Bay View - USA, 25 February 2009, URL, <http://sfbayview.com/2009/>.

Belpomme, D. and P. Irigaray (2011). “Environment as a potential key determinant of the continued increase of prostate cancer incidence in Martinique”, Prostate Cancer, Article ID 819010.

Benkimoum, P. and E. Nedelkovsi (2010). « Aux Antilles, le scandale sanitaire du chlordécone », Le Monde.

Blanchard, P., A. Femenias, H. Gillet and A. Renucci (2012). Rapport d’évaluation des plans d’action chlordécone aux Antilles (Martinique, Guadeloupe), Ministère de l’écologie, du développement durable, des transports et du logement.

Boulanger, P. (2010). “Distribution of agricultural support: Selected French evidences”, OECD Workshop on the Disaggregated Impacts of CAP Reform, Paris, France, 10-11 March 2010, Appendices 5 and 6.

Cabidoche, Y.-M. and M. Lesueur-Jannoyer (2011). « Pollution durable des sols par la chlordécone aux Antilles: comment le gérer? », Innovations Agronomiques, Vol. 16: 117-133.

Cabidoche, Y.-M., R. Achard, P. Cattan, C. Clermont-Dauphin, F. Massat and J. Sansoulet (2009). “Long-term pollution by chlordecone of tropical volcanic soils in the French West Indies: A simple leaching model accounts for current residue”, Environmental Pollution, Vol. 157: 1697-1705.

Cantliffe, D.J., N.L. Shaw, E. Jovicich, L.S. Osborne and P.J. Stoffella (2007). “Greenhouse production of vegetable crops grown with a closed-loop fertigation system in a pesticide-free environment”, Acta Horticulturae, Vol. 801: 1455-1461.

Cantwell, M. (2010). Bell pepper – recommendations for maintaining postharvest quality, Postharvest Technology Research and Information Center, University of California, Davis (CA), USA. URL, <http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Produce/ProduceFacts/Veg/pepper.shtml>.

Caribbean Hurricane Network (2012). Martinique, FWI: Climatology of Caribbean hurricanes, URL,<http://stormcarib.com/climatology/>.

CBI (2006). «The fresh fruit and vegetables market in the EU». Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries, Rotterdam, Netherlands. URL, <http://www.cbi.eu>.

Centre Technique de la Canne et du Sucre de la Martinique – CTCS (2011). La canne à sucre, CTCS, Petit Morne-Lamentin, Martinique, URL, <http://www.ctcs.mq>.

Cour des Comptes (2011). « La politique de soutien à l’agriculture des départements d’outre-mer », Rapport public annuel 2011. Paris: 443-483. URL, <http://www.ccomptes.fr>.

Daly, E., M. Pieterse and J. Medhurst (2011). Evaluating the potential for Green Jobs in the next Multi-annual Financial Framework, Gilmore Hankey Kirke Limited, London, URL, <http://www.birdlife.org/eu/pdfs/Green_Jobs.pdf>.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2011). “2011 Guidelines to Defra/ DECC's GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting. Last updated: June, 2011”, Annex 7 - Freight Transport Conversion Tables, Table 7g: average containers at average 70% loading.

Development Alternatives Inc. (2007). Export markets for high-value vegetables from Tanzania, Report prepared for the US Agency for International Development, Washington (DC): 67-69.

Eshbaugh, W.H. (1993). “Peppers: History and exploitation of a serendipitous new crop discovery”, In: J. Janick and J.E. Simon (eds.), New Crops. Wiley, New York: 132-139.

European Commission – EC (2012). More than the sum of their parts: the links between environment and employment policies, URL, <http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/employment_en.htm>.

European Commission (1999). Regulation (EC) No 1455/1999 laying down the marketing standards for sweet peppers.

European Commission (2008a). “Regulation (EC) No 1221/2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1580/2007 laying down implementing rules of Council Regulations (EC) No 2200/96, (EC) No 2201/96 and (EC) No 1182/2007 in the fruit and vegetable sector as regards marketing standards. 5 December 2008”, Part 8: Marketing Standards for Sweet Peppers.

European Commission (2008b). Regulation (EC) No 1312/2008 fixing the conversion rates, the processing costs and the value of the by-products for the various stages of rice processing.

European Commission (2010). “Trade in bananas: £170m to support banana exporters in 10 African and Caribbean countries”. EC news release, 17 March 2010.

FAOSTAT (2012). “Crop Production”. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome, URL, <http://faostat.fao.org>.

Foidl, N., H.P.S. Makkar and K. Becker (2001). “The potential of Moringa oleifera for agricultural and industrial uses”, Proc. Development potential for Moringa products Conference, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 20 October-2 November 2001.

Hallsworth, A.G. and A. Wong (2012). Magnitude of CO2 emission in supply of tomatoes to Portsmouth, England”, World Transport Policy &Practice, 18(3): 13-24.

Hochmuth, R.C., D.D. Treadwell, E.H. Simonne, L.B. Landrum, W.L. Laughlin and L.L. Davis (2010). “Growing bell peppers in soilless culture under open shade structures”, HS-1113, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, Gainesville (FL), USA.

Inanoglu, M., Pelerin, J., Hermitte, S. (2010) « Le chlordécone: une bombe à retardement ». Grenoble – Étudiante d’Évaluation Environnementale, Vol.1: 1-6.

Joly, P.-B. (2010). « La saga du chlordécone aux Antilles françaises: Reconstruction chronologique 1968-2008 », Sciences en Société, AFSSET-INRA, Paris.

Jovicich, E., and D.J. Cantliffe (2003). “ “Spanish” pepper trellis system and high plant density can increase fruit yield, quality, and reduce labor in a hydroponic, passive-ventilated greenhouse crop”, Acta Horticulturae, Vol.614: 255-262.

Jovicich, E., D.J. Cantliffe and P.J. Stoffella (2004). “Fruit yield and quality of greenhouse-grown bell pepper as influenced by density, container and trellis system”, HortTechnology, Vol.14: 507-513.

Jovicich, E., D.J. Cantliffe, P.J. Stoffella and D.Z. Haman (2007). “Bell pepper fruit yield and quality as influenced by solar radiation-based irrigation and container media in a passively ventilated greenhouse”, Horticultural Science, Vol.42: 642-652.

Jovicich, E., D.J. Cantliffe, S.A. Sargent and L.S. Osborne (2009). “Production of greenhouse-grown peppers in Florida”, HS-979, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, Gainesville (FL).

Jovicich, E., J.J. Vansickle, D.J. Cantliffe and P.J., Stoffella (2005). “Greenhouse-grown colored peppers: A profitable alternative for vegetable production in Florida”, HortTechnology, Vol.15: 355-369.

Lamont, T. (2011). “Banana wars over trade truce agreed between Latin America and EU”, The Observer - UK, URL, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/06/>.

Landau-Ossondo, M., N. Rabia, J. Jos-Pelage, L.M. Marquet, Y. Isidore, C. Saint-Aimé, M. Martin, P. Irigaray and D. Belpomme (2009). “Why pesticides could be a common cause of prostate and breast cancers in the French Caribbean Island, Martinique. An overview of key mechanisms of pesticide-induced cancer”, Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, Vol.63: 383-395.

Le Déaut, J.-Y. and C. Procaccia (2009). Pesticide use in the Antilles: current situation and perspectives for change, Parliamentary Office for Scientific and Technology Assessment, Le Sénat, Assemblée national, Republique française, Paris, France.

Lin, W.C. (2005). “Quality of stored greenhouse sweet peppers influenced by storage temperatures and pre-harvest factors”, Proc. FRUTIC 05, Montpelier, France, 12-16 September 2005: 101-108.

Meyer, B. (2009). “Unrest in French Caribbean has roots in slavery”, The Plain Dealer - USA, URL, <http://www.cleveland.com>.

Morazán, P. (2010). “A snapshot of the banana trade: Who gets what?”, Document EXPO/B/DEVE/2009-01/Lot5/05 – PE433.660, Directorate–General for External Policies of the Union, European Parliament, Strasbourg.

Multigner, L., J.R. Ndong, A. Giusti, M. Romana, H. Delacroix-Maillard, S. Cordier, B. Jegou, J.P. Thome and P. Blanchet (2010). “Chlordecone exposure and risk of prostate cancer”, Journal of Clinical Oncology, DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2009.27.2153.

Othman, Z., S. Bhatia and A.L. Ahmad (2008). “Influence of the settle ability parameters for palm oil mill effluent (POME) pretreatment by using Moringa oleifera seeds as an environmental friendly coagulant”, Proc. International Conference on Environment, Penang, 15-17 December 2008.

Patriarca, E. (2009). « Antilles: les victimes oubliées du chlordécone », Santé Travail, n°068, URL, <http://www.sante-et-travail.fr/>.

Radovich, T. (2011). “Farm and forestry production and marketing profile for Moringa (Moringa oleifera)”, In: C.R. Elevitch (ed.), Specialty crops for Pacific island agroforestry. Permanent Agriculture Resources, Holualoa (HI).

Ragone, D. (2011). “Farm and forestry production and marketing profile for Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)”, In: C.R. Elevitch (ed.), Specialty crops for Pacific island agroforestry. Permanent Agriculture Resources, Holualoa (HI).

Rashid, U., F. Anwar, B.R. Moser and G. Knothe (2008). “Moringa oleifera oil: A possible source of biodiesel”, Bioresource Technology, Vol.99: 8175–8179.

United Nations Environment Programme (2006). Chlordecone – Risk Profile, UNEP/POPS/POPRC.2/17/Add.2. Report of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee on the work of its second meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, 6-10 November 2006.

von Reppert-Bismarck, J. and C. Dunmore (2011). «EU lawmakers OK banana duty cuts for Latin America». Reuters - UK, 3 February 2011. URL, <http://uk.reuters.com/>.

Wong, A. (2011). “Conceptual plan to remediate chlordecone-contaminated soil in Martinique”, Proc. International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation, Ottawa, Canada, 19-21 August 2011.

Wong, A. and R. Gomes (2012). “Intractable social-economic problems of Martinique”, Études caribéennes, URL, <http://etudescaribeennes.revues.org/5795>, n° 21.

Haut de page

Notes

1 CARICOM: a Caribbean economic community comprising of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and, Trinidad and Tobago, in 2011.

Haut de page

Table des illustrations

Titre Figure 1. Martinique Location
Crédits Source: www.naturavox.fr
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 128k
Titre Table 1. Top 20 agricultural commodities produced in Martinique in 2010
Crédits Source: Adapted from FAOSTAT, 2012
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 248k
Titre Table 2. Example Moringa oil productivity for petro-diesel substitution
Crédits Source : Authors
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 132k
Titre Table 3. Candidate specialty exportable crops considered for Martinique
Crédits Source: Authors
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 276k
Titre Figure 2. Monthly averaged (22 years) incident solar radiation incident on a horizontal surface at 3 selected locations
Crédits Source: ASDC, 2012
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-5.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 156k
Titre Table 4. Tropical storms and hurricanes passing through Martinique, 1960-2011
Crédits Source: adapted from CHN, 2012.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-6.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 152k
Titre Figure 3. UK trade in bell peppers in 2009
Crédits Source: FAOSTAT, 2012
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-7.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 120k
Titre Table 5. Enterprise budget costing of a Martinique natural greenhouse
Crédits Source: Authors
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-8.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 260k
Titre Figure 4. Comparative avoidable CO2 emission for bell peppers, on a farm-to-fork basis, to be sold in Portsmouth (UK)
Crédits Source: Authors
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-9.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 80k
Titre Table 6. Conceptual bell-pepper production scheme
Crédits Source: Authors
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-10.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 84k
Titre Figure 5. Alternative marketing plan
Crédits Source : Adapted from CBI, 2006
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-11.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 76k
Titre Figure 6. Example societal outcome
Crédits Source: authors
URL http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/6710/img-12.png
Fichier image/png, 50k
Haut de page

Pour citer cet article

Référence électronique

Alfred Wong et Christine Ribero, « Alternative Agricultural Cropping Options for Chlordecone-Polluted Martinique »Études caribéennes [En ligne], 26 | Décembre 2013, mis en ligne le 15 décembre 2013, consulté le 29 mars 2024. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/6710 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/etudescaribeennes.6710

Haut de page

Auteurs

Alfred Wong

arbokem@arbokem.com

Articles du même auteur

Christine Ribero

Arbokem Inc.; Research Nutritionist; arbokem@arbokem.com

Haut de page

Droits d’auteur

CC-BY-NC-4.0

Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence CC BY-NC 4.0. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.

Haut de page
Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search