格林纳达的肉豆蔻产业 --王茜翻译

Grenada, is one four Windward Islands, and is located in the South Eastern Caribbean. Politically, it is a member of the Organisation of East Caribbean States. The island has an area of 283 sq. km, much of which consists of very rugged hilly terrain. Approximately 50 percent of Grenada’s population of 100 000 inhabitants are under the age of 20. 格林纳达是向风群岛四岛之一，位于加勒比东南部。从政治上讲，它是东加勒比组织的成员。该岛面积为283平方公里，国土的大部分是崎岖的丘陵地带。格林纳达总人口约为十万，其中的大约50%年龄不足二十周岁。

Grenada is the world’s second largest nutmeg producer and accounts for 23 percent of world nutmeg production. Nutmeg and mace production hold a dominant position within the agricultural sector of the island, and contribute significantly to the GDP from agricultural production. Currently the nutmeg processing industry is ranked by the Ministry of Agriculture as the single most important industry on the island. 格林纳达是世界第二大肉豆蔻生产国，占全世界肉豆蔻产量的23%。肉豆蔻生产在该岛的农业产业中占据主导地位，农业生产GDP的大部分来自于此。目前，农业部将肉豆蔻加工工业列为该岛唯一一个最为重要的工业。

All nutmeg producers on the island are members of the Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Association (GCNA), whose membership currently exceeds 7 000. The majority of these nutmeg producers are small farmers whose livelihoods are dependent on nutmeg production. 岛上的所有肉豆蔻生产者都是“格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织”的成员，目前这个组织有七千多个成员。大多数肉豆蔻生产者都是个体公民，依赖生产肉豆蔻维持生计。

The GCNA operates 19 receiving stations for nutmeg and mace, island-wide. Three of these are equipped to process and package nutmegs and mace. The GCNA is also currently in the process of implementing a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) programme and is working toward the implementation of ISO standardization. A distillation plant which produces essential oils from nutmegs that are unfit for export is also operated by the GCNA. The GCNA currently has plans for upgrading this plant in order to improve the quality of its outputs and to better tailor them to the requirements of target markets in the United States and the United Kingdom. This institution also recently invested in the installation of a plant for the disposal of the “environmentally unfriendly” by-products of nutmeg oil processing, which have both a high Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and a high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). Lack of the necessary technical expertise on the island delayed commissioning of this plant. 格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织在全岛经营着19家肉豆蔻的接收站点，其中的三家站点拥有加工和包装肉豆蔻的设备。目前，格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织还在实施一项“事故分析和危机控制点”计划，并在努力推广ISO认证工作。格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织还经营一个蒸馏工厂，这家工厂使用肉豆蔻制作精油，但这些精油不适合出口。目前，格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织计划改进这家工厂，提高其产品质量，以迎合美国和英国目标市场的要求。最近，这个组织还投资建设了一家工厂，用于处理肉豆蔻精油加工过程中产生的对环境有害的副产品。这家工厂有很高的“生物需氧量”（BOD）和“化学需氧量”（COD）。由于岛上缺乏必要的技术专业知识，该厂迟迟没有投入试生产。

Three representatives of the Government of Grenada, nominated by the Ministry of Agriculture, sit on the Board of Directors of the GCNA. The Government of Grenada has provided support to the nutmeg sector through extension services to farmers and through the production of planting materials. The Government is also continuously investing in building and improving farm roads to facilitate logistics of nutmeg collection, and currently employs an officer within its pest management unit, to work on the problem of nutmeg wilt diseases at the production level. Government policies on the island target diversification of the nutmeg industry through greater industrialization and the development of value-added products. 由农业部指定的格林纳达政府的三位代表，在格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织中任职。格林纳达政府通过向农民提供推广服务、生产种植材料，支持肉豆蔻产业的发展。政府还不断投资于农村公路的建设和改造，以促进肉豆蔻收获的后勤保障。最近，政府还聘请了一位官员在其害虫管理办公室工作，以解决生产层面的肉豆蔻落叶病问题。该岛政府旨在通过更高的工业化程度和增值产品的进一步开发，发展多样化的肉豆蔻工业。

Sustainability of the nutmeg and mace industry on the island is, however, threatened by the use of outdated harvesting, post-harvest handling and processing techniques, which not only result in inefficiency, but also in poor nutmeg and mace quality. Poor quality management, the lack of appropriate equipment for quality control along the chain from harvesting through to processing, and the inability of either the Government-owned Produce Chemist laboratory, or the laboratory located at the GCNA to undertake aflatoxin testing for the certification of nutmeg quality for international trade, incurs considerable cost to the industry. The GCNA currently spends US$50 000 on an annual basis for overseas laboratory services, which can sometimes take a long turn-around time. Furthermore, considerable potential foreign exchange earnings (US$200 000 for the 2001/2002 period) are lost in servicing buyer claims, when poor quality nutmeg and mace are delivered to overseas markets. Savings on these costs could be applied to the maintenance and upkeep of an analytical laboratory equipped for quality control within the industry. 但是，岛上的肉豆蔻工业的可持续性受到了威胁，这些威胁来自陈旧的收割技术、收割后处理和加工技术。这些过时的技术不仅影响了效率，还影响了肉豆蔻本身的质量。在收割到加工链条中，质量管理落后，缺乏适当的质量管理设备；政府所有的产品化学实验室或格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织的实验室均无力进行黄曲霉素测试，以验证肉豆蔻的质量是否符合国际贸易标准，这些问题导致了可观成本。目前，格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织每年为海外实验室检测服务支付五万美元，而在国外作检测，意味着周转时间的延长。不仅如此，由于劣质肉豆蔻流入海外市场，可观的潜在外汇收入（2001/2002年为二十万美元）损失在买方索赔中。如果把这些费用节省下来，完全可以维持一家拥有质量控制设备的分析实验室的运转。

The GCNA, with the endorsement of the Ministry of Agriculture of Grenada, requested assistance from FAO to upgrade harvesting, post-harvest handling, processing and quality control for nutmeg and mace, as well as by-product processing. 在格林纳达农业部的支持下，格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织请求联合国粮农组织的援助，以改进其肉豆蔻的收割、收割后处理、加工和质量管理体系，并改进其副产品处理体系。

FAO worked in close consultation with GCNA to develop a project which will provide technical assistance to address the problems described above. The objective of the project is to enhance farmer returns from the production of nutmeg and mace, through improving the overall quality of these products and their oil extracts for international trade and minimizing the environmental contamination due to nutmeg processing by-products. This will be achieved by upgrading harvesting, post-harvest handling, and processing of nutmegs and mace; strengthening the capacity of the GCNA to operate an internal quality assurance programme for the nutmeg and mace industry; and, building the capacity of the GCNA in by-product processing. 联合国粮农组织与格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织携手设计了一个计划，提供技术援助以解决上述问题。该计划的目标是，改进肉豆蔻产品及精油质量，将其出口到国际市场，减少肉豆蔻加工所产生的副产品对环境的污染，从而提高农民从事肉豆蔻生产所得收入。实现这一目标的手段包括改进肉豆蔻的收割、收割后处理和加工技术，加强格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织在该工业中施行内部质量保证计划的能力，以及加强格林纳达肉豆蔻合作组织处理副产品的能力。

This case demonstrates the nature of on-going investments to achieve process innovations in order to remain competitive. It also reinforces the role of food safety and quality assurance that were highlighted in cases A and C above. A third aspect of note is the attention to development of products other than that of the traditional nutmeg spice. The production of nutmeg oil extracts and attention to the needs of the markets in the United States and the United Kingdom is to be noted. The development of more non-traditional uses of nutmeg is expected to be important in order to grow returns to the small-scale nutmeg growers. This case also highlights the role of engineering in process innovation and in product innovation. 这个案例表明了现行投资在实现工艺创新以保持竞争优势方面的作用。这个案例还再次强调了上述案例A和案例C中强调的食品安全和质量保证的作用。除此之外，我们还应该认识到除传统肉豆蔻香料之外的其它产品的开发。请注意这个案例中肉豆蔻精油的生产，和对英美市场的需求的关注。要增加小规模肉豆蔻种植者的收入，就应该着重开发肉豆蔻的非传统型效用。这个案例还突出了工程技术在工艺创新和产品创新中所发挥的作用。