At a press conference, Orlando Díaz Rodríguez, director of International Affairs of the Minag, explained that this figure summarizes the income lost from exports of goods and services, losses due to geographical relocation of trade, as well as damages to production and services. , those of a monetary and financial nature and technological limitations.

He pointed out that this primary and strategic sector, since it taxes food for the people, does not escape the impact of the criminal economic war against Cuba, which has lasted more than six decades and intensified with the 243 coercive measures adopted by the Donald Trump administration ( 2017-2021), which remain in force with the government of Joe Biden.

The blockade affects the business system, cooperatives and individual producers, who have been unable to position their products in the North American market, even with its proximity and attractions, in addition to preventing any commercial relationship between the two countries, with Cuba having the potential to export to the US, said Díaz Rodríguez.

He mentioned tobacco, the main exportable item of Cuban agriculture, in addition to being the best in the world, fresh and industrialized fruits, honey and charcoal, among the items that the American people have been deprived of receiving or consuming. due to restrictions imposed by the White House.

He also exemplified Vidatox-30 CH, a homeopathic medicine from the Labiofam business group used as a complementary therapy for cancer treatment, and which, due to the criminal policy, cannot be marketed in the northern nation either.

The director of International Agricultural Affairs stressed that in that country, both businessmen and producers and other representatives of the agricultural sector have spoken out against the blockade and the measures that intensify it, and have expressed their interest in cooperation, in marketing with the largest of the Antilles, to invest here.

He recalled the validity of a memorandum of understanding between the Minag and the United States Department of Agriculture, which with the Trump administration was suspended.

He pointed out that this sector of the Cuban economy needs to import animal feed, supplies, technologies and raw materials to produce more food for the people, and has been limited even with the arbitrary and fraudulent measure of placing Cuba on the list of nations sponsors of terrorism.

The Master of Science Armando A. Miralles Calvo, director of Organization, Planning and Information of the Ministry of Agriculture, explained with official figures how in the last five years the US blockade has significantly hindered the production of livestock, pork, egg, milk, rice for human consumption and various crops, among other items.

(By: Fidel Rendon Matienzo/ ACN)

Before, the only concern of Eladio Machín, from Cienfuegos; the Asdrúbal López, from Guantánamo and the Luis Bocourt, from Artemisa, consisted of collecting the grain, reducing its humidity, grinding it to remove the shell, classifying it according to its size and eliminating defects by weight (green grains, broken grains or shells). and color (black, white, fermented and canary).

In these times they have to add other items. In the Artemiseña company located in Bahía Honda, they also make charcoal, collect palm kernels, sell yaguas, rice, mameyes… to improve their income.

It is no longer enough for them to benefit from the product of the five pulpers in the West, three from the Artemisa province and two from nearby Pinar del Río; They have no other choice but to diversify productions, since the fruit originating from the highlands of Abyssinia, now Ethiopia, brings them considerable losses.

It is well illustrated by Carlos Espinosa Piedra, director of that Coffee Processor. “In order to collect all the grain, the State raised the purchase price for producers, without taking into account the coffee value chain, which requires a treatment process.

“So in 2021 we bought a ton of Arabica coffee at 149,000 pesos and sold it at 71,939; that of Robusta to more than 83,000, and we received 46,200 for its sale. Due to the notable difference in prices in the purchase and sale, last year’s losses amounted to more than nine million pesos, ”he reveals.

The really curious thing is that, if they had been more efficient and productive, the purchase and sales would have been greater… and, correspondingly, the losses would have been the same.

This was the case in Cienfuegos, despite higher levels of efficiency, and more severely in Guantánamo, according to Rolando Martell, financial accounting director of the Asdrúbal López processor, where they faced losses amounting to 186 million 297 thousand pesos.

Martell warns that the Guantanamo company was distinguished by solidity, supported by productive and economic results that reflected audits and criteria of financial institutions. What deteriorated its indicators was the incongruous difference between the purchase prices of raw materials and those of sale of benefited and processed coffee beans.

Espinosa Piedra, director of Luis Bocourt, points out that this situation influences not being able to apply monetary incentives to workers or distribute profits at the end of each quarter. On top of that, they had planned an average salary of 3,900 pesos, and only reached 3,270.

After numerous analyses, the Ministry of Finance and Prices approved the Agroforestry Group (GAF), belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture, subsidies for the various processors in the country worth 419 million pesos, Elexis Legrá Calderín, director of Café, told Cubadebate. , Cocoa and Coconut of the GAF.

“This year a new subsidy will be approved again, but not for the product, but rather destined to honor the commitments with the producers and the Bank”, he specified.

“The companies will continue with losses due to the difference in coffee prices, which limits the application of salary incentives, differentiated payments or distribution of profits. Our strategy lies in promoting diversification and increasing exports, to obtain more income”.

Another path that does not imply renunciation

Its charcoal is in great demand at fairs and points of sale in Bahia. This year they plan to sell 114.5 tons. Photo: Otoniel Marquez.

So in the processor located in Bahía Honda they take the path of diversification, in search of much-needed profitability.

“That does not imply a renunciation of harvesting more and more coffee. We intend to collect more than 200 tons in 2023. We have already created a coffee UEB managed by the EJT, in La Palma, Pinar del Río. On October 30 another will be born in Sabanilla, San Cristóbal. And before next Friday the 26th we must establish the Pinar del Río Coffee Subsidiary Company”, underlines the director of Luis Bocourt.

“This year 36 tons of ours were exported to the Netherlands and Japan: 18 of Serrano Superior and the same amount of Serrano Lavado. The plan for the year amounts to 54. The other 18 correspond to the harvest that will begin in September,” adds Iván González Costa, head of production.

“We intend to become an exporting company, although that aspiration has not materialized yet; For now, we do it through Cubaexport.

“We have dedicated 92,980 in CL (Liquidity Capacity, a currency exchange control instrument) to producers so that they can buy batteries, limes, herbicides… We also organize fairs or direct sales of the supplies that we have in stock.”

“But currently the main production of the company represents 20% of revenues (barely 11 of the 45 million pesos). And diversification has made it possible to reduce the planned loss, from six million to just over three”, reveals Lázaro Proenza, economics of the entity.

A new drug and much more

Palmex, an effective nutritional supplement, is made with palm nuts sent from Rancho Canelo to the CNIC

“We are topping palm nuts and sending them to the National Center for Scientific Research (CNIC),” says Gelasio Rivera, head of the group that is making the most progress in its efforts to diversify: the Rancho Canelo farm.

An upright, industrious and enterprising man, this veteran filled his people with spirit, there in the heart of the hills of Bahía Honda, almost 40 kilometers from the municipal seat. Where the weeds grew, they erected showy coffee plantations: they snatched from the mountain more than 200 hectares that were populated with coffee trees. His dreams multiplied into thousands of cans full of grains, with sustained growth.

So, the farm belonged to the Minint. “We came to have 170 workers, and we are left with 34, due to the difficulties in continuing to serve them as they deserve.” Until recently they had 70. “Having a sufficient workforce has become extremely complicated.”

Of course, only the results of work will transform that landscape. In the midst of such efforts, they have become architects of diversification.

With the palm nuts sent to the CNIC, the promising Palmex is made, a highly effective nutritional supplement for alleviating the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Every month they deliver two and a half to three tons, which brings them about 50,000 pesos. They also sell it in the town itself, and between the two sales they earn about 70,000 pesos.

José Amador and Carlos Cavada climb the trunk of palm trees to heights of 25 to 40 meters. With Isael Figueroa, Mario Luis Valido and Roberto Travieso, they have made palm nuts a distinctive item of the Bahiahonda company.

A smaller brigade collects and sells yaguas in Bahia, which bring them between 15,000 and 20,000 pesos. And another five plant cassava, sweet potatoes, rice… for self-sufficiency, sale to workers and a part to the population.

As if that were not enough, on the precise date and with a waning moon, they have collected such quantities of mamey that they far exceed 55,000 pesos. And it would have happened in a similar way with the mango, were it not for the scourge of pests and the lack of current in the industry.

“We are beaten with the breeding of dark-coated pigs. By December we hope to have more than a hundred. We have sold a lot of ginger. And we have good coffee nurseries. I plan to sell between 13,000 and 15,000 Robusta seedlings for planting in the plains”, says Gelasio optimistically.

Any Artemiseño knows that Angerona (on the outskirts of the provincial capital) became the largest coffee plantation in the country, and Cuba the world’s leading exporter at the beginning of the 19th century. However, from producing 62,000 tons annually in the 1960s, it went on to stock only 6,000 and import 8,000 annually to guarantee supplies to families.

Reversing that situation will now depend on tenacity, on diversifying and making use of whatever formula translates into profits and motivations, on putting endless ideas into each cup of coffee.

(By Joel Mayor Lorán y Otoniel Márquez)

Leonardo Martínez López, GAG director of Industries and Marketing, commented on the effort in a meeting with the press revisiting the process that gave life to the 200-some processing facilities for fruit and vegetables, grains, meat and other products, existing today in the country.

Of this total, the 120 mini-plants that handle fruit and vegetables processed 1,387 tons of tomato, during the spring season, and work is advancing with mango, pineapple and guava, which began in May and should be completed in September, he reported.

With a processing capacity of 35,000 tons annually, representing 18% of the agro industrial capacity of the entire GAG system, these mini-industries focus on supplying the local market with jam, juice, coconut, guava and grapefruit sweets, dressings, marinades, spices and condiments, among other products.

Based on the management and integration model developed by the Ceballos Agro industrial Enterprise, which includes the large central plant, 21 mini-industries affiliated with agricultural cooperatives, basic enterprise units (UEB), collaboration projects and other partners, positive results have been achieved as the model is extended to other agro industrial poles, Martínez explained.

Martínez pointed out that Ceballos not only has agricultural strength, but is also a powerful industry, in which 21 million dollars have been injected for development. In addition, most of its affiliated mini-processing plants have been certified for safe food handling and good production practices, while the central facility supports them by providing laboratory, branding and marketing services.

This is how, he reiterated, we have been able to make progress, to the extent possible, supporting other important companies, including the Victoria de Girón, in Jagüey Grande, in the province of Matanzas, which has adopted this production model. The intention has been to link large facilities with smaller ones, although the goal has not been fully achieved, due to both objective and subjective factors, he stated.

The objective is to make better use of available capacity, as well as maintenance services, metrology, laboratories and quality/safety certification, the use of brands, and access to all existing markets inside and outside the country.

Another challenge being addressed, Martínez noted, is the acquisition of technologies that allow for the use of the diverse kinds of packaging available, both Cuban made and imported. In the case of small plants, along with the food processing industry, we have widely introduced, for example, the use of glass bottles, he reported.

Despite the many difficulties that persist and the goals that remain to be met, the executive acknowledged that mini-plants are proving their value in the current context, as a fundamental link providing the agro-industrial balance and flexibility needed by all productive systems; since they are capable of processing small quantities of produce that a large plant cannot efficiently assume, and have the workers needed to make the most of raw material when it is available.

(Taken from Granma)

Speaking on the Mesa Redonda television program, focused on Party efforts giving continuity to agreements reached at its 8th Congress, he recalled that, in the 7th Congress five years ago, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz emphasized the Party’s critical role in the country’s economic development, the struggle for peace and ideological resolve.

A deep analysis of these issues was presented in the Central Report to the 8th Party gathering, which was reiterated in the closing remarks by Central Committee First Secretary and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who called for strengthening the internal life of the organization to more effectively impact life outside the Party, that is, the economic and social development of the country, closely related to Cubans’ quality of life.

Based on these documents, Morales explained, a process of discussion has begun at all levels of the Party and government, the Union of Young Communists and mass organizations, with the purpose of defining the concrete responsibilities of every member in their areas, to ensure that agreements reached during the Congress are implemented.

Morales noted that, in his opinion, meetings with principal leaders of the organization at different levels have shown that the membership is not waiting for directives. This, he said is a reflection of the necessary changes underway, “Because a Party branch does not have to wait for orders to discuss a problem that is undermining the quality of a service or production of a given item, or one that affects the people.”

He insisted that nothing is alien to the Party, be it food production, housing construction or recreation and summer activities.

He pointed out, “Despite the pandemic, we expect favorable results from the sanitary interventions underway, and by the end of June we will have 20% of the population immunized and, by the end of August, 70%, which, along with continued adherence to hygienic-sanitary measures, will allow for greater opening (of the economy).”

Morales added that both the Secretariat and the Political Bureau have clarified the issues to be analyzed, and at the same time have identified indicators that will be used to evaluate what is accomplished. Party efforts to support implementation of the 63 government measures approved to increase food production, he noted as an example, also include keeping track of how this translates into more food, more vegetables, more milk.
The Party is now focused on giving continuity to agreements reached at its 8th Congress, held in April. Photo: Juvenal Balán

He added that an analysis of the sugar cane program is scheduled to take place shortly, since this season’s results were not good. A better outcome is not expected this year, but the planting of cane for the 2022-2023 harvest must be guaranteed.

Regarding the strengthening of Party work, he mentioned that the Secretariat has proposed to attend meetings of provincial bodies, at least once every three months, and those of local units every six months, without replacing the coordination already in place at these levels.

He emphasized that locals must “increase their militancy, since, although the economic blockade remains intact, what we can achieve also depends on our own efforts.”

Morales emphasized the work of cadres on the basis of our concepts and premises, first of all, the concept of Revolution. Assuming tasks with optimism, confidence and commitment is imperative; getting to the bottom of problems, with sensitivity, a sense of urgency, avoiding carelessness and consolidating a culture of attention to detail and good taste.

The transformation Party work, he stated, is based on another three pillars: use of scientific methods; the updating of communications strategies, with greater visualization of our efforts; and advancing the process of computerization which must reach mass organizations and the Young Communists League, and involve Party schools.

At another point in his remarks, Morales reported that the work of Central Committee commissions focused on ideological and economic activities, as well as science and innovation, is also being studied, and findings will be submitted to the body’s Second Plenum.

THE BATTLE FOR FOOD PRODUCTION

The Party supports the Ministry of Agriculture (Minag), with its ten state enterprise groups and more than 300 enterprises; as well as the Ministry of Food Industry (MINAL) and the Azcuba enterprise group, noted José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz, Central Committee Secretariat member responsible for agro-alimentary activity, emphasizing that the battle for development of the national economy is decisive to constructing the society we want.

At the 8th Congress, he explained, the First Secretary called for greater pro-activity and mobilization of the country’s energy to meet sustainable development objectives. Among these, the Party considers food sovereignty and security as essential.

This commitment is evidenced by the fact that, of 201 updated policy guidelines, 17 are related to food production and processing. Thirty-three policies have already been approved in this regard. The issue is also prioritized in the National Development Plan through 2030 and, of course, the current socio-economic strategy.

In order to better perform all these tasks, the Central Committee is perfecting its work system, Monteagudo stated and, as a distinctive element, he highlighted the strengthening of leadership bodies and local units; as well as ties with party members, youth, workplaces and a comprehensive approach to issues.

He commented that the Party is now focused on political and ideological support for the 63 measures approved to increase agricultural production, and also prioritizes those intended to strengthen the socialist state enterprise. The Party, he added, must ensure that measures in each arena are implemented as designed, and that workers feel the benefits.

Other important issues include territorial self-sufficiency, developing each locality’s full potential, starting with the cultivation of arable land. In this respect, he reported that more than 2,600,000 hectares of idle land have awarded to farmers across the country, which should have a notable impact on efforts to expand production.

In addition to all this, he noted, is the task of improving the state sugar enterprise group Azcuba, which includes having the company’s active presence in all the country’s 56 sugar mills, improving support to the cane harvest and plantation recovery plans.

THE CHALLENGE OF STRENGTHENING STATE ENTERPRISES

Among the transformations in the internal functioning of the Party which the 8th Party Congress approved, is a new body headed by Félix Duarte Ortega, member of the Central Committee Secretariat, which will focus on support to Industry, Construction, Tourism, Transportation and Services, and include two departments.

One, he explained, is related to the production of goods and services in the country, collaborating with the Ministries of Energy and Mines, Industries, Construction, Tourism, Transportation, Communications and Domestic Commerce, as well as the Institute of Water Resources and the Institute of Physical Planning.

The other department will address political activity in the General Customs of the Republic, 33 Central Enterprise Management Groups (OSDE), and seven trade unions linked to the aforementioned ministries, he said.

“In this department, we have more than 105,000 Party members in 9,068 units across the entire country, and the arena includes approximately 1,150,000 workers, of whom some 750,000 are employed in the state sector,” he specified.

Referring to the challenges the Party faces, Duarte Ortega emphasized the importance of the Secretariat maintaining close ties with provincial and municipal committees, mass organizations and grassroots bodies.

We must work on ensuring that all these political forces, the mass of workers we can count on, play their role in each one of the activities and sectors we assist, he expressed.

“We must also be able to respond to the problems the national economy faces today, which, given the economic blockade and limited availability of financing, material resources and fuel, impose greater challenges on the enterprise system.”

Among the challenges to be met, he asserted, is the strengthening of management by all economic actors, and especially socialist state enterprises. In this task, he argued, the Party plays a fundamental role given its mission of bringing forces together and demanding results, without interfering in the administration of entities.

Concluding the discussion, Roberto Morales Ojeda reported that the holding of accountability assemblies will begin in November and December, continuing into January and February of 2022, starting with discussions within Party district committees and then at the municipal and provincial levels

He noted that the intention is that these meeting conduct an evaluation of what has been done during the period since the last review, above all, to analyze progress in implementation and fulfillment of the ideas, concepts and directives emerging from the Congress.

He added that the objective is to discuss the accountability reports with the entire membership, to ensure that, at the time of the assembly, be it district or provincial, significant debate with broad participation has already taken place.

(Taken from Granma)

The accord was signed during the 21st session of the intergovernmental commission in charge of the Cuba-Venezuela Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement, chaired by Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz and the Bolivarian Republic’s Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez Gómez, who reviewed the challenges facing collaboration in 2021 and progress made on current projects, marked by an adverse political situation and the COVID-19 epidemic.

A new cooperation project was agreed upon to promote the expansion and use of moringa, thitonia, mulberry and other grasses for animal fodder in Venezuela, which includes the exchange of knowledge and production support in areas of agricultural management and agro-industrial transformation to manufacture animal feed.

Cabrisas Ruiz explained that the approved annual cooperation plan is directed toward improving key sectors such as health – with joint efforts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic and undertake actions for the development and application of Cuban vaccines – and to strengthen links in activities related to energy, transportation, education, culture and sports.

These projects, he emphasized, will serve as a foundation for the elaboration of a 2030 Resistance and Development Plan, based on an alignment of Cuba’s National Economic Development Plan through 2030 and Venezuela’s Plan of the Homeland through 2025.

The Venezuelan Vice President highlighted the two countries’ resistance in the face of the blockade and unilateral coercive measures imposed by the U.S. “Cuba-Venezuela cooperation has been essential to the victorious resistance of our peoples, who will not succumb to extortion or coercion, and will continue their path of victory into the future,” she stated.

The delegations, including several ministers from the two countries, reiterated their determination to advance in the improvement and expansion of cooperation in all spheres of development, to overcome the negative effects of the economic persecution that the United States maintains as a matter of policy meant to asphyxiate the two nations.

(Taken from Granma)

A report from that entity also states, as part of the tasks related to that objective, ensuring the training and assignment of the technical personnel to attend the mechanization, irrigation, drainage and water supply activities to the animals.

According to the document, among the main actions, some 1,150 pumping equipment with photovoltaic solar energy were introduced and put into operation, in order to guarantee the provision of this liquid to the animals.

About 15 road brigades were also established and field improvements and irrigation systems for the rice program were implemented.

Other measures are the integration of collaboration projects and donations with the national industry, for the use of the available capacities in the manufacture of agricultural machinery and irrigation, drainage and water supply to the animals.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

Such a figure will benefit 690,000 hectares of crops, 100,000 more than in 2020, MINAG specified.

The use of bioproducts makes it possible to substitute part of chemical fertilizer and pesticide imports, in which the country spends large sums of foreign currency annually.

According to MINAG’s report, by implementing these strategy, an important contribution is made to protect the environment, so it is well protected against stress, and agricultural yields will increase 10 and 20 percent, contributing to sustainable development.

(Taken Prensa Latina)

Over the course of an extensive day of work, combing practically all the principal agricultural poles of the province, Machado Ventura verified, in situ, that the current priority of the population is just that: working without rest to alleviate the situation caused by the intense rains and the delays in planting these generated.

Félix Duartes Ortega, member of Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee and first secretary in the province, who accompanied the Second Secretary throughout the day, informed him that the planting of 900 hectares in Horquita was delayed, and another 300 in Juraguá, both located in the municipality of Abreus.

Considerable damage to plantain fields was recorded in Venero, in Aguada de Pasajeros; and some 400,000 seedlings were lost in Cumanayagua, Duartes explained.

We have the machinery, the fuel, seeds, and the workforce committed to the upcoming season, reported Rolando Pérez Ramos, director of this agricultural pole.

Prioritized in Horquita are the more than 350 hectares of beans needed to feed the population, Duartes noted.

A similar spirit of work was appreciated by Machado Ventura in the Juraguá Pole, speaking with fruit grower Edey Suárez Martínez, affiliated with the Arimado Citrus Enterprise. He toured fields here, damaged tobacco seedling beds (that are being re-sown with the Criollo 2010 variety) and repaired greenhouses, where 90 % of the production is destined for export to generate hard currency for the country.

(Taken from Granma)

He recalled that, immediately following the storm, a meeting of the National Defense Council’s economic-social team took place, headed by President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, during which the area of greatest concern, the state of the country’s reservoirs were evaluated and, based on the experience of Cubans in facing flooding associated with such these weather events, measures to minimize the damage were adopted.

After the storm passed by, he pointed out, the country’s highest leadership visited the most affected provinces, confirming the extent of damage and the people’s participation in recovery efforts.

He noted that some 89,000 people were evacuated, around 73,000 in the homes of relatives and friends, once again demonstrating the solidarity of Cubans, and another 16,000 in evacuation centers.

During his report, he acknowledged the tense situation of the economy, hence the importance of working efficiently to recover in the shortest time possible.

Recovery, he stressed, does not happen overnight; but the country has the basic resources essential to the task of restoring key sectors, including agriculture and water distribution-flood control infrastructure, despite the limitations.

(Taken from Granma)

Although we are living in exceptional times, the sons and daughters of this combative, generous island will not forego celebrating the date across the nation, even in remote locations and areas hit hard by tropical storm Eta, facing the additional challenge of recovery.

The determination to achieve this objective was made evident during a videoconference with governors held by President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; Party Central Committee Second Secretary José Ramón Machado Ventura; and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, according to the Presidency’s website.

Without renouncing quality, relevance, logistics and a culture of detail, planned activities will take place primarily in community spaces, respecting all sanitary measures to guarantee epidemiological stability, as established in protocols for each of the phases and stages of the battle against COVID-19.

Deputy Prime Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda presented the proposal for January 1, 2021 as a day of recognition for our health personnel, scientists, youth, and the heroic attitude of our people, with a profound, sincere tribute to our Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro at the center.

(Taken from Granma)