Monday 1 October 2012

Question of the Week: Small Scale Farming

Small Scale Farming faces several issues which are debilitating and prevent the sector from reaching its full potential. Factors such as limited capital resources for investment and a lack of technical knowledge are examples of these issues. What are the features or characteristics of small scale farming that have been influenced by people who were slaves and indentured laborers?


82 comments:

  1. Yes most definitely small scale farming which can prove to be very beneficial to the Caribbean as a whole have never actually reached its full potential. There is the problem of limited capital resources for investment and also a lack of education towards this career or in better terms a lifestyle. Which is also a true statement is that the reason our farming is of this category is due to the impact or influence by the peasant farmers, indentured labourers and the enslaved has had on us.
    Throughout the years farming or pursuing a career in agriculture have been greeted negatively. Small scale farming has always had a stigma attached to it, this is what is most similar to our ancestors or the persons involved in farming in slavery times and indentureship. Farming was for the lower class in society in those days an currently persons still treat it of this standard. Features of farming previously, compared to farming in the Caribbean today, is the methods of farming, the technology used and the type of land used as well. The type of small scale farming that was done most of the times was subsistence farming and sometimes sold excess in the market which is very similar to us currently just today it is sold on a slightly larger basis. Also the technology used was little or none at all in days of ole and has influenced how small scale farmers farm today. Farmers today use mainly forks, hoes, rakes and cutlasses which are also because of the land as well. The slope of the land limits these farmers to these equipments.
    These above features of small scale farming today share such a close resemblance to those previously hence, why they have had such an influence on our farming today.
    Joshua Dhanpaul
    812001979

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  2. While it is safe to agree that issues such as limited capital and technical knowledge have prevented small scale farming from reaching its full potential. it should also be noted that one of the most leading challenges stem from the availability of Land and the competition farmers face of land by housing or industries. Long ago slaves weren’t able to purchase land. Due to the limited access to credit for loans (limited capital resources).
    Besides the fact that they didn’t have collateral, slaves didn’t have the skill or education to reinvest as well as to manage their profits. Therefore in the long run, not having enough money to repay loans, hence many lending agencies were forced to close down.
    Farmers also did not have the technical knowledge of today, in order to replace manual labour with mechanical labour. Therefore they used most manual tools/labour such as hoes, forks, spades and the mechanical string trimming device (also known as waka). Due to the cost attached to fertilizers and the high yielding variety for seeds; Subsistence or traditional farms are characterized by low inputs which are mostly provided by the farmers themselves through e.g. seeds, and cow dung manure. In the cases where mixed farming is used, in the event of crop failures were farmers are able to invest surpluses into meat, milk and eggs. Farmers are also face with problems resulting from crop infestation, pest and diseases and massive loss of crop and animals. Therefore overall productivity will be low.
    Despite these challenges, and the “Label” behind small scale farming it is now more recognized or implemented by the government to youths in this society. Such programs are: YAPPA (youth apprenticeship program in agriculture) and C.C.C (civilian conservation corps).

    Karina Farrell
    812117616

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  3. Small scale farming in the Caribbean faces several challenges, thus preventing the sector to reach its full potential. Besides issues such as limited capital and the lack of education and training, there are other factors that constricts the sector.
    The main issue that hinders the growth of small scale farming today is the size of land parcels as well as land tenure. Because of land fragmentation, most farmers farm on half acre plots which restricts them from growing a wide variety of crops. Also because most farmers have no title to the land that they farm on, credit institutions are reluctant to issue loans to these farmers for expansion purposes because of no collateral. Another pressing issue is the competition for farm lands by industries and housing.
    Low productivity, coupled with low yields and increases in the number of pest and disease, threaten the future of farming. In order for farmers to increase their yields, fertilizers and pesticides have to be applied. Since most small farms in the Caribbean are located on steep hillsides, these fertilizers and pesticides need to be hauled manually up these slopes and then applied. This is very laborious and most farmers are reluctant to do this. Small farmers are also limited to using basic tools such as hoes, forks and cutlasses. This is due to the fact that tractors cannot operate on steep, hilly terrains. Because of the reality that farmers have to manually perform all these tasks instead of the usage of machinery, there is a certain judgery directed towards farmers because society veiw farming as a from of 'slavery'.
    Indeed there are several challenges facing small scale farming. Proactive measures should be implemented to overcome these obstacles so that farming can reach its full potential in the Caribbean region.

    Vushram Bickaree
    I.D #: 812003898

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  4. Small scale farming in the Caribbean is an important form of agricultural activity and is highly valuable to providing produce for municipal and local markets, however small scale farming has never attained its true potential due to limitations. These limitations are due to the individuals who are directly involved in small farming and the problems they face as these problems may have been inherited from periods of peasantry, indentureship and slavery who have influenced modern farming.
    Previous generations have influenced small scale farming in terms of land sizes and tenure, farms are small generally less than 2ha (two hectares) and lands are usually not of high quality, also many lands are not legally owned hence it is an issue in relation to obtaining credit as farmers have no collateral. This leads to another issue in capital which is essential to investing in essential technology, tools and chemicals. Resulting in a lack of this capital in most cases, technology, practices and tools used by peasants and indentured workers are still used today, eg. tools such as forks, spades and hoes, fertilizing methods such as using animal manure obtained from animals kept on the farm and hand fertilizing and hand ploughing/tilling are common practices, as it is costly and sometimes not possible to use tractors due to steep slopes. Due to limited knowledge, and little or no means to access more technology, in addition to lack of capital and small, marginal lands, production is at many times not at an optimum level.
    Another issue that stems from Caribbean agriculture’s roots in peasantry, slavery and indentureship is a stigma of low wages, strenuous work, low standards of living, and low status. Thus resulting in recent labor shortages as young persons seek other fields of employment. These issues all hinder Caribbean agriculture from attaining its true potential as an economic and essential activity.
    AMIT SOOKOO I.D#: 812001643

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  5. Small scale farming have been influenced by numbers factors such as the stated, limited capital resources for investment and a lack of technical knowledge. Other factors that have contributed to the outcome of small scale farming was the previous conditions by which the slaves/ indentured labors had to work under for example indentured labors farmed on marginal land of poor quality which are usually located along hillsides and not the preferred land to farm on but they had to make good use of it cause it was the only resource that they had. But due to lack of proper farming techniques and over exhaustion of the land have become degraded and unusable for a period of time and fractionation made the division of the large acres of land into smaller fractions resulting in less of the crop being produced and quality of the crop. As to most farmers cannot afford the price of land to farm on and since the government of a country is more focused on the food production and food security as a mass level for heavy profit (export) not much attention is being put on the small scale farmer who produces less as typical to the indentured laborer or the rural communities in which they live that engage in small scale farming lack of government intervention to provide subsidies to these farmers more of a result of the lack of interest in current generations with the certain stigma attached to it such as it’s a highly intensive job and poor working conditions it was considered similar to those of the conditions in the plantations during slavery, a stigma which is still attached to the agricultural sector in today’s society. As a result of the lack of interest in this sector the government does not pay particular attention. Its effects on those who are part of the agri sector the livehood is reflected in a minuscule shadow on the government’s development and policy practice.

    Name: Kristien Jebodsingh
    ID #: 812001372

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  6. Small scale farming has not reached its full potential in the Caribbean. As we can still see that as the world is getting more advanced, small scale farming in the Caribbean has yet to meet up with it. Technology is lacking in small scale farming and this can play an important role in it. Yes we can see some form of technological advancement in farming such as funnel systems and drip irrigation, but not to extent that it provides easier to farm. Small Scale farmers still have forks, shovels, hoes and other tools that are really outdated now. Even if they were to seek the use of machinery, problems would arise with the amount of land space that they have. It may be that the space is too small and it could also be the quality of land that the machines have to work on, meaning it may or may not be fertile and to plant their crops.
    Also small scale farmers are also limited to the amount of land that they can produce on, approximately less than half hectare land, meaning that their crops are also limited in content and in number. Also as small scale farming began with the slaves, where one of their problems was credit, one can see that it does not stray from the society today. Many small scale farmers are faced with high costs. Another is the lack of information that farmers have to use to plant their crops, so they are only limited to the amount of crops that they know. This has been seen from ever since the plantation days in which the Europeans would not give the slaves sufficient information to get good crops or a sufficient amount of crops for survival.

    Name: Kareem Garvin
    ID NO: 812002898

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  7. A small farm is one which operates on approximately two hectares or less. The size of these farms was influenced by the fragmentation of land, done by the peasants. Small scale farming can be characterized by many features such as, the limited use of agricultural machinery. Since these farms are situated on small portions of land and may be located on hillsides, it becomes difficult to get large machinery on site. Also, the price attached to renting or buying the necessary equipment is high, therefore, the farmers may not be able to afford it and may consider taking loans. However, some banks do not trust small farmers with loans since they may not be able to repay if there is crop failure. This means that most small scale farmers are limited to using hand tools such as a cutlass, knapsack sprayers and mechanical string trimming devices. The agricultural process is thus very time consuming. Another feature that was influenced by the slaves and indentured laborers is the way in which the farmers fertilize the crops. They use green manure and animal waste manure to fertilize the soil. When the organic matter breaks down, the nutrients evenly dispersed in the soil, and assist in the soil structure and fertility. It is also a lot cheaper to recycle the animal waste and green waste than to purchase chemical fertilizers. Another feature the farmers adopted is the farming systems, such as mixed farming with food crops and livestock, and multicropping, which include two or more different types of crops which benefit from each other. These are some features of agriculture influenced by slaves and indentured laborers.
    CANDY CELESTINE
    812000003

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  8. Small scale farming in the Caribbean has indeed been influenced greatly by the slaves and the indentured labourers. The most evident influence would be that of “management of the lands”. This is seen where the tenures or title to the lands are concerned, where small scale farmers find great difficulty in getting loans to expand their farms , or to develop their farms because they do not possess proof that the land belongs to them. This may be one of the reasons why these farms are low on technology, because capital is needed to introduce modern technology. The issue of not having title to lands create a great problem in developing the farms , this arose because of the ex- slaves and indentured workers choice of just settling on empty state land , bearing in mind this is an issue that moves on from generation to generation. The previous people have also influenced farm size, this is so because they occupied relatively small plots to sustain themselves then they developed and expanded the farms.
    Other factors or features that have influenced small scale farming from the previous people would be diversification, the idea of planting a variety of crops, mixing the rearing of animals with planting crops and developing ways of planting that sustains the soils fertility, namely “Mixed Farming”, “Relay Cropping” etc. Another influence would be they encouraged thrifts which lead to cash crops, so crops are also grown locally and sold in the local markets; they introduce basically the concept of planting as a mean of obtaining an income. In conclusion the previous people have greatly influenced small scale farming both negatively and positively.

    Shantal Mahase
    811003716

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  9. Small scale farming has presented many opportunities for Caribbean people by providing both food and income. However small scale farming in the Caribbean faces many problems which prevents the sector from reaching its full potential. Land space within the Caribbean for small scale farmers is generally small consisting of half acre and less, due to this the farmers are limited in production and various crops are planted but in small quantities in different time periods so that there can be an periodic income generated. Small scale farmers due to their lack of land space they partake in mixed farming, as a result both animal and plant benefit as the manure are used for the plants and the animal are fed with the unwanted plants after they are harvested. The lack of education and large loans to farmers have restricted them from moving small scale farming forward, there is still the mentality that small scale farming is for slaves and poor people, this can be seen as a sense of mental slavery which has harshly affected farming in the Caribbean. Farmer are still engaged in manual labor because of land space being to small for machinery to operate or either on the hill side. After slavery ended the slaves were given small pieces of land, whilst the others resided on the hill side hence the land available today for small scale farming.
    Farmers are faced by many problems but one of the main problems faced is loss of crops either by flooding on disease due to this farmers can experience financial problems which prevent many people from becoming farmers.
    Farming is being out do by Industrialization as they compete for land space, due to the farmers lack of availability for large loans the industries are over powering them in the fight for land space and labor. These factors has influenced small scale farming greatly within the Caribbean.

    Stephon McCarthy
    I.D 812002247

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  10. Small scale farming in the Caribbean faces tribulations such as limited capital resources for investment and a lack of technical knowledge; the reason for the problem of limited capital resources is that there were several lending agencies but due to the inability to repay loans these firms shut down since they saw closure as the only solution. Presently, there is the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) which is actually flourishing in Trinidad. Also, the lack of technical knowledge; this simply implies that people grow with the ideology that agriculture is for the people of lower class since it was practiced during the times of slavery and indentureship.
    Excluding the problems above, other factors may be the unavailability of land due to the fact that many industrial firms and housing development plans are now being constructed on these fertile agricultural lands and this is one main factor preventing the agricultural sector from reaching its highest potential. Land tenure and ownership patterns from back to the days of peasantry have also resulted in the unavailability of land today. Furthermore, many farmers face the constraint of mechanization since it slows down the entire process of production. This is because of the location of farms; most farms are located on hilly areas which limit the use of machinery, increase the risks for landslides and soil erosion and may limit farmers’ yearly income. Moreover, when the people of today see that farming associates itself with using manual tools such as hoes, forks and spades, they may not understand that tractors and other mechanized gears cannot be used because the size of the farm land may be too small. This is also a result that the influence of slaves and labourers had on the Caribbean people are still affecting the lives of many.

    STEPHANIE JAGDEO
    812001988

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  11. Yes it is quite true that small scale farming cannot and may never reach its full potential due to several issues such as lack of capital for investment, lack of education or technical knowledge, lack of fertile land (since most peasant farmers farm on marginal lands) and lack of land basically since most peasant farmers land plots are less than 2 acres, which bring us to our focus, Characteristics of small scale farming that were influenced by the slaves and indentured laborers. Firstly, the land size, as stated before most peasant farmers plots of land are less than 2 acres in size, this is due to the fact land was scarce after emancipation ,so slaves took what little land they could or were given , these were mostly marginal lands which were probably of good size when the slaves first started farming on it, but throughout the generations with the land being fragmented due to it being split between kin after the death of the previous owner, the plots became smaller and smaller, eventually arriving to where it is at today ,Because of the small land size few crops could be grown thus restricting the farmers and peasants alike. Secondly, Fertility, as stated before the lands in which the slaves took or were given were mostly marginal lands with little fertility, so few crops could grow well, not to mention when disease took its toll, this eventually lead to low yields. The farmers of then used cow manure and compost to combat the poor soil fertility, these methods of fertilization are still used today. Thirdly, Equipment, the slaves and indentured laborers used tools such as cutlasses, hoes, and forks, these tools are still used today because famers cannot access the technological advances due to no capital. Fourthly, Farmers couldn’t get loans that would in turn be used to invest in themselves because they had no land deed, no collateral, so they were turned down this stemmed from their ancestors failing to get the proper documentation and thus they suffer as a result.
    Erik Ranoo
    I.D.#:812003827

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  12. Cultivating on a small portion of land by a slave, ex slave or indentured labor was a privilege in the plantation era, thus, they operate on two hackers or less. The lack of mechanization gave rise to a primitive and traditional way of farming, as they had no access to mechanical resources, which continued the use of hoes, rakes, cutlass, forks and spades, which influenced the way in which small farmers cultivate their land today. However, the availability of land altered the location of such farms on hillsides or the boarders of the plantation. Modern day farmers compete for land thus, this became a limited recourse which continued farming on small portions of land. Also, weather is a factor that the past farmer as well as the modern day small scale farmers have little or no control over as they lack the capital to maintain their crops based on the climatic conditions. Therefore, the infrastructure of such a farm is traditional and lacks technology. However, based on these factors a farmer of such a production would divert his farm methods to mix farming, multiple cropping, relay cropping, intercropping and crop ration, which would alter his soil fertility as these are all soil manipulating practices that would increase the nutrient content and bulk density. Thus, manures, cover crops and mulches introduced to the soil based on the farm style chosen, are cost effective fertilization methods practiced. Furthermore, integrated pest management (IPMs) and integrated weed management practices such as biological and physical control require little monetary input. Such methods are intercropping plants that divert the pest away from the main crop and physical removal of weeds. On the other hand, high capital is required to overcome small scale farming, which is why many of them remain constant at this level of production.

    Phebe Ramayah
    811000694

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  13. Smale scale farming refers to farming done on an area that is of relatively small proportions. Size may vary by region however in the caribbean they are usually less than 2 hectares. Small scale farming was popular among freed slaves and indentured labourers who lacked land and ownership and had limited resources.Farming was done on a subsistence basis and was a means of feeding and clothing their family. Today many features of small scale farming are based on features of the past . Even though there has been change some poorer farmers practice the same methods due to lack of education and employment opportunities or just for the love of it.Today in many countries mechanisation like tractors and harvesters are important in cutting cost of production. It reduces the need for use of manual labour and saves important time. Small farmers living on hills are not able to use this equipment on slopes where their farms are based.Small farmers usually do not have much capital to buy machinery and fertilizers. Farmers still use forks , hoes , cutlasses and hand held sprayers as well as other manual equipment to tend to their gardens . There has always been health risks related to small scale farming due to exposure to fertilizers, pesticides, constant sun and rain resulting in poor health of individuals.Many farmers who had farms did not own the land they lived on and were unable to access loans and other forms of credit to finance their activities.Lack of capital usually inhibits a small farmer's ability to purchase the fertilizers , limestone and pesticides to battle infertile soil as well as deal with diseases that destroy crops and their income.Technology in farming is beginning to thrive today . Use of new methods, chemicals, and government incentives has reduced the number of small scale farmers and the arduos related activities.However there are many small scale farmers that have thrived in the same conditions over many years and have continued to upkeep their ancestral lifestyle with no thought of relinquishing it. Nigel Sylvester ID : 812003621

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  14. In the cultivation process of Small Scale Farming, it is true that several issues such as Technical knowledge and limited Capital prevents the Agricultural Sector from reaching its full potential. This is demonstrated, by the current problems that farmers face today in the Caribbean. Added with the issues above are land unavailability, lack of governmental support and pests and diseases. These contradictions prevent the ability of cultivation to reach its climax of success.

    Factors/characteristics that have been influenced by slaves and indentured labourers involved the use of green manure. When crops removed nutrients from the soil, they found a natural way to return them without the use of artificial fertilizers used today. They applied mixed farming, where livestock and crops utilized the same plot of land. The dung/green manure was used raw as fertilizer for crops. They utilized this in the rainy season, where the ground was moist and could consume the ability of the manure which improved texture and structure. Another feature comprehended was the use of diversification interchangeably with long term (sugar) and short term (legumes) cropping techniques. While one was lying fallow, another was being harvested. This ensured the current flow of income where the cash crops were sold locally exported. A third feature involved the lack of machinery and crops planted on slopes and hillsides. The labourers manually harvested crops, chopped wood and killed livestock. They used tools such as pickaxes, forks and wagons to plant and transport crops. A fourth feature after harvesting included immediately processing crops in mills. This prevented and protected crops from the risk of spoilage, infestation of pests and diseases and weather conditions. Fifth characteristic involved slaves having good education agricultural knowledge as they practiced weed and management control of crops from cultural backgrounds.

    Jenette Greenidge
    ID: 812001010

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  15. Small scale farming faces several issues which are debilitating and prevent the sector from reaching its full potential. Factors such as limited capital resources for investment and a lack of technical knowledge are examples of these issues. Features or characteristics of small scale farming that have been influenced by people who were slaves and indentured laborers are the trends in the pattern of agriculture. These trends were in response to crop failure, loss of income, poor soil productivity due to nutrient deficiency, unfavourable weather conditions, pests and diseases, export market requirements, market, national agricultural policy and profitability.
    Due to the risks of crop failure and loss of income, the feature or characteristic of mixed farming or multiple cropping came about. This helped farmers to receive a continuing cash flow. When it came to poor soil productivity due to nutrient deficiency mixed farming also helped as the animal waste was used as manure or fertilizers for the soil. They also began planting green legumes as they produce their own source of nitrogen when they rot and drop. Integrated pest management and integrated weed management was started in order to prevent pests and diseases on the farms. For unfavorable weather conditions the feature of greenhouses were created as a form of new technology. This helped with weather control, managing insects, all season growing and limited labor demand. Another feature that influenced farmers were the use of forks, shovels and hoes on small scale farms since using tractors would have been impossible due the size or steepness of the farms.
    Reshma Sharma
    812003309

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  16. The development of small scale farming have yet to reach its full potential this is due to some issues of obstacles faced that prevents this. Some of these issues include unavailability of land farmer’s reluctance to switch from manual tools to agricultural machinery which causes slow production, limited capital, lack of technical knowledge and the failure of crops due to pest infestation and diseases. There was also lack of government input and the stigma attached to small scale farming that only the lower class did this that is shared even by our youths now. Nevertheless many solutions were implemented to overcome these issues such as the development of different farming systems which ensured a steady cash flow and diversifying their crop portfolio. The ex-slaves and some of the indentured laborers who were skilled agriculturists influenced certain features of small scale farming today.
    One of the features of small scale farming influenced was the diversification of crops. The ex slaves had introduced new crops and reintroduced old ones that farmers use today. Also the introduction of different farming systems such as mixed farming and relay cropping. While one crop lay fallowed another was harvested or animals could be used as substitutes. These methods ensured that farmers would always have a flowing production and thus a steady flow of cash. Another feature influenced was the use of fertilizers. Farmers began to use green manure, inorganic manure and fertilizers to improve the fertility and structure of the soil to produce healthier crops. Also the experimentation of other crops was encouraged such as plant breeding and selection. Another feature was the use of mills which ensure healthy crops that were free from diseases, spoilage and adverse whether conditions. The free Indians who were also skilled agriculturists took the lead in showing that the combined filed and factory system was not the only way to grow sugar. Farmers realized that they could better economize by introducing a central factor system. They also showed that it was possible to grow rice in paddy fields in low lying areas. All these influences helped better small scale farming.
    Kenisha Etter
    812001015

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  17. Small scale farming is one which operates on approximately two hectares of land or less therefore, it is difficult for small scale farmers to compete with large scale ones. This is so because large scale farmers have more land, thus more output, as well as better machinery and as such, lower production costs. Because of this, it can be said that large scale farms benefit from economies of scale.
    Small scale farming can be developed into an extremely prosperous outlet for Caribbean countries. But in order for this to materialize, the governments must step in. One way they could do this, is to give out grants to small scale farms in order to help them with their problem of not having large amounts of capital. In addition, they can grant tax exemptions on machinery or items such as fertilizers. This would help small scale farmers develop.
    Small scale faming that has been influenced by slaves and indentured laborers. The use of traditional farming tools such as hoes, shovels and ploughs continue to be popular in small scale farming. Another characteristic of small scale farming that has been influenced by the slaves and indentured laborers is the development of it as a family dynamic. This means that the entire family becomes involved in the act and as such, is usually large and all committed to the farm.
    The Caribbean governments can help develop small scale farming into a prosperous industry, but they need to invest into it otherwise, it will simply be overtaken by large scale farms. They need to shelter the industry from "danger" before it can become successful and provide for itself and the country. If this can be done successfully. Small scale farming will have a bright future ahead of it.

    Rene Ramlal

    812001560

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  18. Small scale farming is still very much like it was for the peasants. In fact, much of today’s farmers are heavily influenced by the decisions of the slaves and indentured labourers.
    One main characteristic of a small scale farmer is the use of small land. This is so as peasants got whatever land they could, and because as time went by the land would be shared among generations, thus making it even smaller. A hindering aspect of this is that modern small scale farmers cannot achieve efficiency as the land is often on a hill or inappropriate area for some crops. Also, these farmers cannot use machinery as the land is not large enough or it is too slanted to even use a tractor.
    Also, ancestors began multiple cropping to appeal more to the economic market; this is still followed today as it is common to see a farmer growing crops such as peas and beans together. As well as mixed cropping where farmers breed animals along with plants, this is helpful as the manure from these animals can be used as a fertilizer for the plants etc..
    Lastly, the techniques followed today were mostly originated by the slaves and indentured labourers that ran to the hills and began farming. Techniques such as, ”slash and burn” and “milpa” are ancient tricks passed down through the generations.

    Ryan West
    812002338

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  19. There are many challenges small scale farming faces today in the Caribbean which hinders the sector from reaching its full potential. The main factors such as limited capital resources and technical knowledge are examples. Firstly, the lack of capital causes struggle for small scale farming in that farmers do not have enough capital to purchase fertilizers or to maintain the soil. This can therefore cause the crop or livestock to be off poor quality and also creating a low productivity. The final cost to maintain the land would be difficult as it would be necessary for farmers to properly maintain soil fertility to increase production. Also, tools such as hoes, forks, and spades were use by farmers as the size of the land was too small to maintain using machinery therefore these tools were mainly used.
    Secondly, farmers are not fully educated, therefore they may be unable to borrow large loans and may not be able to repay these loans and would not have any collateral. However, the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), is the only local bank that provides financial aid and technical support to farmers.
    Slaves that became free after 1838 started their own town lifestyle in an attempt to forget the horror of the plantation. Nonetheless, the fact that they practise subsistence farming prohibits such further economic growth as they were not allowed to plant on the plantation property. The blacks due to their social stratification were technologically advanced with machinery from the industrial revolution as the whites did not wanted to give them because they were low class and they were seen as inferior to the whites.


    NAME: SAMANTHA PALADEE
    STUDENT I.D: 812001263

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  20. Small scale farming has presented many opportunities in the Caribbean such as it provides employment for people (income) and food .on the other hand farmers face many problems such as limited capital resources for investment and a lack of technical knowledge, and the size/lack of infertile lands. Also today small scale farming is seen as a low class job because there is still mentality that small scale farming is for slaves and poor people. Slaves and indentured laborers took up the marginal land located on hillsides; hence the quality of the soil was infertile. as time passed from then to now the land was divided up and handed down from generation to generation hence it got smaller and smaller . In present day today the land that is being farmed today is very small and infertile, furthermore farmers are limited to the amount of crops being planted on the land. The lack of mechanization gave rise to a primitive and traditional way of farming, as they had no access to mechanical resources famers back then had to use hoes, rakes, cutlass, forks and spades, which influenced the way in which small farmers today cultivate their land.
    Many small scale farmers today do not use trackers to plow the land because the land is too small and due to the location of the land (hillsides) farmers are not fully educated, therefore they may be unable to borrow large loans and may not be able to repay these loans and would not have any collateral. due to they don’t have proper documentation for the ownership of the land . However, the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), is the only local bank that provides financial aid and technical support to farmers

    NAME:ANDREA GOSINE
    ID #:812001885

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  21. People who were slaves and indentured laborers have influenced small scale farming in terms of land sizes and tenure, farms are small generally less than two hectares. The land are not usually of high value, also numerous lands are not legally owned and for this reason it is an issue in relation to acquiring credit as farmers have no land as their own that can be used as collateral, this leads to another issue which is investment in technology, tools and chemicals because of this lack of capital in most cases, technology, practices and tools used by peasants and indentured workers are still used today. Example tools such as spades and hoes, fertilizing methods such as using animal manure acquired from animals and hand fertilizing and hand ploughing/tilling are common practices. Due to limited knowledge, little or no access to technology , a lack of capital and small marginal lands production is at several times not at an optimal level.
    An additional concern that stems from Caribbean agriculture’s roots in peasantry, slavery and indentureship is a stigma of low wages, backbreaking work, low standards of living, and low status. Thus resulting in modern labor shortages as young persons seek other fields of employment. These issues all hamper Caribbean agriculture from attaining its true potential as an economic and essential activity. As a result of the lack of concern in this sector the government does not pay particular attention. Its effects on those who are part of the agriculture sector the livelyhood is reflected in a very small outline on the government’s development and policy preparation.

    Sanjay Maharaj
    811004348

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  22. Back in the day of slavery and indentureship there were no proper tools and financing so those slaves or indentures would have just planted with what they had. They were not fed much on the plantation so they needed to farm to sustain themselves so they had to make use of all the items they could acquire or create. As time went by they became used to how they farmed and these methods of farming were passed down from generation to generation. Over the times they got accustomed to it so they saw no need for them to develop; a few might have developed and are contributing to the national output.
    A lack of capital is still a main factor contributing to the backwardness of the small scale farmers because they are small scale they don’t earn much profit and this is keeping them back. Also education is another factor still affecting small scale farmers , they are grow as farmers and they don’t see the need to be otherwise or even develop their farming skills. A next major factor is the use of the farm land over time, from slavery/ indentureship to now the lands would have only gotten worse. With their knowledge of farming being limited they might think they are doing well to the land but in fact they are only harming the soils and depleting it out. In this modern world we live in these small scale farmers are keeping back development and need to get with the flow and get educated about farming.
    Nicolas Christian Seenath ☮
    812000093

    ReplyDelete
  23. It is understood that small scale farming faces many issues today. There are many characteristics of small scale farming today that has been influenced by ex-slaves and indentured laborers. First we must understand what small scale farming is. This deals with a farmer who operates on a small acreage of land producing crops to sell.
    Small scale farming faces many issues such as unavailability of land, limited resources, limited use of machinery and the stigma of farming in today's society. As ex-slaves occupied small acreages on the outskirts of the plantations they started planting crops for subsistence. These lands weren't ideal for farming but we still see small scale farming being done on these lands today. Ex slaves as well as indentured laborers reintroduced crops into the islands through farming which are still being planted by farmers today. Some farmers today are also faced with financial difficulties that hinder their production of crops. This is because many lending agencies that helped aid small scale farmers closed down. One reason for this was the failure by farmers to repay loans. Locations of these farms make it almost impossible to use machinery such as tractors to work on the land. Machinery is also very costly so most small scale farmers use hand tools such as hoes, forks, cutlasses and rakes. Farming is often frowned upon in society today. A farmer today is often perceived to be someone of a low socioeconomic class who is likely to be poor. This stigma derives from the history of ex-slaves and indentured laborers who worked hard for little pay just to provide for their families. Many young people today see farming as hard work with little rewards so they turn away from this sector.

    Nicholas Dingwell
    812117163

    ReplyDelete
  24. Everyone can agree that small scale farming faces a lot of issues which deny them the opportunity to reach their full potential. Some issues that they face are limited capital for investment, lack of technical knowledge, lack of support from the government and lots more. Even in today’s farming, some traditions still continue from the time of slavery and indenture ship.
    As we all know that after Emancipation freed slaves settled in marginal lands and also on hillsides and in the days of indenture ship, indentures got small pieces of land as well. Providing that there were limited technology available back then, these land owners had to farm using their hands. They used tools such as hoes, racks, and lots more. Given that fertilisers were very costly and, loans were hard to pay back, farmers now had to resort to other forms of help. They started using legumes as green manure for fertilisers and soil structure, to sustain from purchasing costly fertilisers. Farmers started mix farming, whereby they planted crops and looked after livestock; to this day farmers still use this method of farming. They also practice methods such as relay cropping and intercropping. They would plant peas and corn together because peas add nitrogen to soil while corn take away nitrogen from soil. Still, in today’s society farmers are still having the same issue as they did back in those days. Even though much more is available now, still purchasing of heavy machinery and fertilisers can be expensive. Hence farmers today find alternative ways to get around cost some, by using methods from the time of slavery and indenture ship and they make a living by doing this.



    Farissa Salick
    812001056


    ReplyDelete
  25. Small scale farming in the Caribbean has been facing most of the same problems since its birth and the sector continues to weaken. These issues such as limited capital resources for investment, lack of technical knowledge and small land holdings continues to be among the problems faced by the small scale farmers in the Caribbean and are inherited through generations. It can be seen how advancements in the sector may be unachievable as the same problems had to be combatted with the same solutions, even though new technologies and methods are being developed and utilized in other parts of the world.
    Some of the features or characteristics that have been influenced by people who were slaves and indentured labourers are features such as multi-cropping. This is where crops are grown in combination and sometime side by side so that one can benefit from the other. Sometimes some types of plants would keep away the pests that would plague the other and they are planted together so that expensive pesticides do not have to be used.
    Another way in which ex-slaves and indentured labourers have characterised small scale farming is by the way they fertilize their land in that they cut costs by using green manure and animal waste manure as many of them rare livestock such as cows and poultry to supplement their income which as another feature of small farming that has been passed down from ex-slaves and indentured labourers.
    Also, due to the fact that most peasant farmers settled on hilly lands heavy machinery for instance tractors are not able to work on the land so traditional tools such as hand ploughs, forks, shovels, hoes and cutlasses are still in use to date.
    The fact that agriculture in the Caribbean has made no major advancements there is still the stigma of low wages, strenuous manual work and uneducated and unskilled labourers. This is the reason why the youth are reluctant to venture into agriculture. It can be argued that it is because youth don’t get involved in agriculture is why Caribbean is in its current state as no new creative and innovative ideas, methods or technology are being put forward as the future of small scale farming is left in the hands of the same uninformed people with no training for betterment available to them.
    ROHAN PERSAD
    812001966

    ReplyDelete
  26. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Small scale farming faces a lot of different constraints which do not allow it to reach to its full potential. These constraints may be due to lack of available resources such as water or even land space and also lack of technical knowledge available. Much of these constraints were due to the historic start of small scale farming. Small scale farming was started in the Caribbean after slavery and indentureship were ended.
    The freed slaves, that could afford it, were allowed to purchase plots of land. Failure of many plantations in the early 1900’s forced owners to subdivide these estates into smaller parcels, which were sold at fairly reasonable prices. However, most of the freed slaves did not receive any money after being freed. Therefore, many of these slaves did not have enough monetary capital to do purchase the land. Some of the freed slaves settled down on marginal land as a result of not having enough money. Despite this, the freed slaves planted their own crops such as vegetables and ground provisions, on the marginal land to supply themselves with food. Some of these crops could also be sold. Much of the marginal land was unsuitable for planting crops however; either being on poorly fertilized soils or too hilly lands.
    The indentured labourers, on the other hand, were given land at a price. They were paid for their services on the plantations and could therefore buy whatever land they desired, once they had enough to pay. Most of the indentured labourers were of East Indian descent and many of them had vegetarian diets. As a result, when an indentured labourer received land, they cultivated the land and planted vegetable crops for their own use. Eventually, they could sell the crops they grew and create a small scale farm. Additionally, some of the freed slaves and indentured labourers reared animals such as cows, sheep, goats, chickens and ducks. The animals provided another source of income as their meat, milk or eggs could also be sold. The manure from the animals could also be used on the crops.

    Saeedah Baksh
    810002134

    ReplyDelete
  28. Small scale farming in the Caribbean faces several challenges, preventing it from achieving its full potential. These challenges or limitations are due to the individuals who are directly involved in small scale farming and the problems they face. Furthermore, these problems may have been inherited from periods of peasantry, indentureship and slavery, which have influenced modern farming.
    Lack of Technology is another characteristic that hinders small scale farming growth and can play an important role. Some forms of technological advancement in farming such as funnel systems and drip irrigation, are present today, but not to extent that that it assists small scale farms to achieve their full potential, as farmers still possess tools that are outdated, such as, shovels, ploughs, forks, and hoes, which was influenced by the indentured laborers and slaves.
    Limited Capital is another problem faced. The reason for the problem of limited capital resources is that there were several lending agencies but due to the inability to repay loans these firms saw closure as the only solution. Presently, there is the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) which is present in Trinidad & Tobago.
    Apart from these above factors, the problem of available land is another, as many industrial firms and housing schemes are now being constructed on fertile agricultural lands and this is one main factor preventing the agricultural sector from achieving its full potential. Land ownership patterns from back to the days of peasantry have also resulted in the unavailability of land today.
    The use of new methods, techniques chemicals, and government incentives has reduced the number of small scale farmers and the manual related activities. However there are a number of scale farmers that have thrived in the same conditions as in the slavery and indentureship days.

    Student Name: Ronnard Ramlochan
    Student I.D: 812002629

    ReplyDelete
  29. Small scale farming has been heavily influenced by the slaves and indentured laborers. Small scale farming is done within small areas of land of approximately two hectares or less. After slavery was abolished, the freed slaves were allowed to purchase plots of land. As the families grew, the land was divided between them which in turn made the land available for farming continuously smaller. Due to all the trends that were set by the slaves and indentured laborers such as the practice of monoculture and most small scale farmers keeping with their traditional ways, development has been difficult. Also land that was given to them was some of the more infertile lands and also located where it is difficult to use machinery to assist in everyday work. This limits farmers to using hand tools which accounts for low productivity. There is also credit constraints that are caused by failure to repay loans that cause the closure of many loan agencies. The Agricultural development bank in T&T is one of the best developed agricultural banks which assists in financial and support solutions to help transform agriculture into a competitive sector. Even with this there is much difficulties faced by farmers as the number of problems are greater than the solutions present. As compared to farms and farming practices worldwide, those seen in the Caribbean can be considered as primitive and outdated. One of the positive introductions was that of Multiple Cropping, growing crops in various combinations and also with mixed farming, which is growing crops and taking care of livestock. This provides fresh fertilizer for crops in the form of manure from excretions of the livestock. Threats such as small size of local markets, unavailability of land, low productivity etc. hinder the progress and growth of this sector. The influence and characteristics passed down from slaves and indentured laborers have defined small scale farming in the Caribbean but in a rapidly growing world, improvements must be made for Caribbean agriculture to be equal to international standards.

    Rajiv Rajaram
    ID# 810002650

    ReplyDelete
  30. There is a major importance for small scale agriculture in the Caribbean because it contributes to the food security of the nation. However, regardless of its importance, small scale agriculture in the Caribbean still faces several issues which affect its productivity and hinder its true potential. Indeed the features of small scale agriculture today were inherited from the period of slavery and indentureship.
    Its main inherited feature being land ownership and availability. Since small scale farmers have no title to the land, difficulty is encountered when attempting to get loans and hence farmers are not able to afford technological advances and pesticides for their farms. In the cases where farmers are allowed to get credit there may be the failure to relay loans due to crop failure resulting in closure of lending agencies.
    It must be remembered that land which was acquired after emancipation was small portions of marginal land which was mostly located on slopes or hillsides. Today this affects the productivity of agriculture because manual labor which encompasses the use of hoes and forks must be done since tractors and other equipment cannot go up hillsides for use. Farming on hillsides also affects irrigation drastically since farmers would have to carry water uphill to their farms. The use of manual labor has made agriculture a hard task which often link agriculture back to slavery since people view agriculture as hard labor for low wages and strenuous work.

    Name: Renelle Sankar
    ID No.: 811000438

    ReplyDelete
  31. A small farm can defined as one less than 2 ha in size, however, in the Caribbean it can be further stated that small farms are those that are less than 0.5 ha. This size in itself is the first limitation of Agriculture reaching it’s full potential in the Caribbean (as sizes compared to those in developed nations).
    Most farms in The Caribbean are Multi-cropped or subsistence farming made up of more than one crop a combination of animals and crops or a combination of both, this ensures low cost of compost/manure as alternatives to fertilizer and grazing grounds for animals on rotated fields.
    Proper education (since Peasant Development) in Agricultural practices and use of new and developing technologies has also been a deterrent to agriculture reaching to a higher level. An example of this can be seen in youth programs such as YAPA (Youth Apprenticeship Programme in Agriculture) where new agricultural technologies are not thought to aspiring farmers.
    Use of infertile land or terrain not suitable for farming has also led to agricultural development being hindered. This has also led to proper technologies in farming methods (such as proper tilling and incorporation of manure, fertilization, irrigation etc) not being employed. Instead primitive techniques (such making drainage and beds manually) and use of hand tools (such as forks, spades, hoes etc).
    Lack of research in agriculture in the Caribbean leading to catastrophic disasters caused by pests and diseases (e.g. Black Sigatoka (banana) and Red Palm Mite (Coconut) and improper use of proper techniques to combat such adverse problems is also a major problem inherited.
    Lack of finances and holdings by farmers has led to farmers unable to get loans from banks leading to farms not being properly financed and hence little or no reinvestment can be made to increase production.

    Sunil Ramnarine
    811002091

    ReplyDelete
  32. In the past there were many types of farming however in today’s society there is a prevalence of small farming occurring in the Caribbean. It is described as small scale farming because of the amount of land being farmed upon sometimes 0.5 hectares of land. There could be many reasons for this occurring; one possible reason could be because of our history. This is where there were large amounts available after slavery to the ex-slaves but due to procreation by great numbers and having limited land, there needed to be division of the land owned by the parents so that their children could build a house an begin a new family. Therefore they would build on a piece of land and then farm on the remaining this is a possible way that the land became fragmented.
    Another characteristic could be that the land available for farming is still marginal land and this is still poor in fertility therefore the farmer would not have a good harvest. During indentureship and slavery there was there was the same type of farming where they slaves, farmed just to sustain themselves just as people in contemporary society today where they farm and do other jobs during the day such as shop keeping ,CEPEP, artisans and taxi drivers. Back then the slaves may not have the necessary education available today to better themselves however today there is education available yet people fail to get themselves educated so that they could better production which would benefit them in the long run.
    Shinace Baboolal
    812001217

    ReplyDelete
  33. Indeed small scale farming faces several issues which are delibitating and prevent the sector from reaching its full potential.There are many common features or characteristics of small scale farming that have been influenced by people who were slaves and indentured labourers mainly land , the technology used and tools which are used in today's farming.
    Firstly a small farm is one that is less than two hectres but overtime this has dropped to about half hectre because of the breakdown of land from generation to generation. This has limited the use of machinary in farming such as the use of tractors to plough lands and do most of the work on farms.
    The technology of today's farming has not improved much from the day's of the peasants or indentured labourers because of the same tools being used to work these lands.These tools were basically hand operated tools and required much labour.Some of these were spades,garden forks, hoes, rakes and cutlasses.As a result of this young people today do not want to come into agriculture since it requires lots of labour for a low wage. They seeek other work and this is why there is a problem for labour in the agricultural sector today
    Methods of farming that was used by the peasants and indentured labourers was basically the same today. They practiced alot of monoculture as seen in some land today. However some new methods of farming was introduced such as mixed farming, crop rotation, Intercropping and multiple cropping. Alot of pest and diseases attacked these crops and therefore resulted in low crop yields which prevent the sector from reaching its full potential.
    Land that farmers owned today are not really theirs since they do not have land title. This prevented them from borrowing loans in order to improve their farms. Banks must see ownership of land before giving loans and farmers could not produce that so as a result this prevented them from reaching their full potential.
    A very important point to note as well is that many farmers are not well educated and as a result cannot manage their farms very well. They often loss alot of money rather than make profit. This is a main problem faced by farmers today since they are not able to distinguish the pest and diseases on their farms an so on or manage their business properly.
    Fadil Khan
    812000108

    ReplyDelete
  34. Cly-Donna Bramble 8120057307 October 2012 at 11:35

    Small farming is where a farmer produces crops and livestock, example ducks and rice or bananas and goats, on a small piece of land without any kind of technological help, that is, it’s all intensive hand labor.
    Now the farmer may have most likely inherited his small parcel of land which would have been handed down from since the years of emancipation when the slaves illegally occupied lands. Therefore, his land would most likely be on a hillside and this is just the beginning of the disadvantage of being a small scale farmer. Just like the slaves and indentured laborers, the farmer works his land manually and will have only the help of spouse and children and animals. The tools used range from cutlass, hoe, pitchfork etc. as the land would be too small to use any machinery. In addition to the size of the farm, the farmer may not be able to afford machinery in any case. Slaves and indentured laborers have passed down several ways of getting by on the small farms, such as the use of animal waste as manure instead of buying fertilizers and having to lug them up the hillside to the land. These farmers face problems like crop infestations, pests and diseases.
    Even though it is important to country’s market, small-scale farming is slowly dying out. Farming has always been seen as a job for low class, barely educated people, this thought has been handed down from slavery days. This may be due to the fact that young people in this modern age are not interested in strenuous non-technological work and the governments of some countries are not helping to motivate them. For example, in Trinidad, YAPA’s commercial show people with cutlass and hoes instead of people in green houses which will better pull this young generation, though some believe agriculture will soon become ‘technology driven’.

    http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Characteristics_of_peasant_farming
    http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,108825.html
    http://www.ngopulse.org/article/small-scale-agriculture

    Cly-Donna Bramble
    812005730

    ReplyDelete
  35. Based on the question posted I would agree that small scale farming faces several issues which are debilitating and prevents the sector from reaching its full potential. Apart from limited capital resources for investment and a lack of technical knowledge, there are a number of features of small scale farming which have been influenced by people who were slaves and indentured labourers.
    After emancipation in 1838, workers and freed slaves on the plantations were now allowed to purchase and cultivate on small plots of land usually 2 hectares or less. This is a major reason why small scale farming today is of this small magnitude in the Caribbean as farms were handed down from generation to generation. Another feature which was influenced by history was the idea and practice of mixed farming. Mixed farming was a practice whereby the slaves and indentured labourers, planted crops alongside the rearing of livestock to maximize their profits and to feed their families. This practice is still prevalent today contributing to the small scale farming sector and the local market. Multiple cropping, intercropping, relay cropping, strip cropping and alley cropping are also practices influenced greatly by the slaves and indentured labourers. Most of the farmers today still use the method of inter cropping in various combinations for example, growing corn and peas alongside each other.
    It can therefore be noted that there is indeed a number of features or characteristics of small scale farming which have been influenced by people who were slaves and indentured labourers that have been handed down by generations contributing to the agricultural sector.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tori Defreitas-Baptiste 812003174

      Delete
  36. The features of small scale farming that were influenced greatly by the indentured labours and slaves, one way they were able to buy land which they used to plant the different variety of crops such as yams, peas, cassava and carrots.
    Another way they were able to develop methods of plantation systems such as mixed farming which is the planting of crops and rearing of livestock such combinations include crops and cattle, crops , sheep and goats, crops and pigs, crops and poultry, crops and draught animals. Another system called Mult-cropping which is the planting of more than one crop that include vegetables, roots and tubers. Other Patterns of Production (relay cropping, crop rotation).
    But there are some negative effect that were bought about by these influences in one approach limited access to credit as most farmers had no title to the land and hence would be unable to access credit from banks similarly they had no collateral.
    The use of fertilization methods were used such as legumes as green manure which was not widely used in the Caribbean, use of limestone to reduce soil acidity which is also not widespread because farmers were uneducated about this method.
    The size of the land with no title the owner would have to divide up the land to his or her family or sale it because high cost of upkeep.
    Today farmers were unable to have technological advances such tractors and other agricultural machinery which limits the production of farming. Hand tools used were the most cultural practice i.e. Hoes, forks, cutlasses, rakes, spades.
    Despite these factors faced by farmers today necessary steps are taken by the government to ensure that the youth in society are familiarized and instrumented with programs such as youth apprenticeship program in agriculture (YAPPA).

    Vinai Chatee
    812117182

    ReplyDelete
  37. When observing the characteristics of small scale farming in the Caribbean today, a clear linkage can be made to that of the ex-slaves. Coming out of slavery, the peasants headed into the bordering hills of the estates where they cultivated cash crops that were taken with them during captivity, to sell at their community’s shops and also for their families’ consumption . Additionally, the peasants also reared livestock such as sheep and goat but not cows since they were considered to be sacred to the Indian religion. This is reflected in modern day mixed farming practices where crops are cultivated and livestock reared on the same plot of land, which is financially beneficial to the farmer since the weeds from the crops can be used as feed for the animals and in turn, the animal waste can be utilised as manure for the crops. Back then, the peasants had no legal rights to land, so they took approximately two hectares which was then shared equally between the farmer’s children and passed on throughout future generations, which is still the norm between farmers and their offsprings today. After the peasantry was established, conflict developed between the government (planters) and the peasants. Financial aid was not given to the peasants, and farm land was overpriced in an attempt to overthrow peasant development which was depressing the planter’s supply of free labour. Consequently, most farmers today are squatting on the lands they cultivate and the government still restrains from granting them loans because of their lack of collateral which would most likely cause them to fall into difficulty in repaying the loan.
    The well drained, aerated and fertile lands of this day are highly priced which is not affordable by the small farmer, limiting his/her access to the degraded lands, most of which are located on the hilly slopes similar to those of the peasants. Consequently, their production capacity is limited since water availability is minimal , and this resource is essential to plant growth; it would be almost impossible to utilise machinery on the hillside, meaning that farming activities would have to be done manually, thus minimising production. Hillside farming is also prone to erosion considering the roots of crops would not be able to anchor the soil on a slope under extreme rainfall.
    STUDENT NAME: KHYLA NUNES
    STUDENT ID # 812000581

    ReplyDelete
  38. Over the years, there have been many different factors that have contributed to several issues that farmers have faced, which therefore prevented the sector from reaching its full potential. Such issues are, limited access to land, resources and capital and the lack of proper educational skills, techniques and training. There are some features of small scale farming that have been influenced by the people who were slaves and indentured labourers. The most important feature would be how the farmers cultivated on small plots of land, usually on 2 acre plots in size mainly on steep slopes. This therefore hindered their farming system from developing and becoming successful at its full potential because of the limited access to flat land they were granted when they were freed. Farmers were also limited in cultivating only small amounts of crops, hence the reason why they didn’t have many resources such as water, and proper machinery to further develop the system. Even though they were freed, they were still given inferior treatment and the availability of land was the main issue. Another feature which links to this would be how the farmers combined the cultivation of their land with other activities such as fishing, shop-keeping and casual work. They did this to find other ways for their system to reach its potential other than just cultivating crops, but they are however still constrained because of the little money they have to invest in and their inability to obtain loans and to compete due to the high cost of production. All these issues that occurred many years ago, further resulted in small local markets and economies which still is preventing the sector from reaching its full potential, in this present day.

    NAME : Priscilla Gueverra
    ID # : 812005436

    ReplyDelete
  39. Small scale or subsistence farming is the production of agricultural produce for personal use or for sale to the local community, usually operating on land less than 2 hectares of land. It is usually conducted on hill sides which are susceptible to erosion and as a result are characterized by low soil fertility. This can be linked back to the plantation era where runaway slaves settled away from the plantation on marginal land on mountain sides where they cultivated crops for personal use, this is yet another characteristic of small scale farming that can be linked back to the plantation era. Some plantation workers were also allowed to farm on small plots of land and some slaves that were free were able to purchase land. These lands they sub-divided as time passed to give to their children and grandchildren. This may be the reason why in St. Vincent for example, small scale farmers are farming on less than 2 hectares of land. Additionally, during Plantocracy field workers were uneducated. This is also another characteristic being reflected in St. Vincent where majority of small scale farmers uneducated. As a result farmers are unable to get loans to buy farming equipment to increase productivity, and also because they have no collateral since they do not own the land they occupy. Low productivity is another characteristic. Because of lack of technology farmers are restricted to the use of hoes, donkeys and other forms of manual labor. However these problems experienced by small scale farmers such as difficulty accessing modern market chains and limited access to knowledge and financial services are being alleviated through Fair Trade. Fair Trade works at the local level on behalf of their member farmers. They give them training in sustainable farming practices and are responsible for ensuring a fair-trade market. This fair trade market ensures better prices decent working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for workers and workers in the developing world.

    KEMISHA WILLIAMS
    812002858

    ReplyDelete
  40. Small scale farming refers to farming on land approximately 2 hectares or less. One of the features of small scale farming that was influenced by slaves would be the type of farming. Small scale farming usually practices mixed farming where crops were grown alongside cattle, sheep, goats, pigs or poultry. There were also multiple cropping where various crops were grown simultaneously for example- carrots and onions, or peas and yam. This type of farming came about from the peasants who were ex- slaves that practiced this type of farming for their sustenance and have thus impacted on small scale farming.
    The other feature of small scale farming that that was influenced by the slaves would be the size and type of land, because most of the slaves occupied hill lands and mountainous areas, small scale farming continued on these types of lands which were relatively small plots due to the unavailability of land space. It was also almost impossible to use heavy machinery such as tractors and therefore mainly hand tools were uses.
    Another feature would be the marketability; usually produce from small scale farming was quite low, due to the poor soil quality of the exhausted lands, since the slaves had occupied mainly hilly lands it was prone to surface run off and landslides thus affecting production. Also, because the small scale farmers lacked access to knowledge on disease control, their crops were greatly affected resulting in low yield.
    Slaves and indentured labourers have definitely impacted on small scale farming.


    Anesha Sharma
    811001491

    ReplyDelete
  41. Small Scale Farming faces several issues which are debilitating and prevent the sector from reaching its full potential. Factors such as limited capital resources for investment and a lack of technical knowledge are examples of these issues. Small scale farming or peasant farming began shortly after emancipation in 1838. Freed slaves seeking betterment occupied the marginal areas of the plantation on hillside and continued doing the only thing they knew at the time which was farming, usually each farmer occupied land up to two (2) acres which has gradually decreased throughout the generations to as small as 50 square feet as most farms in modern times are for subsistence purposes. Indentured laborers unlike the African freed slaves were given land near the plantation in an attempt to make working on the plantation convenient to them these lands had higher nutrient levels than that of the land in which the freed slaves occupied. The African freed slaves as well as the indentured laborers also engaged in mixed farming as a way of relieving themselves from the burden of having to pay for expensive fertilizers as manure form the animal stock is basically free. A modern day technique used from the days of slavery and the plantation also would be the multi-cropping method were by farmers would mix together crops such as the nitrogen rich pea that adds nitrogen the soil and corn as corn uses the nitrogen in soil, both crops complement each other. The lack of education about farming to the public has left society to believe that farming today has to do with a lot of hard work but I reality due to the advancements in technology one can now irrigate and fertilizer their farm without even setting foot on the farm but this technology is very expensive and usually not suitable for small scale farming as it involves a lot of satellite communication.
    #812001868
    NAME: Kristoff Toussaint

    ReplyDelete
  42. Small scale farming within the Caribbean is highly beneficial towards local markets. Features of small scale farming were influenced greatly by the slaves as they first began this type of agricultural growth methods. Small scale farming, also known as Peasant Farming is the cultivation of crops and rearing of animals on a minor scale. Although small scale farming was prominent within the Caribbean it had its limitations.
    Many techniques of farming today were descended from slaves, one of which is mixed farming which animals were bred alongside crop. Multi-Cropping is also prominent where different crops were grown together.
    The slaves also adapted to the land they were given after emancipation as they mainly received hilly land. This disallowed them to use any form of machinery and they used hand tools to get their work done.
    Over time the value of the crop of many small scale farmers decreased as the soil was getting worn out and the farmers had a lack of knowledge of any diseases which may affect the crop.
    The lack of capital resources and technical knowledge play a big role towards the efficiency of the farmers. Without enough capital, fertilizers and machinery such as tractors will not be accessible to the farmer.
    In my opinion slaves and indentured laborers impacted small scale farming greatly.

    Matthew Chung
    #812002589

    ReplyDelete
  43. Slaves and indentured laborers have influenced small farming in several ways, such as the size of the land which they produce their crops on. Some of the lots that were accepted by the ex-slaves, from the plantation owners in order to keep them on the plantation lands, were small segments of marginal land near or on the plantation itself. The practices that the ex-slaves and indentures used which are still evident on today’s farms are the use of hand tools such as hoes, forks, rakes, cutlasses etc and types of crops planted also the method of mixed farming. The hand tools were a proven way of effectiveness cause of the size of the land; it was unable or incapable to use machinery. Of recent the farmers have turned to a smaller type of technology such as sprinklers, mist blowers and mechanical string trimming devices. Also the use of natural soil fertilizers like manures from livestock is still being used on small farms to maintain a relatively low cost of production.
    Another feature of the small farmers is the stigma that is attached. Small scale farming is usually seen as hard work and for those living in poverty therefore doesn’t get the financial support from government & agencies. This would create low yields and would decrease the farmers’ competitiveness in the market.
    Duane Cockburn
    812001785

    ReplyDelete
  44. People who were slaves and indentured labourers have influenced small scale framing in many ways. They managed to do a lot with the scare and limited technology, knowledge, capital and resources they had during their existence. Although they had small pieces of infertile land to plant on, they did not let that discourage them, they made proper use of the land. Rather than planting one crop they started to diversify from the monoculture practice allowing them to get more out of the resources they had such as planting corns and yams together.
    Planting on hillsides is a practice influenced by people who were slaves due to lack of access to land on the flat, which allowed difficulty when it came to using heavy machinery, so they used tools like cutlasses and hoes which resulted in low productivity and some farmers still use these tools. Hillside farming, it is still practiced today, according to Ramsingh Mahabir, in a recent article he stated that ‘Farmers in Bush Bush usually plant watermelon on hilly land so that the water would not affect the crop. There is too much water on flat land for crops to grow.’
    Conclusively, there are many characteristics of small scale farming that have been influenced by people who were slaves and indentured labourers but due to the unavailability and lack of access to fertile land, enough capital, lack of support from research and extension institutions and the inability to curb pest and diseases from affecting crops it is preventing the agriculture sector from reaching its full potential.

    Reference: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/featured-news/Melon_farmers_hit_hard_by_crop_disease-172589691.html

    Kishauna George
    812000237

    ReplyDelete
  45. Small scale farming faces many challenges which can lower their opportunity to reach full potential. These issues, such as lack of technical knowledge and proper equipment continue to be the many problems faced by small scale farmers. Limited capital can be considered as another challenge faced. This issue arose from the fact that there were many lending agencies but due to the delinquency in paying loans, these firms had to close down as their only solution. After Emancipation, the freed slaves settled on marginal lands which were infertile, had poor irrigation and was located on the hillsides. Mixed farming mono cropping came about due to two main circumstances such as crop failure and reduced income and is a feature influenced by history whereby the ex slaves planted crops alongside the rearing of livestock so as to feed their families and gain a much higher income. Additionally, multiple cropping and intercropping, just to name a few, are practices influenced by the ex slaves. This provided the farmers with a helping hand so as to provide them with an extra source of income. Due to poor soil quality, they would make use of legumes as green manure to substitute for fertilizers, so as to cut cost and generate a higher income. Integrated pest management was also taken into consideration in order to prevent pests and diseases on farms. Due to limited technology, these freed slaves (land owners) had to make use of manual labour. Some of these tools included shovels, rakes, hoes, forks etc.

    Sharmila Ellis
    812000407

    ReplyDelete
  46. There are several issues that small scale farming faces, which are preventing it from reaching its full potential such as limited capital, investments and lack of technical knowledge.
    A main characteristics of small scale farming which is influenced by slaves or indentured workers re the size of the parcels of land on which farmers to harvest their crops. After the period of establishment many slaves moved to hilly, marginal lands which they then divided among their children. Throughout the years this land became smaller because of continuous division and now small scale farming is practiced on lands approximately ½ acres. With the size of the land and the fact that most of them are on hills it prevents farmers from using any heavy machinery such as a tractor which can replace the current handheld tools farmers use today such as cutlasses, forks and rakes. These were the same tools that slaves used.
    Apart from the size of the land, small scale farmers are not able to get access to loans because they have no collateral, which can come in the form of land. The problem is these farmers have no title to the land they harvest their crops on which due to the rapid acquisition of after emancipation.
    Finally, another important reason why small scale farming is not reaching its full potential is because there is a certain judgery directed towards farming because society views it as ‘slave work’. So as time goes by there is less interest in agriculture among young adults as they would rather have a job which is not scrutinized or look down upon.
    All of these reasons coupled with the lack of proper farming techniques and pest management are the sole reasons why small scale farming is not reaching its optimum potential.

    Name: Christian Seales
    I.D: 812004863

    ReplyDelete
  47. Small scale farming is the production of crops and livestock on a small piece of land that is independent of the use of expensive technologies. This type of farming established itself during the period of time when slavery was coming to an end. At this point the ex-slaves were given marginal land which was generally unhospitable land of which there was little profit and also, it was located on the hills. Due to the location on the steep hillsides this made it burdensome on the farmer to transport fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals essential for healthy crop to be reaped. Tractors and other machinery that could be used to enhance crop production and be less strenuous on the farmer was not able to make it up the hills so most of the work done was manually and so therefore a vast amount of effort was needed and there was a limited amount of workers. Another issue was that these farmers lacked education which indicated that they were not aware of how to operate the machinery and also they lacked income to purchase the machinery for usage. Farmers succumbed to utilizing hoes, forks, cutlass and rakes and of recently knapsack sprayers and weed eaters. As a result the cost of the crops produced by the small scale farmers were costly and the amount produced , little since these crops did not have protection from pest infestation or may not by grown in the healthiest of soils. These are a few of the characteristic of small scale farming that have been influenced by the past slaves and indentured laborers and conditions can improve by educating the farmers on methods of sustainable agriculture by introducing organic fertilizers and pesticides and manure to enhance crop growth and production.
    Shweta Trebouhansingh
    811004001

    ReplyDelete
  48. Small scale farming exist because it is an alternative to peasant farming, where the farmer grow crops intensively for both local and international markets in order to provide for oneself and family. It is because of the evolution of Caribbean agriculture that this system has been greatly influenced by people who were slaves and indentured labourers.
    They started the building block of Caribbean agriculture such that these farmers farm on approximately two hectares of land or less. Since, indentureship was a contract whereby the labourers had a choice of having a parcel of land or free passage home; most of them stayed and settled. They had families and since the only form of income at that time was farming the land had to be split between their children. This tradition continued and the land became further segmented (Watson, 2008). This is why small scale farms are of such small dimensions.
    This can also be linked to the characteristic of small scale farms having a low output operation. The size of the farm also determined the type and amount of crop grown (Tripp, 2006). The ex – slaves after emancipation needed to provide for themselves and families. Therefore, with such small parcels of land cash crops were mostly planted. This constant planting of crops reduced the essential nutrients available for plant growth thus the low productivity of yields today.
    The previous characteristics can also validate why in small scale agriculture there is none or little mechanization. The indentured labourers and the ex – slaves have a culture steeped in tradition. Where agricultural practices such as tilling the land with a hoe; one very traditional agriculture technology, is used today before finding an easier mechanized why for ploughing their lands(Food and Agriculture Organization, 2011). The ex – slave lands located on the hillsides would make transportation of machines a most difficult task, while the indentured Indians segmented land would be too small for ploughing technologies to be implemented.
    Krystal Rouse
    ID:812000378

    ReplyDelete
  49. By now it is quiet evident that everything that has happen in the past, dating back to slavery has attributed to what the present day small scale farms faces today. Some issues that are faced by these farmers are that they are greatly dependent on manual labor. They slave in their small lands with tools such are forks, cutlass, knapsack sprayer, mechanical string trimmer’s device, etc because large machinery can not be operated where these lands are located, which are on hillsides and their size which are usually ¼ acre. This demands more energy and time as oppose to advanced equipment and this slows down the rate of production.
    Farmers practice mix farming where they cultivate both plants and animals. These farmers used animal waste and legumes plants to fertilize their lands because they usually can’t afford to buy clay soils to replenish the soil. Others farming practice types are Multiple cropping, Inter-cropping and Relay cropping.
    Most farmers that can not access loan from the bank because they have no title to their lands therefore any collateral. There is always the evident of bad farm practice where farms over process their lands which contribute to the inferior goods being harvest. This then affects the level for income being earned after their produce is soled.
    Farmers are still located at the bottom for the social pyramid. Uneducated and usually depend on labor jobs as a source of income. There exist stigmas against people who work in the agriculture sectors. They are usually seen in the fields working in the sun doing hard labor within the West Indies. Instead of in green house and hydroponics where the production levels is greater and more advanced.

    Mary-Ethel Gray
    812001927

    ReplyDelete
  50. This question was based on the island of Dominica only; “the nature isle”.
    In Dominica small scale farming plays an integral part of the agricultural sector being influenced by slaves and indentured laborers. During the European colonization period the steep mountains and deep valleys provided homes for the indigenous people”kalinago” in the Carib Territory. The land expands up to 3700 acres where it cannot be owned individual but by law it is communally owned. Escape slaves (maroons) also inhabited the hillsides from the harsh treatment of the plantation owners.
    This gave rise to many small scales farming on the hillsides as a result the large-scale sugar plantations that characterized other colonies were never established. Diversification of agricultural holdings into mix cropping and livestock production came into places. Therefore it limits crop varieties and production for export market and generating income. Produces are therefore either sold in Saturday markets in the urban areas such as Portsmouth or Roseau or their own villages.
    Technology is grossly lacking in terms of machinery and information technology. Many small scale farms are either owned by elders or youngsters possessing a high school education. Therefore primitive tools such as hoes and forks and machinery is limited due to land size and topography. Due to the linguistic language that was introduced by ancestors such as kokoy in Marigot and Wesley and Patios Island wide it causes a barrier to communicate with farmers. They are either unwilling to change their methods of agricultural practices and use modernized methods and tools ,because they feel a part of their culture is taken away from them. This later gives rise to serious diseases and pest affecting crops and animals due to lack of sanitary practices and other factors not implemented. Such disease causes a decline in productivity and income such as Citrus Tristeza Virus affecting Citrus trees and Ralstonia sp. affecting vegetable production.
    Nelsha Shillingford
    812006504
    Footnotes: http://countrystudies.us/caribbean-islands/59.htm
    www.nationsenyclopia.com
    www.monogabay.com
    Ministry of Agriculture in Dominica




    ReplyDelete
  51. Small scale farming has been and is still influenced by slaves and indentured servants. Many of the methods still used today in farming, are methods and knowledge passed down throughout the years. The slaves and indentured servants well no well-educated and some had no education at all. What has been passed down is the little knows how that they had from trial and error when farming themselves.
    In present times it has become fairly difficult to be a small farmer. Farmers have a hard time receiving the necessary funding to start and maintain the lands, sometimes productivity is low and they are not able to profit and get back what they have put into the land etc.
    From trial and error the slaves and indentured servants I believe where able to come up with different ways and methods to get the most out of their land.
    One of the mostly used methods, I believe, was mixed cropping. Most of the slaves and the indentured servants had both animals and crops. This method is one that is still use today. Over the years the farmers have being able to gain more knowledge in the area of farming and learn how to be more efficient, and profit more from their lands. With this knowledge the farmers have been able to progress from strictly using hoes, forks, cutlasses, rakes and spades, to using knapsack sprayers, mist blowers and weed eaters. The use of artificial fertilizers have also been every useful in recent times to farmers as not everyone has access to animals to use their droppings as fertilizers. The small farmers of today have come a long way.

    SEATONIA BLACKMAN
    812114729

    ReplyDelete
  52. Indeed, it is true that various factors have hindered the full development of small scale farming in the Caribbean. Since the days of slavery, small scale farming was usually practised by those within the lower classes, which consisted of the ex- slaves and indentured workers. They usually farmed on small acres of land and on the hillside because there was limited availability of land for them. Farmers had limited capital because they could not have received loans from the bank because of not being able to pay it back . Factors such as crop failure, poor money management and failure to invest prevented them from qualifying for loans. Therefore with limited capital , farmers had to do everything by hand and find substitutes for fertilizers. Thus many of the work was done manually using tools such as hoes, folks, cutlasses rakes and spades. Mixed farming was often practiced so that the droppings from the animals could have been used as manure, improve soil structure and fertility.
    These experiences are still mirrored in today’s society. Many of the farmers do come from humble backgrounds and still face great difficulty getting financial aid . Therefore, many of them support themselves and do most of the work manually. They also still practise planting on the hillsides and often grow cash crops and animals on a small scale in their back yards.
    However, there has been some movement towards developing and encouraging people to become a part of the agriculture sector. In 2004, the Youth Apprenticeship Programme in Agriculture was launched to educate young people about successful farming practises and also the Agricultural Development Bank that seeks out to financially assist farmers and help them to save and invest their money

    Candace Gibbs
    Student ID: 812005997

    ReplyDelete
  53. Well the fact that small scale farming was originally started by slaves and Indentured laborers suggests that small scale farming would have been greatly influenced by those people. Firstly the size of the farms (approximately 1 acre) was influenced by the slaves and indentured laborers, due to land fragmentation occurring over the generations, when the land had to be divided amongst each other farmer’s children. Thus leading to this “Small” scale farming.
    The type of crops grown here on these small scale farms were firstly brought about by the slaves and indentured laborers, such as Cassava, which is a crop that can grow in the harshest of conditions making it the ideal crop for these infertile marginal lands. Also the type of agricultural methods which are practiced in modern times in small scale farming, were influenced by the slaves and indentured laborers. Some of these practices were, relay cropping and multiple cropping.
    With the slaves’ and indentured laborers’ lack of funds or capital, this meant that there was only going to be manual labor on the farms, since they could not afford any machinery to aid in the farming process. This lead to them using tools, such as hoes, rakes, forks and cutlasses. So nowadays small scale farmers use those same tools to farm. In fact, even if they wanted to use technology and machinery, they couldn’t because the farm size is too small to even use it, therefore limiting their production.
    In all small scale farming, was originally derived from the slaves and indentured laborers and their many generations. So basically most of the small scale farming practices done today was influenced by them. It has been slightly more modernized in terms of tools and fertilizers, but otherwise everything is done the same as it was back then.

    Richard Yuen ID#812003015

    ReplyDelete
  54. Small scale farming in the Caribbean has been faced with numerous limitations which were influenced from ancestors who were enslaved and indentured. After slavery was abolished, slaves went on to occupy lands in the mountain and other areas that were not occupied by the plantations. They could not own the land, and therefore had no proof of ownership to these lands. As a result, today these descendants do not possess certificates of title for their land and therefore are not able to access loans from credit institutions. Not being able to access credit has had many other limitations on these descendants and small scale agriculture in the Caribbean. They are not able to invest; hence they can’t purchase new high yielding varieties and inputs. This result in poor or low yield and farmers make sufficient money to reinvest into his farm. The location of the farm inherited by people who were enslaved is also a problem for small scale farming; these areas are very hard to access, usually there are not any proper roads available, making it difficult for the farmers to bring inputs to the farm and to remove output from the farm to the market place. Existing roads are steep and prone to erosion and leaching. In turn, leaching makes the soil very infertile and years of continuous leaching of cat ions from which the soil creates an environment for the soil to become acidic, which will lead to low productivity. Farmers involved in small scale farming are also unable to readily expand because of the plantation has occupied most of the land. Additionally, increasing residential use has placed a burden on the availability of land; hence farmers are unable to supply or maintain huge markets and furthermore do not practice crop rotation.

    Mitch Jno Charles
    812003707

    ReplyDelete
  55. It is indeed true that small scale farming in the Caribbean faces many challenges which prevents the sector from reaching its full potential. Such challenges include limited capital resources for investment and a lack of technical knowledge. Another constraint is the limited use of mechanisation. Since there are no irrigation systems on hillsides buckets of water need to be carried by hand which reduces productivity and cuts the farmer's salary in half. Also, the use of limestone contributes to a fertile soil, however, its availability is limited and is difficult to carry up a steep hillside. Land tenure is a major obstacle to farmers as they do not own the land on which they squat. They therefore have no collateral and are unable to repay loans. Failure to repay loans result from bad management of the land and no re-investment as slaves did not have the necessary skills and education. Since farmers were unaware of technical farming methods there was widespread practice of manual labour on their farms. Some of the basic manual tools used were hoes,forks,cutlasses and wackers which were mechanical string trimming devices.
    Today due to the unavailability of land advanced farming methods such as hydroponics are used which reduces land space. Due to competition by housing and industries there is less land available for agriculture.
    Many people are of the view that a career in farming leads to a limited lifestyle and therfore many young people rather to venture out into other job sectors.
    In conclusion, it may be noted that all these factors mesh together to prevent the agricultural sector from reaching its full potential.

    Vishal Boodoo
    812000246

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  56. Small scale farming in the Caribbean can be described as a small plot of land on approximately two (2) Ha or less in which they produce and harvest their crops. Small scale farmers have family size operations ,small amounts of water in the area, they usually use family labour which is mainly on their own land.
    Small scale farming faces several issues which are debilitating and preventing the sector from reaching its full potential. Some factors that affect these small scale farming are limited capital resources and investment and lack of technical knowledge. These farmers were limited on credit, this lead to the closure of many loan agencies since they were not able to repay loans after borrowing them.
    Small scale farmers were limited to mechanization; i.e the use of agricultural machinery e.g tractors. Most practices were done by manual labour and limited to hand tools e.g forks and rake. This was because most farming practices were done on steep slopes. Small scale farmers were also not technologically advanced and they lacked education, therefore they did not know how to operate machinery even if it was introduced.
    Slaves and Indentured Labourers have indeed passed down to present generation ways of getting by in small scale farming, such as the use of animal waste as organic fertilizers instead of purchasing fertilizers that were costly and had to be carried up the steep slopes. The yields were affected by pests and diseases therefore production were poor and low.In conclusion these were some of the main factors that small scale farming was influenced by.
    Shereece Boodram
    812000735

    ReplyDelete
  57. Small scale farming is significant in different ways in different regions for different types of economy. Despite its significance, small scale farming hasn't yet reach its full potential due to several challenges.
    Peasant farming in the Caribbean began after emancipation in the nineteenth century, when freed slaves were allowed to purchase plots of land on the hills and mountains. The land was ranged from 0.5 to 2 hectares, these farmers could've only produce food for their household plus little for sale at local market. For instance in Kenya this challenge still occurs.
    Another financing, the cost of : fertilizers, soil ameliorates, pesticides/agrochemicals and
    equipment costs: motorized pumps were and still is high. Most equipment required a substantial cash outlay , small scale farmers didn't have collateral to safeguard loans and they were also limited to credit. NGOs have in recent years, provided small loans to groups whose collateral is peer pressure, but they didn't have sufficient capital to expand and couldn't administer such loans profitably on a commercial basis.
    Another challenge faced by small scale farmers was the literacy of small scale farming, it was frequently low and access to education was poor. Further, small scale farming continues to have a low social status and a poorly developed social and economic organisation. Thus limiting small farmer's capacity to engage in trade in markets. For instance in Trinidad there is a stigma about agriculture, it is viewed as continuos hard labour. Small scale farming can reach its full potential if citizens ( both adults and children) are educated more and the government implement policies to assist farmers.

    Reference
    http://my.opera.com/mwafrica/blog/challenges-of-kenyan-small-scale-farmers

    Student ID: 812117260
    Student name: Renee Davidson

    ReplyDelete
  58. Small scale farming refers to agricultural practices such as the rearing of animals and the planting of crops on a small portion of land. This method of farming faces many challenges and because of this has certainly not been capable of actually reaching its full potential. Due to the small availability of land there is the problem of limited capital resources for investment and also most farmers don’t own any rights to the land on which they farm. Slaves and indentured labours owned little or no land, this factor lead to peasantry farming; where they farmed mainly to survive and maintain a certain standard of living. This type of farming required a lot of manual labour and therefore they used manual tools such as hoes, forks, spades and a tool for cutting grass identified as a “swiper”. In the modern world today new technology has been created which are much more effective but very costly. Small scale farms still use the same tools used by slaves and indentured labourers, reason being that modern technology is viewed more as a liability than an asset to the farms. For example a farmer would prefer to buy a cutlass over a “waka” ie:a mechanical trimming device even though the (waka) is more effective than the cutlass because it is less costly to them. There is a high cost to fertilizers so most small scale farms use fertilizing methods such as animal manure obtained from animals kept on the farm which is another trait gained or influenced by slaves and indentured labourers. Farming in the past was viewed as something done by people of a low class, and because people still have this interpretation in society today it is hard for farmers to acquire loans from banks to expand their farms.
    Roderick Mohammed
    ID#812002027

    ReplyDelete
  59. The characteristics of small scale farming that have been influenced by our ancestors, slaves and indentured labourers are very much seen in today’s Caribbean society. Many of these characteristics are constraints preventing small scale farming from reaching its’ full potential. These constraints started from the beginning of small scale farming with the abolishment of slavery and indentured labourers. Slaves who could afford to, were allowed to purchase small parcels of land after the failure plantations in the early 1900’s that forced the plantation owners to subdivide the estates into smaller parcels of land. Others settled on marginal lands that were situated on hilly areas and comprised of poor quality soil for planting crops. Left with no other choice the liberated slaves began planting their own crops such as vegetables to supply their family with food while still being able to sell some to acquire income. Some of the indentured labourers were able to purchase land as they were being paid for their labour on the plantation estates. They too planted vegetable crops for use and sale. Both freed slaves and indentured labourers began practicing multiple cropping, crop rotation, relay cropping and mixed farming for a livelihood. This is still practiced today. Descendents presently face constraints because of various factors. The main factor is land availability and directly proportional to this is access to credit. Farmers are restricted to use hand tools as machinery is limited or not suited for the land they occupy. The soil fertility is also a constraint as some farmers lack adequate knowledge on how to improve and sustain it. Access to the latest technology is often difficult or unattainable because of finances or education. Also the lack of support from the government and other institutions as farming is seen as degrading in society a view descending from slavery days.

    Nadine Holder 812005571

    ReplyDelete
  60. A small farm is described as one which operates on two hectares of land or less. The slaves and indentured laborers who worked on plantations worked on large expanses of land and planted mainly one or two crops for export. After emancipation the slaves acquired land for themselves which were passed on from generation to generation where the land gets smaller and smaller after division of the land and the farmers have to reside to small scale farming.
    The slaves who worked on the plantation long ago used manual labor, the use of their hands to cultivate and process crops, whereas today, most scale farmers in Trinidad also use manual labor using hand tools such as hoe, fork, cutlasses, rakes and spades to help cultivate the land. This is so because farmers today cultivate crops on steep slopes therefore heavy machinery cannot help them plough the land on hill slopes; therefore they have to use manual labor just as the slaves worked with back then.
    On the hillsides where some of the slaves planted their crops, they had to carry water up the hills to irrigate their crops, because of no water supply on the steep hills. Farmers today face the same dilemma of watering their crops on the slopes and hillsides of their farm. They have to carry water by hand up the steep slopes in order to water their crops. This now limits the farmer by planting crops mainly in the rainy season therefore making fewer profits.
    Back then the ex-slaves planted not only one crop but planted a variety of crops for themselves called multiple cropping. Today we also practice multiple cropping where different crops are cultivated to bring a variety of crops into the market.
    So yes there are still some features of small scale farming that have been influenced by the slaves and indentured laborers.

    Shelly Ann Mohammed
    811004118

    ReplyDelete
  61. After the abolition of slavery, small scale farming played an important role in the lives of the ex-slaves whereby people plant just enough to survive but not to improve their way of life. Today, it is still prevalent and serves, for many, as the main source of survival and food security. Small scale farming took into consideration many innovative techniques developed by the brilliant minds of the plantation workers/operators.
    Small scale farming brought the introduction of various cropping systems. One includes multiple cropping; a mixture of different plants and animals whereby animal residues are used for plant fertility and less wastage of excessive crop yields as they can be used as forages for animals. Another includes mixed cropping; cultivating more than one type of crop on a piece of land at the same time. Among many others are crop rotation[1]; planting different types of crops following a definite cycle, intercropping and subsistence farming.
    Small scale farming has brought with it the use of simple tools to simplify farm work. Such include the digging stick, hoes, cutlasses animal ploughs and animal powered carts for transporting of produce from the land. Today, many technological improvements should detour the use of these tools but this reality somehow seems unreachable.
    Limitations in small scale farming:
    • Access to modern markets/poor markets standards
    • Limited access to education/extension services(money management programs(budgeting), training(machinery and pest/disease control), and investments plans(reinvesting))
    • Little to no collateral to access funds/loans for investments(they do not have legal ownership of land)
    • Cannot compete with other international markets due to no cooperation among local farmers, high production costs, limited government subsidies/incentives and little/no taxes on similar imported produce
    • The item(s) produced may not be a recognized export crop(e.g. winged bean in Grenada)
    • Limited land space
    • Land topography(hilly/sloped)


    [1]Note that crop rotation aids in the reduction of pests and diseases attacking specific crop types and also maintains the soil fertility as it strikes a balance among the types of macronutrients used by the different plants.


    References:
    NACA, MPEDA, FAO.Small-scale farmers.NACA, MPEDA, FAO.n.d. 6th October 2012.Web.http://library.enaca.org/certification/publications/expertworkshop/15%20Aquaculture%20certification%20and%20small-scale%20farmer%20Issues%20and%20concerns.pdf
    Ragoonanan, Sahadaeo.CXC Agriculture Third Edition.Caribbean Educational Publishers(C.E.P).n.d.Print.p166-168.6th October 2012

    Rena Noel
    812003288

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  62. After emancipation of slavery in 1834, some ex-slaves illegally occupied pieces of land while the indentured slaves were given marginal lands to continue farming. The low quality of land occupied by the ex-slaves made the ex-slaves depend solely on labour and hand tools. Modern small-scale farmers share some common characteristics with their ancestors, such as being family owned with investments made directly by family members, may it be labour or purchasing of tools. With respect to tools and machinery, descendants of the ex-slaves, having inherited marginal lands from their ancestors, were unable to purchase or use modern machinery such as tractors; this is so because of both credit issues and issues with the land location. Owing to land fragmentation, agriculture land has scaled a smaller size, and lastly through fragmentation, ex-slaves started engaging in multicropping and other types of production such as fishing and rearing of animals. Another characteristic that can be noticed in today’s modern small-scale farming is the purchasing of other small-scale farms from neighbours, thereby buying out the competition and increasing land share alongside gaining the ability to produce more or different varieties of agriculture. Like their ancestors, modern small-scale farmers have an important role in food production and in keeping rural areas and communities vibrant. Most small-scale farms in rural areas continue to struggle in most Caribbean territories with the investors remaining poor because of lack of funding and availability of proper land.

    Marcus Hospedales
    809003622

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  63. Small farming which complies of farming on nothing more than two ha's or land has moved from the plantation days but is still in need of help in the Caribbean. It is in need of assistance because of the stigma and ideology that comes with agriculture, also the features and characteristics that affect this. Some of these features are lack of resources, lack of technology or even lack of education. Long ago the plantations had owners which gave orders to slaves,these orders wasn't thought out it was orders from the owner which mean he was automatically right, so farmers did as they were told. technology back then was in the minority, it hasn't really changed presently pertaining to small farming because farmers still use forks, hoes, rakes and spades in resent farming methods, which was also used back then. These things influence farmers now by not wanting to apply mechanic equipment because it was not so before. Some other factors are lack of financial support, competition and pest and diseases. These things also have farmers where they are today simply because without finance farmers cant purchase fertilizers and they can't pay for labour. They also have to compete on the same central markets with the much larger estates who may have better quantity and may have a brand name. Pest and diseases also have a role to play because back in the plantation when slaves were freed they bought land in and around the estates and because of the size and quality of the soil only one crop could of grown (cassava), this one crop grown lead to a build up of pests and without money to purchase fertilizer a method call slash and burn takes place where we=hen the soil is no longer fertile farmers go to another area cut and burn trees in order to plant. All these features influence today's small farming, there is always room for improvement but lack of opportunities and finance to do so in the Caribbean.

    id no. 812002813
    name: Keron Brache

    ReplyDelete
  64. Small scale farming refers to an alternative to factory farming or more broadly, unsustainable farming methods that are prevalent in primarily first world countries.Small scale farming has not changed from the days of slavery and indentureship, this is due to a few reasons. Firstly education, farming is not a high paying job and such the children of farmers are sometimes brought into a farming lifestyle because they do not have the finances to send their children to school to get a proper education .secondly financial issues , since slavery farmers have always been poor and the do not have the money to properly farm and develop their lands. thirdly from slavery the methods of farming have been not proper and as such the lands have been degraded and the value has dropped immensely. As such poor farming practices have kept back development.
    Most farmers cannot access loans from the bank since they possess no deeds to the lands that are being being occupied and as a result limited income causes taunted development to occur overtime. From the days of slavery farming has been a job that requires high labour hours and today this trend has continued. Farmers today lack proper knowledge of farming due to limited education and inability to use technology that would enable better farming practices.
    Farmers today are still at the base of society as wages and skills are limited to enable social mobility and this would indeed continue as long as opportunities are at a minimum.

    NAME: JERON SHADRACK HOSEIN
    STUDENT I.D. : 812001250

    ReplyDelete
  65. The characteristics of small scale farming that is influenced by the individuals that were slaves and indentured laborers include entitlement of land after emancipation slaves grabbed at land on the out skirts of the plantations to which they worked but they did not buy these properties and they were still owned by the crown hence at that time called “crown land” in more recent times as ‘State land’ these properties became smaller as the portions occupied were divided to provide the children and their children as time passed. Having no entitlement to the land to which they occupied left these individuals with no collateral to which to obtain loans to improve their farms or to extend. Fortunate for the indentured laborers they obtained entitlement for their properties after working for their allotted time on the plantations. This made it easier for them to obtain capital.
    The areas occupied in some instances were on hillsides which to this time make it hard or impossible for machineries such as tractors to be used and are limited to mostly hand tools. There was also their inability to pay loans causing a lot of the early agricultural banks be closed. This happened due to the planters inability to plan wisely

    shrees morgan
    809003029

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  66. The potential possibilities that can be reached by the agricultural sector, through small-scale farming are endless; however, without the necessary factors implemented to facilitate such growth, the sector would be left at a standstill. There are many factors holding back this sector such as limited capital resources and lack of technical knowledge, as well as unavailability and competition for land, small size of local markets, negative stigmas placed on the agricultural sector and fierce foreign competition in addition to many other factors.
    There is a possibility that the negative stigma that has been placed on agriculture in the Caribbean have resulted in factors such as limited access to capital resources, technical knowledge and unavailability of land to farmers to promote agriculture. Agriculture is viewed with a pessimistic eye, and viewed as slave work, where people work hard and reap little pay by many people. These factors may contribute to very little attention being placed on the agricultural sector as even the Agricultural Development Band in Trinidad and Tobago functions in a limited way. As a result, the markets are small with a very small amount of production taking place, as there is also lack of highly specialized technology to facilitate agricultural development, finally resulting in Caribbean countries not being able to compete with foreign markets as they can’t cope with the high cost of production
    Very prominent features of small scale farming are farmers practicing different types of farming such as mixed farming, which occurs when crop production is combined with the rearing of livestock. The livestock are seen as complementary factors to crop production; so as to provide a balance and productive system of farming. As well as multiple cropping, this is the practice of growing two or more crops in the same space during a single growing season. A very important feature influenced by the slaves and indentured labourers in small scale farming today are the tools, which back then were hoes, forks, cutlasses and rakes, which have now been replaced by mist blowers, weed eaters and knapsack sprayers.
    In conclusion, there are many factors that lead to a downfall in the agricultural sector, however, if these factors are improved, the agricultural sector could experience such a boost in development thought unimaginable to many people.

    Makeda Derrick
    I.D NO: 812002849

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  67. Farming in the Caribbean has been mainly influenced by the agricultural techniques that were used by the slaves and the indentured labourers. Multi-cropping, mono-cropping and mixed farming are three distinct agricultural practices that the Caribbean practices.
    Multi-cropping is the practice of growing two or more crops in the same space during a single growing season. Up to this day, Antigua and Barbuda still cultivates their crops using the multi-cropping method that was used by indentured labourers. Hence, Antigua grows carrots, sweet potato and cotton together whereas, Barbuda grows melon and corn as one.
    Mono-cropping is an agricultural practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land. Nutmeg is usually grown using this technique in Grenada. Nutmegs simply replace the sugar cane production in Grenada. Jamaica also produces bananas in the same way. The bananas are grown on steep land which results in the limited use of machinery. As a result, farmers have to use hand tools such as hoes, forks and cutlass just like the slaves and indenture labourers. This technique is the reason for the introduction of the slash and burn and crop rotation method. These two methods are practiced throughout the Caribbean.
    Mixed farming is the use of a single farm for multiple purposes, as the growing of cash crops or the raising of livestock. For example, in Jamaica, farmers cultivate tomatoes, bodi, cabbage and sweet potato in addition to the rearing of chickens and pigs on the same parcel of land. Farmers still practices this to have a steady income which is the same reason the slaves and indentured labourers utilize this technique.
    The above is just a few examples of small scale farming features that has been influenced by the slaves and indentured labourers.
    NAME: Shanaz Bharat
    ID NO: 812001663

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  68. What is defined as small scale farming in Caribbean operates on approximately 2 hectares or less. Small farms in the Caribbean are prevalent the Caribbean, have 60 per cent and more while rural households only have 30 per cent of arable land. There are just about 1,500 small dairy farms in Trinidad.1
    Small scale farming faces several issues which are debilitating and prevent the sector from reaching its full potential. Most of the features or characteristics of small scale farming were influenced by people who were slaves and indentured laborers. These issues such as limited credit, technology, soil fertility, mechanization, endogenous and exogenous can be encountered presently.
    The Caribbean was an export oriented region and after emancipation the ex-slaves took the marginal lands and illegal settlement on the crown land forming the proto-peasantry.2 Techniques multicroping and mixed farming can still be since in the Caribbean countries all which was passed down from the forefathers.
    The small land parcels would stem from the very small portions of land obtain after indenture-ship and emancipation which was feather subdivided for offspring. This limits the amount of crops preventing them to benefit from economies of scale. For those who settle in the mountain terrain, it neglects the farmers the use of machinery. It also limited the overall productivity since it is labour intensive so less irrigation, less fertilizers, manure (help crump structure) and limestone to address the majority of the Caribbean’s acid soil.
    Farmers are normally uneducated or retirees who don’t know about the eco-friendly or best methods to get fruitful crop yield, maintain top soil or work the soil well. Financially it’s a struggle to get loans due to the lack of land deeds, effective record keeping, and many lending agencies eventually are bankrupt due to farmers’ inability to pay back loans.
    1 Dr Rajendra Kumar Rastogi is a Senior Lecturer, Department of Food Production, The UWI, St. Augustine, 2009 in the article “While diary cooperates are the way to go. We should be milking buffaloes”
    2“Obstacles to Small Farm Development in the Caribbean” by John Richard Heath states in Vol.47, No.4 (October,1988 pp427.)

    ID 812004758
    LEEBA BRADSHAW- LUCILLIO

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  69. When emancipation came and the slaves were freed back in 1838, subsistence agriculture and small scale farming became prevalent. The slaves left the plantations and sought to make their own livelihood being a small farmer. Even back then, small scale farming was plagued with factors that prevented it from becoming fully efficient and successful. The plantations were on the best parts of the land and so the slaves planted on the hillsides and on the slopes. Their lack of education in agriculture and the limited land space available helped debilitate the sector.
    The stigmatisation of agriculture is one of the great challenges that small scale farming faces. The slaves and indentured labourers were small scale farmers and this blemished the idea of the later generations to become small scale farmers. No one wanted the profession that the slaves used to perform. The status of small scale farming was very low.
    Land is a major problem for small scale agriculture as the large portions of fertile soil were the plantations and so the indentured labourers and the slaves planted on hillsides and with the future generations, this land space continually decreased for each small scale farmer and this hinders the small scale agriculture from progressing.
    Lack of education in small scale farming greatly inhibits it from expanding. The slaves had no extension officer to help educate on the crops and the soil and so a lot of the soil today are degraded due to poor agricultural habits.
    Small scale agriculture today is heavily affected by the indentured labourers and the slaves who practiced this from of agriculture.
    Saleem Abdul Aziz
    810001275

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  70. There’s no doubt that small scale farming in the Caribbean has faced several debilitating issues that has prevented the trade from reaching its full potential and among them are the limited capital resources needed for investment and technical knowledge which can be traced back to of slavery and the influences slaves and indentured labourers had on Caribbean agriculture. Well-developed small scale agricultural systems will be immensely important to both the economy and psyche of Caribbean people as it decreases import bills while simultaneously boosting local pride.
    After slavery was abolished, ex-slave sought refuge in the mountain sides far away from the plantation and the soil in these areas are usually infertile and produce low yield and nutrients are leached downslope. From generation to generation, plots got smaller and yields continued to decrease. Basic tools such as forks, cutlass, shovels etcetera used by slaves and indentured labourers will continuously be used as equipment such as tractors are limited to flat land as it cannot be utilized on such steep slopes. A variety of crops was, and still has to be grown to ensure a steady income. This practice was done initially to ensure survival only but now it is sustained to prevent a wipe out from pest and diseases. Farmers still apply natural fertilizers such as cow dung because for the slaves and indentured labourers this was all they knew, but for modern day farmers, this is all they can afford.
    Financial help, such as loans, is still not being granted to farmers because they cannot present a deed to the bank for the land they occupy which means therefore, they have no collateral. On the other hand, even if farmers do save to purchase land, in this modern era, there is competition for land resources from both large scale farmers and development, both domestic and industrial which are overlooked by many.
    These techniques have been handed down from generation to generation, and with little or no investment, small scale farming will continue in this state. Governments should intervene and invest in these farmers. An initiative must be made to help these farmers reach their full potential as decades of low crop yields attest that they cannot do it on their own.

    Sihle Mendoza
    811002601

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  71. Small scale farming in the Caribbean is a result of slavery and Indentureship. A small scale farm is one that uses small pieces of land approximately 2 hectares. Most farmers in the Caribbean today are small scale farmers because of the history of agriculture, meaning that slaves and indentured laborers operated on small piece poor quality pieces of land with no machinery and lacked education on proper agricultural practices which lead to low outputs. Therefore the same small pieces of land and poor agricultural practices were passed down from generation to generation. Even today when there is machinery available to farmers it cannot be utilized since most of the farms are located on hills because again this is where ex slaves settled after emancipation. The hills are too steep for the machines to operate on. also after slavery and indentureship were abolished and ex slaves and indentured laborers settled on land which they farmed, they never gained titles for their land which up to this day the descendants of these people still do not have titles for their land. This causes banks to turn down these farmers for loans leaving them with little money to reinvest. Another feature of small scale farming that was influenced by slaves and indentured laborers is multiple cropping. While working on the plantations, they practiced monocropping but after they were freed they planted a variety of crops to feed their families and sell in the markets. Small scale farmers today still cultivate a variety of crops.
    Liam Wiltshire
    812000980

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  72. It is a known fact that small scale farmers in the Caribbean faces problems such as limited capital for investments and a lack of technical knowledge. Because of this small scale farming never reached its full potential in Caribbean.
    Ever since the plantation system, the planters gave the slaves a piece of land where they could plant their crops for their own use. After emancipation the slaves got marginal land, which was mostly hilly landscapes as well as infertile. There is where the small scale farming derived from. The ancestors of these ex-slaves practice small scale farming up to this day. Most of these farmers are limited to the use of hand tools such as hoes, forks and spades, because of the hilly landscapes that they work on, example, a small scale farmer would find it difficult to transport a tractor up the hill to plow his land, and also it would not be able to operate on such steep slopes. This would show one of the mechanization constraints. Another reason why they use hand tools maybe the fact that most cultural practices are limited to the use of it. Within recent times technology helps their situation whit the use of tools such as knapsacks sprayers, weed eaters, and mechanical string trimming devices.
    Being the fact that the ex-slaves got marginal land and had no documented writes to it, it later on caused a problem for their ancestors. Because of this their ancestors do not have any collateral for the bank to give them loans. This is one of the reasons why banks don’t give out loans to small scale farmers, also because sometimes the farmers would not be able to pay back the loan because of crop frailer. Lack of education is a major factor that the small scale farmers face. With the right education small scale farming would reach its full potential.

    ID# 812002145

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  73. Slaves in the Caribbean subsidized their food rations by planting provision grounds and kitchen gardens. Much of the local knowledge of traditional agricultural practices from Africa has been passed on to the descendants of Africans in the Caribbean region. The following characteristics of small scale farming have been influenced by African slaves: fallowing, the small size of farms, simple tools, slash and burn clearing, the limited use of agro chemicals, mixed farming and mixed cropping. These agricultural practices have continued because of the lack of adequate resources to improve farming practices.

    The size of land involved in small scale farming is often less than five hectares and slaves traditionally farmed marginal land since the more arable lands were owned by the plantations. Organic farming is traditionally practised because the inputs of fertilizer and pesticides are expensive. Fallowing is used to maintain soil fertility; it involves leaving a portion of land uncultivated to regenerate fertility. Although slash and burn is frowned upon, it can be beneficial through the addition of nutrients and the increase of soil pH by ash. Unwanted microbes, weeds and pests are also removed through slash and burn. Traditional small scale farming used simple tools such as hoes for tillage and axes, cutlasses and knives for land clearing. Sugar cane is indigenous to South and Southeast Asia and indentured labourers contributed knowledge and expertise in its cultivation. The indentured labourers brought knowledge of farming practices from India and traditional tools such as the sickle (karukkarival), spade (mammutty), country plough (kalappai), tamarind harvester (pulikokki) and knife (kambar kathi). Small scale farmers still practise mixed cropping since it can lead to increase yields and better survival from pests. Simple mixed farming which is the rearing of animals for dairy or poultry and meat occurs simultaneously with crop production.

    The type of crops grown by small scale farmers is also as a result of slavery and Indentureship. Okra, black eyed peas, banana, pigeon peas, corn, peanuts, yams, tania and callallo varieties were brought by African slaves from their homeland to the Caribbean and the southern USA. Indentured labourers introduced mango varieties, rice, tamarind and gourds to the Caribbean.

    Veronica Williams-Bunbury
    810004517

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  74. There is no question that the small scale farmers of the Caribbean today, face incapacitating issues which prohibit the agricultural sector in its stride to reaching its optimum potential. Limited capital for investment and education are all elements which play significant roles in this problem. The main push factor for our agricultural practises to be as is however, is due to the stimulus posed on us by our enslaved ancestors and indentured labourers of our past.
    Throughout the years farming or pursuing a career in agriculture has been welcomed adversely. This is what is most similar to our ancestors and the persons involved in farming in slavery times. Farming went hand in hand with slavery and so there is still that feel to it today. Features of farming previously, compared to farming in the Caribbean today, is the methods of farming (subsistence), the technology used and the type of land and amount of land used as well. The type of small scale farming that was done most of the times was subsistence farming and surpluses were sold in markets which is very similar to today’s farming. The technology used were very basic and is still seen today. Some examples of these are hoes, forks and cutlasses. This brings me to my next point. There was literally no debate in the choice of tools used because of the type and amount of land being used. Land given was of marginal quality and very small in size. Because of the concept of “fragmentation of land” the land size is even smaller today all causing a drag of even literal halt in Caribbean agriculture and productivity.
    These above features of small scale farming today share such a close resemblance to those previously hence, why they have had such an influence on our farming today.
    Justin Josh Boodoo
    812002996

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  75. Small scale farming faces several issues which are debilitating and prevent the sector from reaching its full potential. These issues have however been inherited from the periods of indentureship and slavery and peasantry which furthermore have influenced modern farming practices. Some features or characteristics of small scale farming that have been influenced by people who were slaves and indentured labourers were land ownership patterns, soil fertility, mechanization and limited capital resources for investment.
    Land ownership patterns were greatly influenced by the slaves because back then in the period of the peasantry, most of the slaves occupied small plots of land which were usually less than half of a hectare in size due to the unavailability of land space. Moreover, in present day land that is being farmed is still very small and infertile furthermore, giving rise to low crop yields thus resulting in low productivity.
    Also, these slaves use to engage themselves in mixed farming as a means of having to refrain from paying for expensive fertilizers. In this type of farming they harvested crops and some sort of livestock so that eventually the animal stock would produce manure to mould and grow their other crops. This custom is still being practiced in our modern day agriculture systems.
    Small scale farmers were also limited to mechanization. Most cultural practices were done by manual labour and were limited to the use of hand tools e.g hoes, forks and cutlasses. The reason for this was because most agricultural practices were done on steep slopes and so heavy agricultural machinery such as tractors couldn't have operated on the lands.
    Lastly, the factor of limited capital resources was also an issue of small scale farming. Farmers did not have sufficient capital to maintain the soil or purchase fertilizers and so this led to poor quality of crops and livestock resulting in low productivity. These are just a few examples of the features of small scale farming that have been influenced by the slaves and indentured labourers.

    Sacha Seunarine
    812001522

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  76. Small scale farming faces several issues which are debilitating and prevents the sector from reaching its full potential. Factors such as limited capital resources for investment and a lack of technical knowledge are examples of these issues.I also agree that the ex slaves and indentured workers influenced the features and characteristics of small scale farming.After emancipation,the slaves went and occupy lands in the mountains,hill sides and infertile lands.these lands were handed down from the previous generations but weren't bought.Thus, having many farmers today without proof of ownership.This limited farmers to the access of loans or credit. These lands were small scale,which were approximately 2 ha or less.These lands were infertile and inaccessible and difficult for the use of machinery such as tractors, thus the farmers used manual labor. these include the use of hoes,forks and cutlasses.Today this can still be seen in Trinidad, where the use of tractors and other agricultural machinery is limited.Reason being,that the farmers have limited access to credit. Another that can also be seen is the agricultural practices used by the farmers to feed their home and gain and income.For example,mix farming,multiple cropping and crop rotation just to name a few.Mix farming is the use of both animals and plants on the same parcel of land.Manure was obtained by the farmer from the animal droppings and used to fertilize the crops,this is still practiced by framers because of insufficient funds to buy organic or inorganic fertilizers.Multiple cropping was also used both by the slaves and now a day farmers, where the ex slaves planted a variety of crops.Now farmers use this method because of the loss in the dry season where it was difficult to carry water for the plants up the mountains.Soil fertility was another, where the slaves occupied infertile lands.The degradation of the soil has forced farmers to use methods to help restore nutrients to the soil such as planting peas and corn where the peas puts back the nitrogen the corn takes from the soil or the use of fertilizers.Legumes were also used as green manure and limestone for the acidity of the soil. but these are hard to come by for most farmers because of low income and lack of education.The indentured workers and the slaves both influenced small scale farming and farming on a whole bot negatively and positively.However, farms can't develop because because of the many constraints in technology, credit, soil fertility,machinery and historically.All this has lead limited access to finance because lending agencies closed as a result of none payment of loans . Now lending agencies require security and collateral before a loan is offered.The lack of education also hampers the agricultural sector as many farmers don't know the right methods to use when they farm. This left a stigma to the agricultural sector thus many people don't view it as a stable job and venture to something else preventing the sector from reaching its full potential.
    Joel henry
    ID#812002079

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  77. Small farming started when white plantation owners sold plots of land to freed slaves who were capable of purchasing these lands. Land given to these slaves were mostly on hilly or mountainous slopes, and as such up presently hinders development in the use of technology in agriculture since most of the equipment could not complete farm duties on these grounds. Most of crops grown presently were generally grown by the freed slaves, such as legumes, spices, cocoa and banana.
    Many issues in small scale farming persist, and this can be seen in Trinidad for example, as farmers still face many hurdles. They have little or no institutional support and funding; field research and other resources that would be helpful are not available to them. There is no national organic association to provide consistent help, so when it comes to expertise, guidance and finances organic farmers are on their own. Last year, the level of flooding was unprecedented causing more topsoil to be lost than usual.
    One of the major reasons why farmers in the Caribbean leave the agricultural sector is the high level of theft. Livestock, fruit, vegetable crops and even herbs and seasonings are all stolen regularly. Pest and diseases; transport and produce; and natural disasters, mostly famous hurricanes in the Caribbean, are other problems farmers encounter. There is also a deep labour shortage in the sector and a psychological stigma attached to farming. Even with increased mechanization, the attitude has not truly shifted. Most farmers function without consistent labour or with temporary workers so there is little opportunity to educate them in methods of farming. Every farmer from whom we buy has been affected by all these challenges.

    Rekera Ambrally
    812001034

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  78. When we look at the Caribbean today, we can see that there are alot of small farms on each island. Slavery had a very big part to play in the development and continued existence of these farms. There are many features of these small farms that have been influenced by people who were slaves and indentured laborers. As we can see this is small scale farming hence the size of the plots are very small. From slavery days, workers were allowed to cultivate small plots of land and were also able to purchase these lands when they were freed. As a result of this they were able to cultivate these lands and survive of it. Also when many plantations began to fail, the owners divided the land into small plots and sold them which also fueled small scale farming.
    One of the main features of small scale farming, even today, is there is hardly any mechanization on these farms. From slavery days, tools such as hoes, forks and cutlasses were used. These tools are the main tools that are used on these farms even today. Another feature is the small labour force that are on these farms. These farms are mostly cultivated by the families that own and work on these farms. This was also seen in slavery days. hence we can see that slaves and indentured labourers had a major role to play on small scale farming.
    Nigel Birbal
    809001049

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  79. Small scale farming has yet to reach its fullest potential because of the many issues faced by farmers in this practice. It is usually operated on small plots of land (2ha or less). There are many limitations associated with small scale farming and some of these are the lack of profit made by the farmer, affordability, unawareness of advancements in technology and finding a labour force to work on the farms. Due to the small scale on which these farms exist, it has been proven difficult for farmers to get credit. It is a fear that they would not make enough profit from the yields. The problem would be that, even with large output, there is a possibility that profits would be lost due to wastage. All crops would not be sold by the farmer for various reasons. There are also high costs attached to fertilizers. This is a necessity because of the poor quality soil on the farm lands. Despite all these challenges to small scale faming, there was a lack of support from the wider society and a stigma attached to farmers and locally produced food goods.
    The indentured Indian labourers had small farms near rivers and it worked out fine for them because of the water needed by the plants grown. This differed greatly to the ex-enslaved Africans who sought refuge in old plantations and marginal lands.
    To conclude, small scale farming practices faces a lot of problems reaching a successive goal.

    18001783


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    1. Various sociological research has shown that matriarchal single parent households are statistically more prominent and have continued to rise in the Caribbean for various reasons dating all the Way back to slavery Many researchers have found this to be the root of certain social issues, such as gang activity, juvenile delinquency and even homosexuality in both male and females.
      This can be explained in viewing the family unit as a unit of personality stabilization. Traditional marriage, that is, marriage between a male and a female can ensure that a child benefits from both a male and female influence. This means that the child will have a healthy balance of perspectives and experiences to ensure well rounded development. A family unit inclusive of two parents offers support that a single parent household may not be able to provide sufficiently. Resources such as time, attention, material items and finances can more thoroughly be provided in a dual parent household as they can be obtained from two sources as opposed to just one. While it is indeed possible that a single parent (depending on the individual) may be able to make the same provisions as a two parents, it can be assumed that this would require a strenuous level of input from the individual, in comparison to the level of input required of each parent in a dual parent household. Given this assumption, a dual parent household is preferred.
      Even though there is a lot of research that backs up the “absent father” stereo type many of them are very old and may not necessarily reflect what is taking place to date. Simple evidence that men are taking a more active role in parenting and other important social issues can be seen in the social networking site facebook which plays host to “Caribbean Man” which is made up of proud fathers and male role models of communities in the Caribbean where they discuss who they are, who they would like to be and what it means for Caribbean culture. It is a personal opinion that more groups like are on the rise and is the start of positive change in the attitudes of Caribbean males with respect to societal responsibilities.
      Rohan Persad
      812001966

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  80. The absentees of the male in the household in today’s society have become a norm, there are many reasons as to why this is so, one such reason would be the “make belief” that women are more independent and can survive without the male figure. This belief started since the days of slavery, where the slave master instilled this belief into the minds of the women, and thus this has continued in to today’s society. This belief has lead to the males believing that they are inferior and that they aren’t needed hence they basically have no responsibilities or they abandon their responsibilities.
    The effects of this would be that there is an increase in single parents home lead by the mother or the woman, this have resulted because the men is given the idea that they have no responsibilities or the responsibility of the house doesn’t belong to them . Another impact of this would that the lack of a male figure in the household, may lead to financial problems with initiates a strain on the child which may lure him/ her to a life of crime. Also the lack of a male figure may lead to the children sticking to what they think and know to be normal, which may lead to homosexuality. Because of the past history of where the slave masters gave women the power over the male slaves, this has impacted our society in such a manner in which the women is given the power in the household and this is where the above mentioned problems or effects may occur

    Shantal Mahase
    811003716

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