Madrid/“We have been without this technological package for almost four years,” he says. to the official press Odisnel Traba Ferrales, agricultural director of the Fernando Echenique Agroindustrial Company. The manager refers to the kit that the State formerly distributed to producers with imported fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, which were essential for some crops, in this case, rice, which was also considered “very technical.”
The province of Granma, once among the elite of rice producers, plans to plant 41,000 hectares of rice out of the 200,000 total in the country, but the data does not invite optimism. The manager himself admits, between the lines, that the calculation is quite outside of reality. “The total commitment to planting in the province (30,000 hectares by the Fernando Echenique company and 11,000 by José Manuel Capote Sosa) is a fairly strong goal in the current context,” he remarks.
It is not surprising: the yield of these lands is far from what was achieved in the past and barely reaches two or 2.5 tons per hectare, compared to the five achieved in the past. The amount is ridiculous if it is compared to the success that the Vietnamese are achieving in Pinar del Río, where the Agri VMA company – which owns land in usufruct – has more than 7.2 tons per hectare of land.
It is not surprising, the yield of these lands is far from what was achieved in the past and barely reaches two or 2.5 tons per hectare, compared to the five achieved in the past.
But also if you look at the cooperation data of Vietnam as a State. Within this plan, yields are even higher, according to recent data published by the Cuban Seed Plant Research Institute, which has detected up to 9.14 tons per hectare in the winter campaign (7 in spring) for one of the varieties they work with, Viva76. In Cuba there are four varieties, three of them belonging to the Mekong Delta Rice Institute (MEKO), with results that have amazed the Asian country itself.
Another of them, Viba17, leaves 8.28 tons per hectare in winter and 7.13 in spring, while Viba 51 reaches 7.18 in winter and 5.5 in spring. “In the context of Cuba’s efforts to overcome food security challenges due to the harsh climate, saline soil and prolonged drought, the acceptance and testing of Vietnamese rice varieties is considered a strategic step,” stressed the Vietnamese press this week.
The three varieties – in Matanzas, Cienfuegos and Mayabeque – stand out in productivity and resistance to diseases, with yields between 20% and 30% more than the local variety, triple the average. Among its qualities is the fact that its growth is very fast and eliminates costs, about 100 or 110 days of growth compared to 120 or 125 for Cuban rice, says the Vietnamese organization.
“This is a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of the Rice Cooperation Project in particular and of agricultural projects in Cuba in general,” said one of the engineers who was on the Island supporting the program. Although the expert highlights the “hospitality” of Cubans, there have been many testimonies from Vietnamese complaining about local work methods, which have led to cancellation of programs on previous occasions.
This and this shortage of technology has left production in Granma at a minimum, also greatly affected by the floods that Hurricane Melissa caused when the Cauto River overflowed, on whose lands the planting is concentrated: Río Cauto, with 23,121 hectares and Yara, with 11,602.
The Granma report, which offers this Friday the first part of what is expected to be a broader work, includes the experience of one of the workers, who tells of the difficulties in managing water. “The first two months are key, you have to be here from dawn to dusk. Today the rice is planted and tomorrow, without fail, you have to drain the field, ‘pachangue’ it, so that puddles do not form. That means removing all the water, because the seed is pre-germinated and, if it remains stagnant, it suffocates.”
His story is interrupted by a colleague who makes another of the problems clear: “There is enough weed to fill a cart. When I half opened it, the rush of water wanted to carry me away,” he says, which, according to Granma, is “hydraulic sabotage.” The newspaper attributes serious problems to the “war for water” that is taking place in the area: farmers who block the canals – “in their desperation”, excuse me – to get a few minutes of irrigation that, ultimately, they take from someone else.
The newspaper attributes serious problems to the “war for water” that is taking place in the area: peasants who block the canals – “in their desperation”, excuse me – to get a few minutes of irrigation that, ultimately, take away from another
“Before, when a field of seeds was planted, anyone who stole the water would be sued; today nothing happens,” laments one of the interviewees. “Just last night the farm producer had to leave a man on guard at this gate, because they open it to take away the water. This fight is old in these fields. You have to be alert, because there is always someone to take advantage of someone else’s water,” he argues.
The report contains another devastating phrase: despite the hardness of the work, “after the closure of the plant, there is nothing else to do but plant rice. An interviewee maintains that he earned half a million pesos by flooding three caballerías two months ago, but it is not easy. “The mud, the mosquito, the sun, the thirst… it is criminal,” he highlights.
The lack of fuel also complicates the transportation of rice, which is “diverted” when it cannot be transported, not to mention Gelma, the input wholesaler, where “there is no product,” which leads to turning to MSMEs. The need to pay in cash – without the bank providing it – and the high amounts in pesos due to the loss of value of the national currency, complete the picture.
“The success of this campaign will not depend solely on the sweat in the furrows, but on the ability to untie those old knots that stifle productive potential,” Granma concludes. Although the second chapter is yet to be read.
