Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Camagüey, Oct 30.- The Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) of this province researches and develops products for the agricultural sphere using cutting-edge technologies, even with the great limitations imposed by the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the government of the United States against Cuba.
Nemecio González Fernández, doctor of sciences and director of the aforementioned institution, informed the Cuban News Agency that the necessary equipment depends on the purchase of specialized devices outside the country, coming from the first world, specifically the US market.
He pointed out that while these supplies can be purchased in the United States, very close to the island, and with unquestionable quality, you have to go to other much more distant places and, in most cases, use third countries to acquire some. specific merchandise manufactured in the northern nation, with the consequent increase in price and delivery time.
Due to increasingly growing globalization, he pointed out that manufacturers of equipment for the biotechnology industry use American components and parts, and due to the economic blockade, the Cuban nation is not allowed to use more than 10 percent of them.
It is a great limitation, he expressed, because many of the suppliers refuse to offer us these means due to the risks they run of being sanctioned and eliminated from the global financial scene.
On several occasions, equipment has been purchased in other countries from companies that are later acquired by American transnationals, which has made the acquisition of spare parts difficult and compromised the production plans of our center, said González Fernández.
On the other hand, access to funds destined for collaboration and scientific development from the US is prohibited, which reduces the possibility of accessing this type of financing for the development of new assortments that benefit Cuba. and other nations that maintain commercial relations with the island, he assured.
The genocidal blockade also has an impact on the North American people, by depriving them of access to innovative Cuban biotechnology products with high international recognition for their effectiveness and scope.
The financial persecution of the Largest of the Antilles is another important issue, which prevents the use of banks with US funds to enter foreign currency into Cuba or make payments to suppliers.
In that sense, the director of the CIGB asserted that due to these difficulties there are many examples of delays in the entry of supplies to the institutions, a reality that interferes with scientific and economic progress.
Camagüey researchers work incessantly to maintain the vitality of their preparations such as the Porvac vaccine against classical swine fever, which has shown growth for several years, even without the necessary equipment that would allow increasing the quantities of the product.
The maintenance of equipment and the use of specific resources and materials in each area of ??research represent other effects of US interference on a cutting-edge group that defends its scientific potential every day. (Text and photo: ACN)
