Cuba for increasing food production

Havana, Oct 10.- The Minister of Agriculture (Minag in Spanish), Ydael Pérez, called for increasing food production, with the purpose of satisfying the demand of the population and the needs for comprehensive development of Cuba.

Pérez made the exhortation and also urged to diversify productions in an appearance on the television program Mesa Redonda, during which he analyzed some of the main organizational, structural and logistical problems of the sector.

According to him, actions are underway to create an input market that will help increase harvests and, at the same time, will require an increase in exports to expand production schemes and generate the foreign exchange necessary to acquire them.

Regarding this matter, the official reiterated that Cuba maintains the strategy of granting greater autonomy to the territories in food production, to guarantee better use of natural and human resources in agricultural activities.

For the Minister, problems still persist that contribute to low production and the increase in prices of products, although he considers that the main burden on Cuban agriculture is the economic blockade of the United States government on Cuba.

The irregularity of the different forms of production, the poor chaining of many agrarian processes and the deficiencies in the use of land were some of the problems highlighted.

When discussing the livestock situation, he pointed out the decreases in the production of pork, eggs and milk, affected precisely by the lack of inputs and also by the complex energy circumstances throughout the national territory, among other factors.

Likewise, Ydael Pérez reported that Minag prioritizes attention to issues such as updating livestock herds, the use and control of land, contracts with producers and violations in crop areas or in the control of large livestock. (Text and photo: PL)