Paper presented at the 52nd CFCS Annual Meeting, Guadeloupe, July 10-16, 2016
by the example of the development of a niche market for the Creole pork in Martinique. These various presentations emphasized the wealth of the agricultural biodiversity in the Caribbean, and the possibilities of its valuation. In continuation, the question of the control of the biological processes on a agroecological perspective is approached (reporter: L. Ori, AdeKUS; moderator Mr. Naves, INRA), with 9 oral presentations distributed in two sequences, and 4 posters. These presentations mainly concerned the control of soil fertility, through alternative solutions of organic fertilization, such as the use of gulfweeds (2 presentations), composting of plant residues (2 presentations) or the use of mycorrhiza (2 presentations). Two methodological papers approach also the development of phyto-toxicity tests to evaluate various byproducts of waste recycling, and the use of an isotopic method to estimate the potential of carbon retention in tropical acid soils. Finally, a presentation concerns the use of probiotics to improve the food of dairy cows in Trinidad. Finally, the last thematic chapter deals with the theme of the design and the engineering of innovative production systems in the Caribbean (reporter: JL. Diman, INRA; moderator F. Lopez, UWI), with 5 oral presentations and 2 posters illustrating the integration of knowledges approached in the previous sessions, in a holistic approach of the production systems. Various examples were presented, within the framework of annual cultures in Florida, or with a diversity of animal breeding systems following the agroecology principles in the Caribbean, or of innovative systems of agroforestry, combining the preservation of the biodiversity and the agroindustrial valuation of local oleaginous plants. The valuation of the local agricultural resources was revisited finally, through the example of the implementation of the participative plant selection in Cuba, or the question of the choice of the animal breed in mixed farming systems in the tropics. These various presentations illustrate how the principles of the agroecology could be put into practices, based on disciplinary knowledge, within the framework of environment-friendly and sustainable production systems, while being efficient and economically profitable. This sub-session allows approaching various key points for the development of innovations on agroecological production systems, answering perfectly the objective of this congress to establish a solid base of knowledge for the ecological intensification of the production systems in the Caribbean. The organization of the sequences of presentations followed by discussion, also allowed particularly rich and promising exchanges for the participants, answering another objective of the congress to strengthen the regional integration of the searches led in the region. Finally, by mixing at the same time presentations of the plant and animal domains, it enriched the discussions thanks to exchanges of experience between these two domains.
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