The PUMAT Project – Promoting an Attractive Market Gardening Sector in Martinique and Guadeloupe: review and outlook

The ECOPHYTO PUMAT project has identified several factors that encourage the adoption of agroecological practices at the production level (farm size, crop diversification, training), the commercial level (certification) and the collective level (producer groups). Labour, accounting for up to 90 per cent of costs, and prices are key factors. Consumers are willing to pay more for pesticide-free produce but do not attach importance to the method of marketing. The project’s systemic approach shows that preventive innovation is a collective investment, requiring trust and transparency, and that the tension between collaboration and competitiveness raises questions about the coherence of transitions.