Cuba Seeks to Strengthen Food Production

Cuban ministry of agriculture announced on Monday a group of measures to strengthen and support food production in the country, largely focused on local development.

During a tour led by Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, second secretary of the central committee of the Cuban communist party, and Salvador Valdes Mesa, vice president of the Republic, farmers and leaders from all regions of the country learned about the program, which involves the application of new legal standards.

Valdes Mesa stated that territorial planning will be strengthened through the program of self-sufficiency and that of food sovereignty, as well as ensuring an adequate use of the budget.

Among the measures, it is important to highlight the proposal to offer a
specialized banking service for agricultural activities, and to analyze a resolution that reduces the list of agricultural products with centralized prices.

Producers will pay for electricity by separating residential and
technological consumption.

In order for farmers to have access to the necessary resources for their
production, in some provinces of the country (Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Villa Clara), inputs and equipment are already being commercialized in freely convertible currency in a first stage.

The program also covers the commercialization of agricultural products, the flexibilization of the labor force and mechanisms to settle debts with producers.

Agricultural cooperatives and producers will also be able to open current accounts in freely convertible currency and carry out imports and exports.

The measures announced are part of the strategy to become
increasingly sustainable and competitive, especially given the current
situation where the acquisition of resources have become more difficult.