The delivery of idle land in usufruct through Decree Law 358 benefited since its entry into force in October 2018 to date 5 453 people interested in producing food in Ciego de Ávila.

Such determination represents more than 60 thousand hectares (ha) that were requested to exploit them in different productions, attending to the characteristics of the soils.

Giraldo Pérez Pérez, head of the department of land control in the provincial delegation of Agriculture, informed the Cuban News Agency that the total number of petitions filed amounts to 6,789.

He pointed out that this legislation expands the possibilities of the people involved, since, in addition to being able to join Credit and Service Cooperatives, Agricultural Production Cooperatives and Basic Units of Cooperative Production (CCS, CPA and UBPC, respectively), it extends to other agricultural structures such as state enterprises and their basic business units.

Another advantage of this Decree-Law is that it allows to increase the number of hectares up to 67.10, and to diversify the productive lines, he said.

However, among the limitations is the term of the process, which has taken up to 161 days, because anyone who chooses to join a CCS must wait for the approval or not of the delegate of Agriculture in the corresponding province, and even many of these requests are consulted at national level.

The specialist considered that the delegate of the sector in the municipality should be the person with such authority, considering that he is the one who declares idle lands ex officio when the state sector does not notify them.