The authorities of the province of Artemisa have recognized that they had to destroy 33 hectares of potato fields in Alquízar, spoiled due to the lack of irrigation due to blackouts in recent months. This is stated in a report published this wednesday by the artemiseñowhich nevertheless attacks 14ymediothe first to warn of the situation of the tuber crops.
As this newspaper revealed on November 28 from the residents of the area, the electrical cuts forced to change the irrigation cycles, which damaged a large part of the crop in the Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria Amistad Cuba-México. Specifically, of the 12 caballerias (161 hectares) planted, divided into four quadrants, three of them were spoiled.
In addition, the locals reported that the rotting of the tuber did not allow it to breathe.
For this information, the artemiseño qualify to 14ymedio –a newspaper censored by the regime and which cannot be accessed from the Island without a VPN– as a “false press (sic) that claims to fly the flags of serious journalism.”
“In search of the truth a team from the newspaper [ El Artemiseño] reached the affected area, where there was no stench,” says the note in the official newspaper, which does not clarify that his visit occurred more than two weeks after the complaint of 14ymedio.
“We did know that before proceeding with the demolition of the planting, the residents of the area were allowed to enter the field to take advantage of everything possible for animal feed”
Similarly, the artemiseñociting regime sources and blaming the United States embargo, criticizes: “Those who call themselves ‘spokespersons for the truth’ omitted in their speech the damage caused by blocking to the agriculture and energy sectors, whose losses amount to more than 270 million and some 185 million dollars respectively, only between August 2021 and February 2022″.
The publication acknowledges, however, the destruction of the crops, and specifies: “We did know that before proceeding with the demolition of the planting, the residents of the area were allowed to enter the field to take advantage of everything possible for animal feed”. And he concedes that in the text of this newspaper “one thing bordered on reality: the energy deficit played a trick on me.”
Quoting Fernando Ravelo Jaime, president of the cooperative, the artemiseño details: “Five days after sowing, the potato should be given a light irrigation and then maintain a stability between 200 and 300 cubic meters so that it germinates and does not rot under the ground.” To irrigate one quadrant, with 11 hectares, he continues, “you need 18 to 20 hours of stable current, at 250 cubic meters. In other words, 80 hours were required to irrigate four, which was not possible.”
The result was that “only 60% of the plantation germinated.” The officials asserted to the official newspaper that “only after realizing the magnitude of the problem, did they begin to adopt measures to protect the crop.”
Now, of 83 hectares planted with national seed, says the newspaper, “50 remain standing.” In the “affected area”, “high-yield corn is planted, which we calculate should provide about 30 tons per hectare”, which, they explain, “allows us to take advantage of the fertilized land and harvest the tender grain in the same period that the potato should have come out “.
The Artemiseño points that the director of the Electric Company has assured him that this type of incident will not be repeated because “today the situation in the country is different, due to the increase in maintenance of thermoelectric plants and diesel and fuel generators, which allows between 21 and 22 daily hours of electrical fluid in the province”. With this guarantee, the local newspaper prophesies that “Alquízar will not stop sowing the 170 ha planned for the campaign. The seed is in the municipality and sowing is ready in another machine.”
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