Global Trade And Technological Change In Roots And Tubers: The Case Of Puerto Rico

Roots and Tubers have been until recently a major component of local diets in the Tropics. Their production has been mostly for household consumption and local markets, exporting only a relatively small proportion of produce. In spite of a long term agricultural decline, self-sufficiency in roots and tubers was the norm in Puerto Rico until the early 1980s. From then onwards, production declined significantly as imports experienced more than concomitant increases. This paper by examining global and local production and trade statistics since 1964, local agricultural and marketing developments, and the available technological literature on roots and tubers explores the interface between global processes and local conditions. Preliminary results suggest that changes in the global and local marketing of food crops have been more responsible for the current status of roots and tubers production in Puerto Rico than technological change.