Pinar del Rio's Tobacco Farmers aren't pulling their weight, apparently.

[Corylax18]

Another real Gem from Granma. The failures they admit to in the article are pretty amazing, only 27% of homes in the province have been completely repaired since Ian, less than half of the drying barns have been repaired. 

Rather than fix anything, the new plan appears to be: Stop Growing Tobacco, start growing vegetables. Genius, pure genius. As the article states, PdR has plenty of "Reserves to Exploit" and the Cuban Government is ready to exploit them. Until there is nothing left. 

https://www.granma.cu/cuba/2023-05-13/aprovechar-la-cultura-en-el-cultivo-de-tabaco-para-producir-tambien-alimentos

"Pinar del Río must have the capacity to produce tobacco and, in addition, produce food. This was announced by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, in this province, during a meeting with the purpose of evaluating the progress of the commitments made at the beginning of the year to face the complex socioeconomic situation that the country is going through.

The Cuban president called to take advantage of the culture that exists in Vueltabajo in tobacco, to develop other crops.

"In Pinar del Río we focus a lot on tobacco production, which is fundamental, and which we cannot do without," he said, but warned that this does not mean that the food consumed in the territory has to come from outside.

"Life has shown that land can be exploited," he said. "That is why they have been promoting the productive poles and the diversification of crops."

In the meeting with the highest authorities of the Party and the Government in the territory, representatives of the political and mass organizations, directors of companies and other economic actors, the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, and the Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Party, Roberto Morales Ojeda, both members of the Political Bureau.

In addition, the vice prime minister, Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca, the ministers of Agriculture Ydael Pérez Brito and of the Food Industry Manuel Sobrino Martínez.

Díaz-Canel pointed out that food is one of the fundamental problems facing the country today.

In that sense, he questioned that there are rural communities where the lands remain idle.

The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party insisted on the need to develop strong local productive systems in the municipalities, which contribute to the territory, the province and the nation, and affirmed that this must be included in the territorial development strategies.

“Everyone has to create livestock modules. All entities that may have self-consumption areas must establish them, not only to supply the dining room, but to sell to their workers.

Despite the serious resource limitations suffered by Cuban agriculture, as a consequence of the intensification of the United States blockade and the economic crisis of

worldwide scope, highlighted that in all municipalities there are good experiences of producers who are capable of obtaining good results with almost no inputs.

Why can't we make those exceptions the rule? What do we need to generalize these good experiences »?, she expressed.

 

ADVANCE STEPS

Despite the havoc caused by Ian, some 5,300 hectares of tobacco were planted and harvested in Vueltabajo Photo: Ismael Batista Ramírez

Rubén Ramos Moreno, provincial governor, when presenting the report on the commitments made in January, in order to achieve better results in 2023, explained that of 166 agreements, 121 are fulfilled, and mentioned among the achievements the planting of more than one hundred hectares of soybeans that will provide the seed to be able to plant some 800 hectares in the second half of the year, mainly for animal feed, in programs such as pigs.

He also mentioned that 28 requests for land for self-consumption from different entities have been approved, tourist activity is increasing, local production of materials is growing, and 27% of the homes affected by Hurricane Ian have been recovered.

For his part, Joel Hernández Acosta, delegate for Agriculture, explained that from January to date, 2,571 hectares of land have been delivered, and that despite the enormous damage caused by Ian, some 5,300 hectares were planted and harvested in Vueltabajo. hectares of tobacco, and built around 3,000 houses of care destroyed by the devastating meteorological phenomenon.

The official added that, for the next cultivation campaign, which constitutes the main exportable item of Cuban agriculture, a large campaign is again expected, close to 13,000 hectares, which will demand a significant effort to face the agricultural phase. and to undertake the reconstruction of more than 4,000 new houses for priests.

 

MANY RESERVES TO EXPLOIT

In the meeting, investments that do not advance, and activities that do not achieve the expected results, were also known.

In addition to the objective factors, which weigh heavily, emphasis was placed on those issues that indicate superficiality and lack of rigor.

This is the case of deliveries of beef and milk, two lines that substitute imports to the country and, nevertheless, there are thousands of peasants who resist contracting their productions and who currently sell absolutely nothing to the State.

On this issue, the Prime Minister of the Republic, Manuel Marrero Cruz, pointed out the importance of transforming the contracting process with producers, a recurring issue that still limits the marketing of food in the province.

“This is one of the things that we have to radically change,” he said.

The also member of the Political Bureau pointed out that, in Pinar del Río, around 90% of agricultural production is in the hands of different forms of private management, however, the responsibility for feeding the people lies with the Government.

Therefore, he warned that if those who have this responsibility at the state level do not comply with what corresponds to them, which is to "go to where the producers are, sit down to negotiate, contract, sign contracts with clear responsibilities for what each one has to do, And the penalties if those commitments are broken, how are we going to fulfill that mandate, which is to guarantee the satisfaction of the needs of the people?

Even though it is known that there are external factors that limit the development of the country, Marrero Cruz called for reflection on what has been left out and could have been done with more creativity, since "there are things that depend on ourselves."

"We have to look for different solutions and see how we can handle the problems based on our potential," he said, adding that there are many reserves to be exploited.

The Cuban Prime Minister urged to continue strengthening the attention to social institutions and people in vulnerable situations, and to advance in the creation of children's houses, since in the province there are currently more than 2,500 mothers who request places for their children in children's circles.

He also called to work firmly in confronting crime and corruption, to establish priorities and define those issues that have a direct impact on the people.

Due to the consequences that still remain, due to Hurricane Ian, he recognized that this is a province that needs the help of others, but that it also has the challenge of exploiting all its reserves, with the conviction that things can be done even under the blocking effects.

Finally, he affirmed that it is necessary to reduce the number of meetings and achieve agile work systems that solve people's problems. "You have to go to the town, listen to it, that generates trust and support," he said."

When speaking at the meeting, Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Party, called to eliminate any vestige of conformism or complacency, and to confront all manifestations of crime, illegalities and corruption.

He recalled that the governments of the United States have historically maintained the same hostile policy towards our country, in order to generate shortages and cause a social outbreak.

Therefore, in the face of this perverse strategy, it is our duty to continue defending the Revolution and avoiding the obstacles imposed by the blockade.

[El Presidente]

15 minutes ago, Corylax18 said:

there are thousands of peasants who resist contracting their productions and who currently sell absolutely nothing to the State.

On this issue, the Prime Minister of the Republic, Manuel Marrero Cruz, pointed out the importance of transforming the contracting process with producers, a recurring issue that still limits the marketing of food in the province.

“This is one of the things that we have to radically change,” he said.

The also member of the Political Bureau pointed out that, in Pinar del Río, around 90% of agricultural production is in the hands of different forms of private management, however, the responsibility for feeding the people lies with the Government.

Therefore, he warned that if those who have this responsibility at the state level do not comply with what corresponds to them, which is to "go to where the producers are, sit down to negotiate, contract, sign contracts with clear responsibilities for what each one has to do, And the penalties if those commitments are broken, how are we going to fulfill that mandate, which is to guarantee the satisfaction of the needs of the people?

Let me break down the new policy. 

"Use it or lose it". 

[NSXCIGAR]

If Hector grew vegetables I bet they'd be really tasty. 

[01Vert]

Guessing anyone who doesn’t meet new quotas will have their land confiscated by the government and then to they have to work it anyways and give all the crops to the government?   That’s worked so well in many communist countries….

[Puros Y Vino]

2 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

If Hector grew vegetables I bet they'd be really tasty. 

The Tomacco!!!

[El Presidente]

 

 

[Pantone151]

A classic.  Have you given your thoughts on the frog episode? Do the toilets flush the other way? And more importantly do the toilets in the US embassy flush the correct way by way of pure American will and ingenuity?

[cigaraholic]

Life is a banquet, and most communist are starving to death.

[Cairo]

16 hours ago, Corylax18 said:

you have to go to the town, listen to it, that generates trust and support

Meetings always work well when there is a major power differential between those running the meeting and those attending it--at least according to those running the meeting.

😀

[Corylax18]

On 5/17/2023 at 7:42 AM, El Presidente said:

Let me break down the new policy. 

"Use it or lose it". 

Its not a New Policy, they've been floating the same hollow threats to every other type of farmer for years. The results? More fallow fields, fewer Cattle, less milk, fewer pigs, fewer chickens, fewer eggs, etc. Its the same old, same old. Parrots, repeating the few lines they were taught. 

There isn't exactly a long line of people waiting to take over these farms, its a rotten deal for any farmer, in any industry. 

The Vietnamese recently pulled out of their Rice farming operations on the east side of the island for the same reasons. No Fuel to run their pumps or tractors, no fertilizers, no pesticides, no trucks to move the final product around. They'd had enough of the Government's empty promises preventing them from being successful. Unfortunately, it looks like many of Cuba's best Tobacco farmers have reached a similar conclusion over the last 8 or 9 months. 

https://havanatimes.org/features/vietnamese-abandon-their-successful-rice-project-in-cuba/

 

On 5/17/2023 at 10:34 AM, 01Vert said:

Guessing anyone who doesn’t meet new quotas will have their land confiscated by the government and then to they have to work it anyways and give all the crops to the government?   That’s worked so well in many communist countries….

The government already takes 90% of their crop. Technically they "pay" the farmers, in worthless currency, at pennies on the dollar. 

On 5/17/2023 at 8:35 AM, NSXCIGAR said:

If Hector grew vegetables I bet they'd be really tasty. 

He always has and they are. Haha. I know he's grown green beans and rice in the past, he also has chickens and pigs. 

I don't know the exact bio chemistry, but most tobacco farmers grow black beans or corn during the spring/summer in certain years as those crops replace some of the nutrients that Tobacco sucks up from the soil. I saw as much or more Corn growing in Pdr than Tobacco in February. It was obviously not a typical year, but these farmers have to eat. If the government won't provide even the most basic things needed to grow tobacco, these farmers will switch to a crop they can eat/trade for other food. 

 

[Ites]

6 hours ago, Corylax18 said:

The government already takes 90% of their crop. Technically they "pay" the farmers, in worthless currency, at pennies on the dollar. 

He always has and they are. Haha. I know he's grown green beans and rice in the past, he also has chickens and pigs. 

I don't know the exact bio chemistry, but most tobacco farmers grow black beans or corn during the spring/summer in certain years as those crops replace some of the nutrients that Tobacco sucks up from the soil. I saw as much or more Corn growing in Pdr than Tobacco in February. It was obviously not a typical year, but these farmers have to eat. If the government won't provide even the most basic things needed to grow tobacco, these farmers will switch to a crop they can eat/trade for other food. 

 

Without going into too much detail, the basics of this is that beans (as well as most legume species of the fabaceae family) have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixating microorganisms in the soil. The microorganisms fix nitrogen from the air, thus adding nitrogen to the soil which then can increase productivity of the following crop. It's basically free additional nitrogen when compared to non-fixing crops. Also, black beans are delicious 😇

Corn however is usually considered quite "needy" in terms of soil fertility but is probably grown for other reasons (biomass, feed, food, lack of other options in the crop rotation). Being a C4 plant, it's generally very efficient in warmer climates. 

[Ryan]

Velvet beans have been used for years as a fallow crop for tobacco fields. It fixes nitrogen, as mentioned above, and the entire plant with beans is then either ploughed back into the ground as fertiliser or used as fodder for pigs etc. They're not really used in Cuba for human consumption. They're toxic unless soaked for quite a long time. I've never seen black beans grown in tobacco fields as a nitrogen fixer, though it probably happens unless there's some other reason.