Bean production in the province of Holguín faces serious obstacles due to high cultivation costs, unattractive purchase prices and shortages of inputswhich has generated discontent among farmers and threatens to reduce the supply of this basic food in Cuba.
According to testimonies from producers and agricultural authorities, collected in a reportage published this Wednesday in the newspaper Granma, Official collection prices do not compensate for expenses on pesticides, seeds and laborwhich has led many farmers to consider abandoning cultivation or limiting it to self-consumption.
High costs and low profits
Holguín farmers point out that producing one hectare of beans can cost between 230 thousand and 300 thousand pesosdepending on pests and weather conditions. However, the State’s purchase prices – which range between 14,000 and 30,000 pesos per quintal – barely cover expenses, leaving almost zero profit margins.
“Selling to the Mincin (Ministry of Domestic Trade) for the basic basket generates losses, but we do it out of social commitment,” explained Yordanis Cruz Guzmán, president of the Mártires del Moncada Agricultural Production Cooperative (CPA), in Gibara.
In their case, only the sale to the Seed Processing Plant – which pays 30 thousand pesos per quintal – allowed them to recover part of the investment.
An undesirable duo: Pests and bureaucracy
The bean campaign in Holguín has been affected by pests like “Don Carlos”a type of invasive weed, as well as by insects such as whiteflies and mites. To combat them, farmers are forced to buy pesticides on the informal market, where a liter can cost up to 20 thousand pesos.
“We have been applying alternative products such as Neem and Cardona for years, which repel insects, which allows us to harvest, although not with the full potential of the areas,” he told Granma Leonardo Betancourt Diéguez, president of the basic cooperative production unit (UBPC) Diosdado Savón, in Yuraguana, San Andrés.
At the same time, “irrigating is also expensive. This year, we have paid between 12,000 and 15,000 pesos per hectare for crops. When we plant beans, it will be several passes,” the agricultural businessman added.
Furthermore, the slowness in price approval and lack of timely access to bank credit complicate planning. “Last year, when we were harvesting, the price had not yet been approved. That forced us to work almost ‘at our lungs,’ lamented Cruz Guzmán.
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Insufficient credits and financial obstacles
The producers denounce that bank credits, although available, are difficult to execute due to the limitations of the Cuban financial system.
Alexei Ronda Pérez, president of the Regino Guerrero Credit and Services Cooperative (CCS), in Banes, explained that electronic money is not useful for paying day laborers or buying inputs from private suppliers.
“To convert the card balance into cash, they charge us a 15% commission. That is an additional loss,” said Ronda Pérez.
Outdated prices and informal market
Although the Cuban government approved new collection prices for beans in March 2025 – up to 435 thousand pesos per ton for those who do not receive subsidized inputs – many farmers had already sold their crops at lower prices.
Meanwhile, in the informal market, a pound of beans sells between 360 and 400 pesos, well above the regulated price (196 pesos per pound with the subsidy and 265 without it).
Some sellers claim that the beans are imported, but consumers suspect that they come from diversion of local production.
Are there solutions in sight?
Agricultural authorities in Holguín announce that they are evaluating new financing schemes and more flexible policies to support producers.
Among farmers’ key demands are collection prices that reflect real costs; direct access to inputs without intermediaries; unrestricted bank loans to buy pesticides and seeds and combat the black market through fair hiring.
“If urgent measures are not taken, many will stop planting beans, and that will directly affect the population,” Ronda Pérez warned about the fate of one of the basic foods of the Cuban diet.
