One approach you might include in your work might be to do research about
what is and has been grown there, both organically and otherwise, and talk
to the people doing it. Is there a traditional crop that has been there
since before pesticides? Anyone there who grows it still without
pesticides, or can remember how it was done? How do they do it? What's
worked or not? Have they made a good living at it? What problems have they
had (ag; economic; government; etc.)?
Seeing what naturally grows there and has been grown there without
pesticides and seeing how it's done will give you good idea of what the
area is suited to grow, which can then be extrapolated to other kinds of
crops with the same environmental needs. Growing plants where they're not
suited is one of the big reasons that pesticides are used. The techniques
they traditionally used, or that current organic farmers successfully use,
can give information about successful techniques in general in this
particular place, increasing the likelihood of your success, and can alert
you to any problems that have been barriers to their success organically,
so you can put effort into resolving those (local pest species, etc.).
As I see organic ag, it's about working with nature as we find it - which
can vary tremendously from place to place. Traditional ag is often ore
specific to a place, therefore, as opposed to industrial ag which tries to
mechanize the process so the same techniques can be used anywhere, in
disregard of the local ecosystem's characteristics. Therefore, it seems to
very powerful to start with the characteristics and history of the place
you seek to develop organic ag.
In saying this, I'm not intending to discourage you from learning
techniques etc. from organic farmers in other places - lots of that
information can be moved to other locales, if done intelligently. But I
think success comes from starting with an understanding of the climate and
conditions of where one is, to know which information is transferable, and
to know the questions you want to ask. Any local organic or traditional
farmers can then become an incredible basis on which to be most effective
in seeking additional external information. This can also keep you from
being overwhelmed with info. Also, developing relationships with the local
organic farmers and/or connection to the traditional farmers (past and
present) can be a powerful way to persuade farmers to join your project (if
that's something you expect to seek) and to show that it's a viable thing
to do.
Hope you find these thoughts useful. Good luck!
Best regards -
P. Dines
--- FORWARD ---
From: Jeff Gold, INTERNET:jeff@sprintdata.es
To: Patricia Dines, 73652,1202
To: sanet-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu
Date: Fri, Jan 10, 1997, 3:41 AM
Subject: Message from Internet
Dear Friends,
Greetings!! My name is Jeff Gold and I am an American student
currently studying in an MBA Program in the Canary Islands..(of all
places.) To make a long story short I have chosen to research the
viability of introducing organic crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, tropical
fruit) both in the local market and as exports to the European Union
as part of a business plan for my thesis.
I am a new subscriber to sanet and would appreciate any information
that you you could send my way. Specifically I am interested in
research studies of finances, sample costs, marketing, technological
advances, competition etc. of case studies of organic agriculture. If
you have any information (English or Spanish) about the
aforementioned issues, it would be a tremendous help if you could
send them my way either via e-mail or snail mail. As you can imagine,
information is pretty limited here in the Islands.
Thanks in advance for all of your help!!
------Jeff Gold --------
e-mail: jeff@sprintdata.es
address:
Plazoleta de Farray no 6, 4B
35007 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Islas Canarias, Spain