Tropical Agriculture

Abstract

This year The University of the West Indies (UWI) celebrates its 50th Anniversary having started with the Medical Faculty on the Mona Campus in 1948. The establishment of the University was pre-dated by the founding of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture (ICTA) in 1922. The ICTA which had a strong tradition of teaching in tropical agriculture, was succeeded by the Faculty of Agriculture which was established in 1962. The Journal, Tropical Agriculture was first published in 1924 and has been published every year since then. During the 74 years of its existence, it was published from 1954 to 1992 on our behalf in the United Kingdom. It returned to the St Augustine Campus in 1992 and has been published solely by the UWI since then. The Journal has made, and continues to make, a significant contribution to tropical agriculture through the publication of research results on the many constraints to its development. Many of these findings have been implemented in the tropics and the Journal continues to be a valuable source of information to researchers in tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate regions. It remains the premier journal in tropical agriculture. Although the main focus of the journal is on technological constraints, it recognizes that the technology must be relevant to the social context in which the technology must be relevant to the social context in which the technology is to be applied, if it is to be successfully adopted and sustained. It has therefore welcomed articles on agricultural extension and adoption, and agricultural economics. The challenge for tropical agriculture in the 21st century is to devise policies and technologies for sustainable agricultural development. For sustainability, agriculture must be productive and profitable while protecting the environment. The Journal will play its role through the publishing of articles that address this theme. Over the last three decades, the Journal has published the proceedings of three conferences which it has convened, Tropical Soils in 1973, Clay Soils Management in 1980, and Biological Nitrogen Fixation in 1981. These conferences were aimed at promoting the agro-ecological approach to soil productivity and farm in the tropics. This year the Journal has taken the decision to publish the Proceedings of the 11th Symposium of the International Society of Tropical Root Crops (ISTRC) as Issues 1 and 2 of Volume 75 (1998), i.e., as regular issues of the Journal. The Journal publishes very infrequently, the proceedings of conferences and symposia because its policy is to publish articles that satisfy our strict publication criteria. In accordance with our policy, articles must be reviewed and recommended for publication by at least two international scientists of high standing in the scientific community. In the event of contradictory recommendations, the Editor-in- Chief arbitrates or seeks the views of a referee. After an article is accepted for publication, it is thoroughly edited for technical accuracy, style, and format. In the case of proceedings of conferences and symposia, there is normally a requirement for all papers to be published. The articles of the ISTRC proceedings have not been subjected to our normal review process. The articles have been edited for technical accuracy, removal of contradictions and improving style, readability, and conciseness. The articles that are published in Abstract form only are mainly articles that were not available at all, or not available in a suitably amended form by the closing date. The decision was taken to publish the Proceedings of the ISTRC Symposium to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Society in Trinidad. The staff of the UWI played a major role in the founding of the Society. The return of the Symposium to Trinidad after 30 years was considered worthwhile for inclusion in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the University. The publication of the ISTRC Symposium also meant that some disciplinary areas which are not normally accepted for publication in the Journal, for example, food science have been included. The Journal is happy to be associated with the publication of the ISTRC Symposium. Due recognition is paid to the organizations that have co-sponsored the publication of the proceedings. Finally, the Journal joins with the University in celebrating the many achievements of the University during the 50 years of its existence and recognizes the occasion in the four Issues of the Journal in 1998.