CARICOM countries should be looking at organic agriculture to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere and boost food production, international consultant and former United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) representative to the Caribbean, Mervyn Claxton has said.

He was delivering a lecture as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series on the Environment entitled "Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Development" last week at the University of West Indies (UWI), St Augustine. The event was hosted by the Cropper Foundation and the Housing and Environment Ministry .

Claxton pointed to recent drought problems and high food prices locally and said studies showed that organically managed soils could convert carbon dioxide from a greenhouse gas to a food-producing asset. "This would be no small benefit, considering that a substantial drop in food production, high food prices, and food scarcity are widely predicted as a consequence of climate change," he said.

He said organic agriculture also reduced soil erosion and prevented loss of soil fertility, while discontinuing the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

This would lead to cleaner waterways and coastal waters, cleaner beaches and healthier coral reefs, which would be of great value to the tourism sector.

He provided the example of the milpa system created by a Mexican farmer, which fixes nutrients in the soil and creates natural barriers to pests and disease, and produced large food crop yields without the use of artificial pesticides and fertilisers. He said this system may be ideal for small Caribbean farmers, especially those who farm marginal or less fertile lands.

He said research from the US and China showed that ecological agriculture was far more effective in reducing atmospheric carbon than the Carbon Capture and Storage method which Caricom countries have signed on to.

Claxton said organic agriculture appeared to be both cheaper and more suited to the Caribbean and the sequestered carbon also fertilised the soil.

The system could be of interest to this country, which has high per capita carbon emissions.

UWI principal, Prof Clement Sankat in his speech, as read by Dean of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture Prof Dyer Narinesingh, said the United Nations proclaimed 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity.

He said it was important for all nations to "strike a balance between the efforts to increase the pace of socio-economic development and to ensure conservation of natural resource".

"In fact, this whole issue of biodiversity and sustainable development is critical to small island developing states as we continue to work towards implementing strategies for addressing economic growth and competitiveness, while at the same time, seeking to maintain the delicate balance with achieving sustainable and equitable development and fostering a better quality of life for our citizens.

"This is how we as a nation and as a region can achieve true sustainable development."

Sankat also congratulated the Cropper Foundation on its tenth anniversary and success in promoting sustainable development in the region.