Tropical Agriculture

The tropics are very species-rich, but world-wide, agriculture seems to be focused on a few commercial crops derived from or heavily modified for Northern European climates. Often, these crops are chosen for shelf life over all other attributes, including taste, nutrition, and local conditions. This results in agriculture that struggles to produce a cash crop when abundant local food crops would require less labor, seed costs, fertilizer and environmental impact.

Agriculture for the incipient Seasteader falls into 5 obvious areas of practice, any or all of which benefit from working with nature, climate, and biology rather than against it. Choosing plants which will thrive in, on, or near the ocean is critical for success and efficient use of resources, including space, nutrients, fresh water, and manpower. The five areas are:

• Food & Fodder production (for humans and livestock)

• Fiber and building materials

• Fuel (including bio-diesel, bio-gas (methane) and plain combustion)

• Eco-remediation and environmental engineering (dealing with pollutants & waste streams, and physical concerns such as wave attenuation, erosion control, sun shade, and wind breaks)

• Psychological relief of visually austere environments, i.e. landscaping for beauty and comfort

Resources for:

• Fiber and Building Materials:[1]
• Fuels: Biogas,Biofuel

See also:

• Aquaculture
• Permaculture
• Halophytic Agriculture
• [Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawai'i

Salt Tolerant Species (Wikipedia):

Banana Barbados Cherry Barberry Black Sapote Chinaberry Cocoplum Coconut Palm Date Palm Dwarf Saltwort Figs Guava Jelly (Pindo) Palm Kukui/Candlenut Kumquat Lime Berry Loquat Malay Rose Apple Mammea Apple Mango Mulberry Natal Plum Oil Palm Persimmon Pigeon Plum Pineapple Guava Red Mangrove Sapodilla Sea Grape Star Apple Tamarind Vetiver Grass Washington Palm

Socio-Economic, Political, and Legal
Legal · Defense · Money