Increasing food production by all possible means, implementing the Law on Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security (SSAN), and developing agroecology were the main tasks driven by the Urban, Suburban and Family Agriculture Programme in the first half of the year, Doctor of Sciences Elizabeth Peña Turruellas, director of the Programme, stated to Granma.
Learning how much progress was made in these objectives was the purpose of the 101st tour by the National Group of Experts through the municipalities during the months of June and July.
OBJECTIVES OF THE 101ST TOUR
1. Advance in completing the productive base of each community, in correspondence with the number of inhabitants.
2. Build at least one productive modality for fresh vegetables and condiments in each electoral district.
3. Stimulate production in patios and plots and increase self-consumption areas in workplaces.
4. Maintain municipal seed farms in full operation to achieve, during 2025, no less than 80% supply in six prioritised crops. Create planting conditions this year to achieve no less than 85% supply in seeds for 2026.
5. That each production unit has a centre or micro-centre for organic fertilisers linked to its activity.
6. Revitalise and increase municipal fruit gardens.
7. Advance in technological innovation and training at all levels.
FRESH VEGETABLES AND CONDIMENTS
Of the 1,193 visited production modalities for fresh vegetables and condiments, 109 units were evaluated as Fair and Poor for not complying with the requirements of vegetable production technology.
Deficiencies:
1. Poor association, intercropping and staggering of crops.
2. Empty raised beds, underutilisation of area.
3. Failures in the agroecological management of pests.
4. Low application of organic fertilisers to maintain fertility in soils and substrates.
5. Scarce labour force.
CONSIDERATIONS:
1. Recover the structure and functioning of municipal urban farms.
2. There are 519 missing Programme representatives in the people’s councils: 43%. The territories with the greatest difficulties are: Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín, Granma, Cienfuegos, Havana, Pinar del Río and Matanzas.
3. The Programme’s business structure has weakened in Mantua, Pedro Betancourt, Cárdenas, Cruces, Lajas, Palmira, Ciro Redondo, Céspedes, Cueto, Cacocum, Moa, Antillas, Rafael Freyre, Río Cauto, Yara, Media Luna, Niquero, Bartolomé Masó, Buey Arriba and Bayamo.
4. In municipalities without urban farms, managing a popular movement at the productive base level is difficult, which influences the fulfilment of productive, organisational and social indicators.
