Oscar Espinosa Chepe
LA HABANA, September - Tracey Eaton, in an
article
published in the Dallas Morning News, shows a picture of the Cuban
agriculture quite far from reality. In it, Eaton talks about a supposed ³green
revolution² and, agreeing with other American author, defines it as a ³future
wave for developing countries.²
Unfortunately, his idea of the agriculture in the largest Antilles is
distorted. The main crop, sugar cane, for instance, is in a permanent crisis.
Production per area are the lowest on earth, according to the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO). Last harvest barely went over the 3.5 millions
tons, ridiculous amount in comparison with 1919¹s 4 millions with a fourth
of the present population and with a primitive technology.
Because of the harvest disaster, beginning this month, the Government took
away one pound from the monthly ration quota, now limited to two pounds,
unbelievable in a country who once was among the major sugar supplier of the
world.
Beef, a traditional resource in the country, is in an endangered list.
Cattle heads went from 39.0 percent in 1967 and for 1999, according to available
official records a much larger downfall.
The remaining cattle is a terrible condition, poor attention with less and
less pasture due to an invasion of bushes and a permanent victim of robbery and
illegal sacrifice of the animals due to an unsatisfied demand in the population.
Consequently, milk production went down in 45.4 percent and meat 49.2
percent between1989 and 1999. Presently, milk is sold rationed to children until
they reach the age of seven. As Mr. Eaton points out, meat ³is out of reach
for most Cubans.²
The horrible condition of our agriculture is more than proved by the high
dependency on imports to feed Cubans. 55 percent of calories, 50 percent of
proteins and 90 percent of fat are imports, as it was informed in the V
Congress of the National Association of Economists and Accounts of Cuba (ANECC),
that took place by the end of 2000.
One must make clear, however, that the actual dependency is much higher than
these percentages because the nutrients consumed are higher in the rationed
market. Inclusive, they are lower than during the so called ³special
period.²
Nutrient consumption in 2000 went up to 2,585 calories and 68 grams of
proteins a day, according to official statistics, which represent 12.4 percent
and 13 percent, respectively, way under the pre-crisis levels. In the case of
fat consumption the difference calculated is over 40 percent.
Furthermore, the actual consumption of nutrients is being influenced by the
social differences as the result of an unequal access to food, those with
dollars and those with no dollars.
Another factor, non existent before the 90s, tourism (1 million 765 thousand
visitors in the year 2000), with a consumption that distorts the national per
capita, with no relation with the actual food situation faced by the citizens.
Finally, Eaton expresses that different from other places in the world where
agricultural reforms have been in effect, in Cuba it does not exist the
abandonment of lands by farmers, that farmers have not abandoned their lands and
there is no massive migration from the rural areas. Eaton should know that
before 1959, 43 % of the Cubans resided in rural areas. The 1981 census showed a
31 %, and, as per the statistics annals of the Government right now is estimated
in 20%, with a tendency to go even lower.
This impressive move of population from the rural areas was caused by the
centralizing model that took the land from the owners. The great masses of land
in private hands before 1959 were replaced by a huge state estate, with
mechanism that nullified creativity, individual initiative, and provoked an
endless exodus toward the cities.
It is true, that recently tentative measures has been applied looking for
better levels of production efficiency, leaning on market mechanism. This is the
case of some experiments started by the Armed Forces, as intensive gardens and
organoponics to plant vegetables, with wide use of salary and other incentive
for the workers.
There have been other reforms to pay better prices to farmers, including
private farmers, taking into consideration market fluctuation. However, all
these reforms are very timid and, consequently, their production impact has been
limited.
Truly, the viable solution to pull the Cuban agriculture out of the crisis
is the realization of transformations that, with terms, sequences, and within an
adequate judicial frame, give farmers their land, allow producer to manage their
organizations, and to decide their destiny through real cooperatives or other
forms of production.
In the meanwhile, it makes no sense to speak about a green revolution on its
way.
Versión
original en español
Agricultural
reforms putting food on Cuban tables / The Dallas Morning News
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