A project promoted by United Nations for Food and Agriculture (FAO), in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture (Minag) of Cuba, will benefit seven Cuban municipalities highly vulnerable to the climate change.
The representation of the world organization reported this Friday that the idea is to contribute to the restoration of some 35,000 hectares of degraded lands in those territories, according to a dispatch from the Prensa Latina (PL) agency.
?️Column of the FAO Representative in Cuba, Marcelo Resende in Prensa Latina agency
6 municipalities in central Cuba will benefit from equipment and inputs for agricultural marketing, within the framework of the MINAG-FAO-UE project
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—FAO Cuba (@FAOCuba) April 14, 2023
The Climate Resilience in Agricultural Ecosystems of Cuba (IRES) project, started in 2020, will be executed until 2027 with financing from the Green Climate Fund, the report specifies.
So far, the initiative has led to the delivery to these territories of three RT 400 forestry tractors with their accessories, for the clearing of marabou and incorporating vegetable matter into the soil, which contributes to increasing resilience to climate change and supporting the local food production.
With the same objective, another 14 tractors, 70 chainsaws, four plows and 100 modules of 11 manual agricultural tools were also delivered for the benefit of state productive units, cooperatives and farmers, responsible for guaranteeing the implementation of the planned activities, adds the media.
IRES works on the implementation of forestry, agroforestry and silvopastoral systems, which combine the planting of forest species, fruit trees, forage, pastures, various crops, shade trees and others.
The outlet points out that this support to stimulate the production of food, meat and milk has reached the municipalities of Los Arabos in the province of Matanzas; Santo Domingo, Quemado de Güines and Corralillo, in Villa Clara; and Jobabo, Amancio Rodríguez and Colombia in Las Tunas.
According to FAO cooperation reports in Cuba, between 2021 and 2023 the project has advanced in the restoration of more than 2,600 hectares of degraded lands infested with marabou, in which the implementation of forestry, agroforestry and silvopastoral modules began.
In 2023, another group of tractors, chainsaws, and plows are expected to arrive in the country through this project, as well as resources such as animal-drawn planters, electric fodder mills, agricultural trailers, brushcutters, and new tool modules.
With an amount of 38.2 million dollars, IRES is the first project approved by the Green Climate Fund in Cuba and the fourth initiative designed by FAO in Latin America and the Caribbean financed by that fund, the publication highlights.
The initiative is a contribution to Cuba’s plan to deal with climate change, known as Tarea Vida, and to the recently approved Food Sovereignty and Food and Nutrition Security Law.
The relations between Cuba and the FAO were recently strengthened with the visit to the island of the organization’s deputy director general, Mario Lubetkin, who was received by President Miguel Díaz-Canel and met with senior government officials.
Food production is one of the major problems that hinder the development of the Cuban economy and influence the inflationary spiral that the country is experiencing.
The highest Cuban authorities have admitted that, despite the strategies outlined, the production levels necessary to satisfy the population’s demand for food have not yet been achieved, which is why 80% of what they consume needs to be imported, according to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha).
Agriculture Minister Ydael Pérez acknowledged that 2021 was one of the worst years for food production in the last decade, even for iconic Cuban crops such as sugar and tobacco.
At present, barely 48.7% of arable land is planted in Cuba.
