CUBA
New Agricultural Plan,
But Few Real Reforms
By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA (IPS) - Cuba's strategy to
boost production and reduce imports of
food is intended to untangle the
bureaucratic knots that hinder
privately-run farms, responsible for 70
percent of the food on the country's
dinner tables.
But in the five-year programme that the
government announced last weekend there
was no sign of liberalisation for the
farm sector, which is struggling to
respond to the challenge of supplying
food for Cuba's 11.2 million people.
Economy Minister Marino Murillo
announced the plan, which forms part of
Cuba's economic projections for 2015, at
the close of the 10th Congress of the
National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP).
The statement included a call to bring
the needs and interests of farmers more
into line with those of the rest of
society.
ANAP represents farmers who belong to
the Agricultural Production (CPA) and
the Credits and Services (CSS)
cooperatives, which hold 41 percent of
Cuba's farmland and supply 70 percent of
the value of national agricultural
output.
The meeting took place behind closed
doors with delegates from across this
socialist-run island nation. However,
several of the presentations were
broadcast over Cuban state television.
Some participants complained about the
bureaucratic obstacles that stand in the
way of purchasing or directly
contracting materials or equipment
necessary for their farm operations.
Others shared their success stories and
gave tips on best practices. And many
supported the possible farm tax
adjustment that would be scaled based on
income.
But among the most hotly debated issues
was the marketing of agricultural
products, most of which farmers must
sell directly to the government. They
are only allowed to sell an average of
30 percent of their produce for much
higher prices in the farmers' markets,
where prices are determined by supply
and demand.
In regards to this issue, Murillo said
the problem of "illegal intermediaries"
must be solved as soon as possible,
because they drive up prices without
contributing to society.
"Ideally, farmers should decide, based
on the behaviour of the market and
society's needs, what they are going to
produce and to whom and where they sell
it," an expert who requested not to be
identified told IPS.
To that end, the ANAP Congress decided
to request a review of the centralised
marketing system used in the province of
Havana, where farmers sell to the
government purchasing and distribution
agencies.
According to documents from the meeting,
the delegates had numerous complaints:
the existence of two parallel marketing
systems with redundant functions,
excessive handling of products, loss of
harvests, and the fact that the
cooperatives' trucks are not used in
direct sales to markets.
When President Raúl Castro began his
push to improve Cuban agriculture in
2006, he pledged that the necessary
structural changes would be made. Castro
attended a portion of the ANAP Congress,
but left the closing speech to Murillo,
who also serves as vice-president of
Cuba's Council of Ministers.
In 2008, the president signed a decree
to turn over idle farmland to private
farmers.
According to Murillo, under that
legislation some 920,000 hectares have
already been distributed, although about
half remains idle or under-used.
Researchers say this phenomenon proves
that handing over farmland is necessary
but insufficient for achieving the
much-needed short-term increase in food
production. "What are needed are
systemic measures that allow the
producer to feel ownership of his or her
decisions and results," said one expert.
The new farmers should have access to
necessary financing and technical
assistance and the freedom to hire the
workers they need, added the expert,
noting that there should also be a
market of agricultural inputs, goods and
services that farmers can use as needed.
Among the measures that Murillo
announced is precisely the creation of
markets in most of the country's 169
municipalities where farmers can
directly obtain the items they need to
grow their crops. This would replace the
current system of centralised
distribution through the cooperatives.
"If the markets work, it will be a good
thing because the crops can't wait, and
if I need a hosepipe or rope, for
example, I need it now, and not when the
cooperative decides to allocate it to
me," said Pablo, who farms outside of
Havana and brings his products to a
farmers' market in the capital.
According to the government plan, the
farming sector has to increase food
production to substitute imports of
rice, beans, maize, milk, coffee and
other commodities, as well as improve
national livestock production.
In this way, the government hopes to
save some 800 million dollars on
imports. The goal is also to foster
revenues from exports as well as cash
sales on the domestic market, which can
then be pumped back into food
production. |
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