An agricultural producer on his farm in Bacuranao, east of Havana, Cuba, was concerned about the shortage of produce. Source: AP
Before, it was impossible for him to get fuel and seeds, then his name was not on the list of the company that rents tractors to small farmers. When it is his turn, it is likely that the rains will prevent him from working the land. An example of what the agricultural sector in Cuba is suffering from.
On his farm on the outskirts of Havana, Lázaro Sánchez is worried about the next harvest while in the cities their compatriots suffer from shortages and price increases.
Cuba approved a year ago 63 measures to revive the agricultural sector which has given farmers more flexibility in deciding what to plant and who to sell, while improving the prices the state sets for crops.
Sánchez can now market his vegetables wherever he wants and even set up a stall, which was limited until last year, and also benefits from discounts on electricity and water bills.
However, farmers claim it initiatives are not enough to boost agricultural production and they complain about the lack of inputs such as herbicides, fertilizers, threads and tools that they have to buy from the state, which in turn imports them.
The absence of fruit in a tropical country or pork – fundamental in the Cuban diet – has become more evident after the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the increase in US sanctions.
“Unfortunately we will be affected in three or four months, we will not have the food we had to plant,” said Sánchez, 56. Associated Press.
Sánchez works with his brother on a 26-hectare farm where they usually grow short-cycle crops such as malanga, squash, corn and bananas and raise small animals.
imported food
Cuba spends around 2,000 million dollars a year on food imports, of which, according to the authorities, around 800 million could be saved if the campaign could be started, an important figure for the economy of a small island.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics and Census, a production of 2.1 million tons of root vegetables – cooked tubers such as malanga – was reported in 2021, almost the same as in 2020 but far from 2.8 million tons. of 2017. Also 1.7 million tons of vegetables against 1.6 million in 2020 and 2.4 million in 2017.
There was decrease or stagnation of the quantities obtained rice, corn, beans, tobacco and citrus fruits as well as in the production of milk and cattle and pigs.
The decline in supply has had its consequence effect on prices.
A pound of pork that was paid last year for 100 Cuban pesos ($ 4.10 at the official exchange rate) today costs 300 ($ 12.50) and a 20 pesos avocado ($ 0.80) went for 60. ($ 2.50), while the average salary is around 4,000 pesos ($ 160).
insufficient measures
The 63 measures included an increase in the price that the state pays to peasants – who are obliged to deliver a certain percentage of their production to social programs or to the basic universal basket that every citizen receives – and improvements in the tariffs of services.
In addition, the price of herbicides has been reduced, marketing has been released of products and manufacturers could sell in dollar stalls or hotels. Many debts that the state had with the peasants were also canceled.
The authorities ensure that the measures are on the right track.
“The 63 measures had a favorable impact,” Armando Miralles, Organization and Information Director of the Ministry of Agriculture told AP, for whom the result is not in exceeding the 2017 parameters but in the way farmers have been able to produce despite the economic hardship and the migration of the workforce from the countryside to the cities.
The causes
But for experts, low productivity isn’t just a consequence of a lack of supplies and manpower, as Miralles argues.
“Before 1990, Cuba had all the resources (backed by the then Soviet Union) and the results were very bad,” Ricardo Torres, a Cuban economist and researcher at the Center for Latin American Studies at American University in Washington, told the AP.
for the expert The explanation for this inefficiency is more complex. and it involves various factors, such as the way in which land ownership was established – which is in the hands of the state and is given in usufruct to the peasants -, the strong political centralization and a notable decapitalization of infrastructures.
A report by Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Luis Tapia in 2021 indicated that of 6.4 million hectares of agricultural land in Cuba, 49% is uncultivated.
“When the 63 measures were enacted, it was a success at the time,” said Misael Ponce, owner of a 120-hectare farm dedicated to livestock and who has started a small industry to produce cheese and yogurt which she sells. to hotels, AP., something allowed by that package of initiatives.
But to the income he got inflation devoured them. The state raised the purchase price of milk by three but the price of inputs increased by eight. “It’s something that needs to be reviewed pretty quickly,” Ponce said.
Source: AP
CB
andrea rodriguez
Source: Clarin
