The preparation of the land that in Ciego de Ávila will be used for potato planting in the current cold season has been affected by the constant rainfall of the current month.
Raúl Monguía Rodríguez, a specialist in the Provincial Delegation of Agriculture in the cultivation of this tuber, specified to the Cuban News Agency that of the 380 hectares (ha) that should be ready so far, there are only 133.
He informed that they have been able to prepare other 252 hectares, and if the rains continue, the date for the beginning of sowing, foreseen for the first fortnight of November, will be delayed.
Due to the limited availability of resources of the national economy, which has been affected by the effects of COVID-19 and the suffocating U.S. blockade, the plan of areas to be planted this time in the Avilanian province is 800 hectares, a figure lower than last year, said Monguía Rodríguez.
He reminded that potato is a very demanding crop and it needs phytosanitary products for its growth and development, so not having all of them will cause low yields per hectare.
The destinies of each harvest of this tuber, very demanded by Cubans, are consumed by the population, not only in Ciego de Ávila but also in other provinces, since it is food included in the national balance and for the seed of the other campaign.
It also reaches the industry, in this case, the Ceballos Agroindustrial Company to elaborate the pre-fried potato that is commercialized in the border market.
In this opportunity, the entities of various crops Arnaldo Ramírez, El Mambí and La Cuba with their Cooperatives of Agricultural Production (CPA) Paquito González, Revolución de Octubre and 26 de Julio will intervene, said Monguía Rodríguez.
The Cubasoy agricultural company, which always sowed, will not do it this time, since it is dedicated to the cultivation of grains, another important line to substitute imports.
In the 2019-2020 stage, more than 20,400 tons were harvested in the avilanian territory, quantities much higher than the previous one, but with lower yields due to fertilizer limitations, unfavorable weather conditions, and late sowing.
According to the Hydraulic Resources Command Post, the real accumulated average of the month is 92.6 percent of the historical average of October.
