It rains on wet for potatoes in Ciego de Ávila, literally. A little over a month ago the authorities warmed up engines warning of the bad harvest that was expected for this year on the Island, falling to historical lows, but the rains of the last month have put the final nail in the coffin.
According to Raúl Monguía Rodrígueza specialist in the provincial delegation of Agriculture, the humidity left by the downpours in April affect areas ranging from 10% to 40% of cultivated land.
To date, 380 hectares have been harvested, 34% of those planted, which have yielded 6,619 tons of potatoes. The figure places the tons collected per hectare at 17.4, far from the 19.8 forecast.
To date, 380 hectares have been harvested, 34% of those planted, which have yielded 6,619 tons of potatoes. The figure places the tons collected per hectare at 17.4, far from the 19.8 expected
According to Monguía Rodríguez, to try to save the harvest as much as possible, 10 operators with machines will arrive from Mayabeque, Cienfuegos and Villa Clara to harvest the largest areas planted in La Cuba (250 hectares), Arnaldo Ramíres (185) and El Mambí (167). . In addition, they hope that they will join the personal activities of Primero de Enero and Baraguá.
In Ciego de Ávila, potato planting began late, once again due to the rains, which in October and November 2021 also affected the conditions of the land. In addition, imported seeds and fertilizers also did not arrive on schedule. The planting concluded on January 27, more than 20 days late on the usual date, which already led to fears of the worst.
The situation is not limited only to Ciego de Ávila, 56% of the area dedicated to potatoes was planted “outside the ideal calendar”.
The objective was to collect 116,396 tons throughout the island, quantities “well distant from the national demand,” authorities said last month. In 2019, the last year for which international statistics are available since there are no national data, potato consumption in Cuba was 151,668 tons, of which 35,272 were imported from the Netherlands and Canada.
In 2020, 115,385 tons were harvested, the worst record since 2017. In 1996, Cuba exported the tuber, which had been rationed for years, after reaching a production record of 348,000 tons, positive data that allowed the liberalization of sales in the Island as of 2010.
But in 2015 the harvest stood at 123,000 tons and the Government had to import to meet demand, which led to rationing it again in 2017. Between 2010 and 2018, both the area harvested and potato production fell by approximately 30%. .
Many informal vendors offer their merchandise every day, like those who walk the streets of El Vedado every day asking for between 120 and 250 pesos for six pounds.
The product has undergone more changes than is usual in Cuban agriculture and, however, as the economist Pedro Monreal pointed out, the payment to the peasant has not seen too many changes. The maximum purchase price offered by Acopio was 30 pesos per quintal at the end of 2010, 65 pesos in 2016 and, as of 2017, it has been 96 pesos for production with national seed and 65 pesos with imported seed. “Doesn’t the rigidity of the Stockpile price and a Stockpile price level separate from supply and demand relationships have anything to do with a possible lack of incentive for producers (mainly non-state) to increase the harvest area and the levels of of production?”, the economist wondered in 2020, a catastrophic year for the tuber.
With the Ordering Task, in January 2021, some changes arrived. The potato harvested with national seed is paid at 423 pesos per quintal and the one that comes from the imported one at 329 pesos per quintal. In the rationed market, the tuber has gone from costing 3 pesos a pound for fresh produce this year to 5 pesos, and a new price has been established for the refrigerated product, 6 pesos.
However, nothing manages to prevent the arrival of the potato from being an event that raises passions in the queues. Although, those who do not meet their quota, can always afford to resort to one of the many informal vendors that offer their merchandise every day, such as those who walk the streets of El Vedado every day asking for between 120 and 250 pesos for six pounds.
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