Paper presented at the 52nd CFCS Annual Meeting, Guadeloupe, July 10-16, 2016
INTRODUCTION AND REPORT OF SESSION 1: AGROECOLOGICAL FARMING SYSTEMS, STAKEHOLDERS’ VISIONS & PRACTICES M. Naves1, M. Chave2, P. Chopin2, L. Penet2 1
URZ Unité de Recherches Zootechniques, INRA, 97170 Petit-Bourg (Guadeloupe), France ; michel.naves@antilles.inra.fr ASTRO AgroSystèmes Tropicaux, INRA, 97170 Petit-Bourg (Guadeloupe), France
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In the context of global changes, feeding a growing population and ensuring food security whilst protecting ecosystems and natural resources (energy, water, phosphate, biodiversity) are crucial priorities. Agroecological farming systems (ie. adaptive and/or biologically diversified farming systems) offer promises worldwide and particularly in the Caribbean which possess assets for their implementation. Enhancing domestic and ordinary biodiversity (animal, plant, microbial) offers new strategies to promote economically and environmentally efficient agriculture. In agro-ecological farming systems, farmers have to manage uncertain and complex interactions though management practices to provide diverse ecological services (food and other products, soil fertility, biological regulations). Designing and managing innovative farming systems that take into account different spatial and temporal scales is at stake. Creating and strengthening agricultural innovation networks to enable interactions between partners (researchers, farmers, regional authorities, development and transfer organizations, public or private funders) is a key issue for the success of the agroecological transition. The communications presented in this session tackle as well conceptual, methodological or technical issues, to answer the questions raised by the agroecological transition. The presentations are organized in order to illustrate different aspects of agroecological practices. During the congress, a total of 34 oral presentations and 12 posters were presented in this session (3 presentations and 6 posters were missing). The oral communications were grouped in five thematic sessions, organized each in sequences of 3 or 4 presentations one after another, and followed by 15 to 20 minutes of questions and discussion, the speakers being invited to stay in the table of presentation for the discussion. This timing aimed at allowing a well-balanced display of the oral presentations, while letting the time for exchanges between participants. It allowed particularly rich debates and exchanges of experience on certain concepts or concrete examples that are presented in the following chapters. A first thematic chapter concerns the knowledge of the pests and diseases of the vegetable and animal productions (reporter M. Naves, INRA; moderator M. Farant, CFCS), with 7 oral presentations, distributed in two sequences. This session make an inventory of the situation of different pathogens or parasites of the plants and the animals in the Caribbean, illustrated by various examples. It put forward in particular the increasing difficulty to manage these sanitary problems, as well as the acceleration of the rhythm of appearance of new pathologies, pointing out various causes: - The climate change, with a strong incidence on the evolution of the pathogens; - The appearance of resistance to pesticides which is also a key factor of the worsening of the sanitary problems - The incomplete or biased perception of the sanitary situation by the producers or the actors of the sectors, and the management strategies to be adopted. The following chapter extends the discussions about the sustainable sanitary management of the plants and the animals (reporter M. Naves, INRA; moderator C. Serra, IDIAF), with 4 oral presentations and 3 posters. These communications illustrate the concepts linked to the integrated control of pests and diseases, in plants and animals. Two communications presented promising results concerning the integrated control of Bemisia in tomato, by means of auxiliary insects or biopesticides. A presentation approaches also the case of the animal production sector, with the interaction between nutrition and parasitism in small ruminants. Finally the last presentation draw an interesting conceptual framework of the integrated management and its main determiners, illustrated by two examples on the implementation of bioprotection measures against Ralstonia in vegetables, and on the integrated control of the internal parasitism in small ruminants. The following chapter approaches the theme of the valuation of the genetic resources within the framework of sustainable production systems (reporter L. Penet, Inra; moderator G. Anaïs, CFCS), with 9 oral presentations distributed in two sequences, and 3 posters. Various aspects attached to this theme are illustrated, concerning the characterization, the conservation, the genetic improvement and the exploitation of the local genetic resources. The first presentation presented collections and objectives of the BRC Tropical Plants, while the following one showed the diversity of the varieties of yams cultivated by the farmers and their differences of tolerance in the anthracnose. Other original characteristics of the local resources are also illustrated (longevity of Creole goat, tolerance to hydric stress in manioc). The possibilities of selection of adapted plant material were discussed concerning the sweet potato and the banana plantains, in particular through the use of the selection assisted by markers in banana. Finally, the valuation of the local resources was illustrated
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