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Andrew Roe is a well-known entrepreneur and farmer in Dominica who has initiated or pioneered several important developments in the community. Over the least ten years, Mr. Roe has turned his attention to farming. With the same skill, determination and intelligence which he brought to his other activities, he has succeeded in transforming an average holding of about 2 acres into an organic enterprise. Roe is 71 years old and lives in the community of Giraudel, five miles from Roseau, Dominica's capital city. Roe's plot is very varied: pepper, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, carrots, bananas and lots of growing grass for the animals. He explained his latest system for growing bananas organically. "We treat the plant different from the conventional system. We cut off the plant flat. We do not clean it and do not apply chemicals. After that we dig a hole of 2 feet deep, about 1 foot in diameter, apply approximately 8 inches of pen manure into the hole, and cover it with four inches of soil. Then we just make a cavity and put the plant in it. You'll see how well it is doing." Roe stated that organic produce tastes better, because of the absence of chemicals and the natural vigour and flavour is with it. There are about 6 to 8 people that he supplies every week, because they prefer his products. His marketing strategy starts with his home, secondly the market, and then what is left goes to the animals. His philosophy is ‘grow what you eat, eat what you grow, and market the surplus'. Roe is not only practicing organic farming, but he also contributes to the thinking behind this switch to the natural way to grow foods and vegetables. He considers that organic farming is the only way that our future Caribbean societies can be sustained. He would like to see more organic farming done in the Caribbean, because it would make life better. He doesn't understand those who are concerned about the ecosystems but still use chemical fertilizers, which leach into the sea and destroy the soil micro-organisms: "What are we talking about? If we are truly concerned about the environment, we must stop using chemicals in our agriculture." He added that with a bit of experimentation, excellent results can be reached: "You will marvel at the development of some of the organic crops." People in the Roseau Market are well aware that his produce is organically grown, according to Roe. When he started out, he was ridiculed. But now people are coming to him for advice on how to practice organic farming. Roe is at the Roseau Market every Saturday, and he always has enough to sell. There are approximately 1000 farmers of his size in Dominica and sometimes they have nothing to sell. "Some of the villagers can't believe it and say that I am fooling people, that I must have lent their sale. However, the yields are so good because of the natural system." People in the Roseau Market are well aware that his produce is organically grown, according to Roe. When he started out, he was ridiculed. But now people are coming to him for advice on how to practice organic farming. Roe is at the Roseau Market every Saturday, and he always has enough to sell. There are approximately 1000 farmers of his size in Dominica and sometimes they have nothing to sell. "Some of the villagers can't believe it and say that I am fooling people, that I must have lent their sale. However, the yields are so good because of the natural system." Although 25 years ago Dominica was not yet known as the nature island of the Caribbean, it was known that the island had a tremendous water resource and natural land resource, and variety of soil types and so forth. Why did Dominica go chemical? According to Roe, the answer is GREED!! and ignorance. "Caribbean people are brainwashed by the Europeans and the Americans. And then I have to say that our own intellectuals are traitors to us. They go overseas, they cram their brains with what they are taught, and they leave and forget what we have in our own country to offer. I am mad about it. Why don't we consider our own knowledge, why don't we accept what our own eyes see?" "Some will call it getting down to our roots, but I like to say that we should get down to the facts, to the gist of the matter, and wield up our Caribbean country. If we are to have food sustainability, we must go the organic way. Unless we do that, we're in deep trouble." He added that in America there are already large areas in trouble, because all the humus is kicked out of the soil due to the high input of chemicals in agriculture. "We in the Caribbean have to get away from it, we are small. America and Europe can afford to waste some area, because they have the land space. But we haven't got it, so we've got to maximize the little that we have and use it diligently and wisely. Unless we do that, not only Dominica will feel it, the world will feel it too." [838 words] In collaboration with the Caribbean Environmental Reporters Network (CERN), Panos produces a weekly 10-minutes radio series: "Island Beat - News from the environmental frontline of the Caribbean". It documents community environmental themes, in particular highlighting community experiences in finding solutions to environmental problems, reported by journalists from across the Caribbean region. This current print feature has been derived from a radio programme which was produced in July 1997.
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