The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) invests 170 million dollars in Cuba for the modernization of production agricultural and the development of sustainable agri-food systems, according to official media reports on the island.
After ten years of cooperation with the implementation of three important projects in the country, the increase in cultivated and irrigated areas and the implementation of good practices agricultural are the main results of the technological and financial support with loans and non-reimbursable funds from that agency of the United Nations Organization (UN)according to a report of the Prensa Latina (PL) agency.
#NOW in the @MinrexCpi International press conference on the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in #Cuba @MINAGCuba @group_agricola @BGegandecuba @CubaLivestock @IFADespanol @MonzonNovoa @YdaelB @Alcides60414106 pic.twitter.com/NR200R8WJ4
— ComuniAgri (@AgriComuni) June 21, 2022
This collaboration, through the Prodecor, Prodegan and Prodecafé programs, has an impact on 49 municipalities in the provinces of Camagüey, Granma, Las Tunas, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo, and benefits 562 agricultural cooperatives and 42 families, explained the head of the agricultural development office of IFAD, Juan Diego Ruiz, in a press conference reviewed by the media.
The director said that Cuba is considered a priority within IFAD’s development programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, in this case focused on the development of cooperatives for agricultural production and credit and services to achieve sustainable production and effective business management, adds the publication.
According to PL, Diego Ruiz pointed out that among the objectives of these projects is the increase in the production and productivity of strategic crops such as corn and beans, two components of the diet of the Cuban population, as well as coffee and cocoa, and to support the growth of livestock to guarantee the production and sale of milk and meat.
The IFAD representative mentioned that with Prodecor (Cooperative Rural Development Project), completed in January of this year, the hectares of land under irrigation increased to 6,000, the cultivation areas increased by 42% and more than 300 jobs with the assembly of four grain drying and processing plants, adds the source.
He also highlighted that with Prodecafé (Agroforestry Cooperative Development Project) they are strategic chains for the Cuban economy, so the collaboration will allow their modernization in order to adapt them to the market and thus increase the volumes of production and sales, in abroad, the report refers.
Referring to the results of these ten years of work in Cuba, the director of the UN agency stated that despite the difficult conditions the country is going through, the results are positive and very encouraging because they are projects with a productive impact. and social by improving the living conditions of rural communities and encouraging the participation of young people.
PL recalls that, together with IFAD, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, the French Development Agency, the Cuba-France Countervalue Fund, the European Union Investment Facility in Latin America, the World Program for Food and the FIDA-China South-South Cooperation Mechanism.
