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Short abstract:

How were agronomy stations developed in the FWI? Focusing on their scientific work around chlordecone, this paper examines data and human circulations, stations' specific relations with agroindustrial sector and French scientific policies, and what it does to center/periphery dynamics.

Long abstract:

Chlordecone was used during the XXth century in the French West Indies (FWI) against banana weevils. It is now at the center of a nationally recognised scandal. However, in the 1970s, its was praised as the last chemical solution against banana weevils.

Synthesized in 1954 in the USA, it was then tested by French colonial agronomists in Cameroon. After decolonization, the center of French banana production moved to the FWI (Cornu et al 2018; Charpentier et al, 1995). "Tropical" agronomists trained in African colonies had to move across the Atlantic and build agronomy stations (today's CIRAD) to boost banana production through chemical means, which led to chlordecone use. French departments since 1946, Martinique and Guadeloupe also became these new national territories that "general" agronomists solely trained in metropolitan soils were asked to invest (through today's INRAEs).

This presentation will explore how both these infrastructures were developed in the FWI. It will then analyze their scientific work around chlordecone [1950s-1990s], focusing on both data and human circulations, and their specific relations with agroindustrial sector and French scientific policies.

I argue that with scientific outposts, these agronomy stations share : (1) materiality (as scientific infrastructures resulting from difficult installation process); (2) geography (as isolated, difficult to access - at least at first); (2) politicization (inserted in center/periphery and (post)colonial geopolitics). However, I shall question their epistemology(ies), and whether it relies - like scientific outposts seem to - on extracting local data that travel to the center in order to become universalized knowledge.