Clinton L. Beckford

Aboriginal Environmental Wisdom, Stewardship, and Sustainability: Lessons From the Walpole Island First Nations, Ontario, Canada

Generally speaking, environmental education teaching, research, and practice have been informed by the traditions of western, Euro-centric culture. In this context indigenous perspectives are often marginalized, maligned, and perceived to be unscientific and therefore inferior. This essay adds to the growing body of literature exploring aboriginal indigenous environmental epistemologies and responsible human interactions with the natural environment. The paper provides a Canadian context as it examines the environmental philosophy and attitude of a Canadian First Nations community to the natural environment grounded in the lived experiences of adults, children and elders from the Walpole Island First Nation. We make the argument that while not a panacea, Aboriginal environmental epistemologies hold lessons for teaching environmental stewardship and sustainability behavior in mainstream classrooms.

Decision–making and innovation among small–scale yam farmers in central Jamaica: a dynamic, pragmatic and adaptive process

Many researchers in the Caribbean have protested the generally negative stereotyping of small–scale farmers and the small–scale domestic agricultural sector. The essence of this pejorative attitude is that small–scale farmers display apathy and resistance to change and are reluctant to accept innovations. A major reason for this perspective is a lack of knowledge and understanding of and sensitivity towards the factors that influence and inform farmers’ decisions. Studying the decision–making of small–scale farmers can, therefore, shed light on their activities and help inform policymaking. This paper uses the example of small–scale yam farmers in central Jamaica to explore and investigate important issues related to decision–making innovations around four questions. Can the decisions of farmers about innovations be considered to be rational? What are the major factors that influence decision outcomes? Why do so many agricultural innovations and modernization initiatives that target small–scale farmers fail? Do farmers really shun innovations that have clear and obvious benefits and, if so, why?

Climate change resiliency in Caribbean SIDS: building greater synergies between science and local and traditional knowledge

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) described the Caribbean as one of the most susceptible regions in the world to climate change. Discourse in the region is vigorous at the policy-making and academic discourse levels, though far less so at the grassroots level, making for a very top down debate and policy-making process. This paper argues that local and traditional knowledge (LTK) in the Caribbean is an invaluable resource and cultural capital that can play a major role in addressing climate change concerns but has been largely untapped. It suggests that combining LTK with modern science can advance the climate change agenda in the region and proposes the establishment of a Caribbean Local and Traditional Knowledge Network (CLTKN) as a mechanism to harness local traditional knowledge and integrate it in regional climate change agendas.

Issues in Caribbean Food Security: Building Capacity in Local Food Production Systems

In this section I will discuss some key concepts of food security which will frame the discussion of the issue in the Caribbean context. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) defines food security as a condition where “... all people at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO, 2002). Four broad dimensions of food security are usually identifiedavailability-the supply of food in an area, access-the physical and economic ability of people to obtain food, utilizationthe proper consumption of food and stabilitythe sustainability of food supplies (World Food Program, 2009). Availability speaks to the supply of food and is influenced by factors such as food production, stockpiled food reserves and trade (EC-FAO Food Security Programme, 2008). Aspects of food availability include the agro-climatic essentials of crop and animal production and the sociocultural and economic milieu in which farmers operate (Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007). The second dimension access addresses the ability of individuals and households to purchase food. It takes into consideration the availability of financial resources to acquire adequate food both in terms of quantity and quality. Concerns about access take cognizance of the fact that availability of adequate food at the national or international level does not guarantee individual or household food security (EC-FAO Food Security Programme, 2008; Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007). The issue of entitlements is therefore critical (Sen, 1981). Entitlements maybe defined as “the set of those commodity bundles over which a person can establish command given the legal political, economic and social arrangements of the community of which he or she is a member” (Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2008 p.19703). The dimension of utilization is closely related to consumption patterns and behaviour which impact nutritional status and hence health and productivity. It is also related to food safety, preparation, and diversity in diets (EC-FAO Food Security Programme, 2008; Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007). The fourth dimension stability refers to long term consistency in the other three dimensions. It accounts for the reality of individual or households losing access and becoming food insecure periodically, seasonally, temporarily or permanently (EC-FAO Food Security Programme, 2008; Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007). Food security objectives cannot be genuinely met unless these four dimensions are concurrently fulfilled.

Tourism, Local Agriculture, and Food Security in the Caribbean

Contemporary trends in the global political economy, particularly as they pertain to trade liberalization and the reshaping of global food chains, have made Caribbean states more aware of the need to reform their agricultural sectors in order to be competitive and to enhance food security. One area of concern is the weak links between the tourism industries of the CARICOM countries and their agricultural sectors, especially the small-scale food-producing sector. Local tourism is booming, while local agriculture stagnates and declines (Thomas-Hope and Jardine-Comrie, 2007; Dodman and Rhiney, 2008). This means that symbiotic relationships between the two sectors are at best weak, and in the specific context of food production and food security, the tourism industry does very little to stimulate local agriculture. This is a long-standing contradiction as evidenced by research in the 1970s and 1980s (see Momsen, 1972; Belisle, 1983, 1984). There have been some suggestions that in the past 20 years or so, the situation has improved (Momsen, 1998; Torres, 2003; Conway, 2004; Rhiney, 2009; Timms, 2006), but recent research indicates that we have a long way to go in getting local foods into hotel kitchens in a significant way (Rhiney, 2009; Ramsee-Singh, 2006: Timms. 2006).

Decision-Making among Small-Scale Food Farmers in the Caribbean

We argue that in order to achieve greater food security and food self-sufficiency in the Caribbean, the capacity of the small-scale farming sector to produce more must be enhanced and that governments of the region must play a more central role in this regard. In order to be effective, governments and policy-makers must have a better sense of the environment in which small-scale farmers operate. This includes the decision environment in which decisions about what to plant, where, when, how, and how much are made. Decisions about marketing and distribution are also being made by farmers with implications for their livelihood and food security. Studying the decision-making framework of small-scale food farmers in the Caribbean—indeed in the tropics—is important as 90 percent of food in rural areas of the developing world is produced by such farmers (Josette Sheeran—World Food Program, 2009). An understanding of small-scale farmers’ decision-making process can shed light on their activities and inform policy-making.

Hazard Mitigation: Caribbean Small-Scale Farmers’ Coping and Adaptation Strategies for Hurricanes and Drought

This chapter explores the adaptation and coping strategies of Caribbean smallholder farmers against hurricanes and droughts. The vulnerability of the agriculture sector to both climate change and climate variability is well established (Parry et al., 2004; Slingo et al., 2005). The general consensus is that agricultural productivity will be reduced as a result of changes in temperature and rainfall (Slingo et al., 2005) and the increasing frequency of extreme meteorological events.

Factors Influencing Innovation Adoption among Small-Scale Farmers in the Caribbean

There is a tendency to stereotype Caribbean small-scale farmers and tropical small-scale farmers, more generally, as being resistant to change and innovations. This negative stereotype assumes that the decision of farmers to not adopt an innovation has no rational basis and is due mainly to apathy and a general resistance to change. But the situation is far more complex and small-scale farmers can be innovative. It might even be argued that, generally speaking, the decisions of farmers not to adopt an innovation, to postpone adopting an innovation, or to discontinue the use of a new practice is based on rational considerations in the circumstances of the farmers (Beckford, 2000,2002; Collymore, 1984, 1985; Spence, 1989, 1996; Davis-Morrison and Barker, 1997). Furthermore, there are ample examples that small-scale farmers are engaged in farm-level experimentation and innovation on a daily basis and that this is critical to their survival.

The Small-Scale Food Farming Sector in the Caribbean: Food Production and the Caribbean Peasantry

The responsibility of producing food crops in the Caribbean falls mainly on the shoulders of thousands of small-scale farmers who cultivate small holdings on mostly marginal lands in the interior hilly areas, certain river valleys and flood plains, and the dry southern coastal plains. Most farmers still use the same cultivation methods that were used hundreds of years ago. Most food products are sold, processed, resold, and consumed locally, thus providing the foundation for people’s nutrition, incomes, and livelihoods and contributing to rural and national development (Beckford and Bailey, 2009). The small-scale food producers have been able to grow food crops despite enormous challenges facing them(these challenges have been documented by McGregor et al., 2009; Campbell and Beckford, 2009; Beckford and Bailey, 2009; Beckford, 2009; Barker and Beckford, 2008; Beckford et al., 2007). The significance of agriculture in the Caribbean is historical and extends beyond just satisfying household needs. Agriculture’s contribution is indispensable to national, community, and household food security. In the 1970s, agricultural policy shifted its focus on food self-sufficiency, as a result of which domestic food production and consumption of locally grown foods were prioritized. Thus, agriculture—which had historically been the backbone of the economy—and the small-scale domestic food sector—which had always been the driver of food security—became even more important.

Urban Agriculture for Food Security in the Caribbean

The issue of urban agriculture has become increasingly significant in food security strategy globally as the world’s urban population (especially in developing countries) continues to climb rapidly and urban poverty spirals. It is thought that if current trends continue by the year 2020, more poor and undernourished people in developing countries will live in cities than in the countryside (Food and Agricultural Organization, 2001). Following the lead of the FAO, many countries and municipalities are making urban and periurban agriculture (UPA) an integral part of their food security and poverty reduction strategy. In 1994 the FAO launched the Special Program for Food Security (SPFS), a multidisciplinary program that integrates the perspectives of many academic disciplines to promote a holistic approach to food security. This approach was endorsed by world leaders at the World Food Summit in 1996 (FAO, 2001). A major component of the SPFS design is an element of UPA aimed at improving access to food for people living in (urban) and around cities (peri-urban).