Havana/In 2016, the Government advertisement that would bet on transgenic crops to reduce the food deficit, but, almost 10 years later, there are no results. It is not reported by any independent media, but by the very newspaper of the single state union, Workers. According to a report published this Sunday, the different projects in the country have fallen short because “there are no resources”, “there is a lack of electricity” or “a shortage of fuel” prevails.
The story is still ironic. Although Cuba is “a purely agricultural country,” he declares to Workers Dr. Mario Estrada García, director of Agricultural Research at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Cigb), in Havana, “we have always imported about 350,000 tons of soybeans and 800,000 tons of corn per year to produce feed.” And he adds: “Two or three ships per month and close to 500 million dollars spent.”
To try to boost the production of some grains, the specialist adds that in 2020 the development of transgenic crops began in the country, which promised higher yields, “with the same extension of land, inputs, seeds and workforce, resistant to climate and pests.”
To try to boost the production of some grains, the specialist adds that in 2020 the development of transgenic crops began in the country.
Years later, some achievements are barely visible, although tenuous. Abel Hernández Velázquez, head of the Department of Plant Biology at Cigb, says that today the center produces about 300 kilograms of the five registered soybean varieties, a figure that pales in comparison to the country’s needs. Furthermore, he highlights: “The original seed of the two lines of corn for the transgenic hybrid H-Ame15, which implies obtaining between 200 and 300 kilos from both parental lines.”
However, the project has hit a wall, he acknowledges, because it experiences “the same limitations of agriculture in the country: although they try to prioritize, the resources do not exist.”
This has meant that “the final result does not finance the value chain,” according to Rosendo Pérez, director of the Cigb in Sancti Spíritus. “The extension of the cornfields has not been achieved, nor the expected impact indicator on the amount of corn that is converted into meat,” he explains. “The preference persists to acquire feed abroad rather than investing in production, a way to avoid the risks of agriculture,” adds Pérez, who indicates that in the territory of Sancti Spiritus there are 720 hectares for the cultivation of GMOs, but that only 382 have been planted, despite the fact that the same authorities have called for the adoption of massive way a transgenic cultivation program.
In Artemisa, the Emilio Hernández cooperative production unit (Ubpc) joined forces with the Cigb of Havana to establish a productive base that produces transgenic corn and soybean seeds for all of Cuba. However, despite having a project backed by 59 million pesos to buy technology and machinery, everything “has been delayed due to fuel shortages, and only 10 hectares have been planted” of the 400 hectares that it has for that purpose, indicates Osvaldo Blanco García, president of the Ubpc.
The text in Workers It also addresses the problems faced by producers in different provinces. In San Cristóbal (Artemisa), at the Leopoldo Reyes feed factory, the premise of “food sovereignty” is still far from being realized. The company produces “the tiny amount of 34 tons of animal feed – all with imported inputs – out of the 300 possible in one day, depending on its installed capacity and the modernization of its packaging line,” the newspaper notes.
The company produces “the tiny amount of 34 tons of animal feed – all with imported inputs – out of the 300 possible in a day
The state-owned company has not even managed to exploit all its resources, either due to lack of inputs or even employees, so a year ago it leased a space to the Vietnamese capital company. ViMariel SA., inaugurated in 2023, which produces almost seven times more feed daily than them (200 tons). “Almost everything is imported, which prevents retail and wholesale prices from stimulating the production of meat and eggs,” says factory director Michel Ravelo.
In Placetas, Villa Clara, the Pork Mercantile Society has promoted H-Ame15 transgenic corn since 2022, in alliance with Cigb. However, they have faced the onslaught of climate, high harvesting and drying costs, fuel shortages, and a lack of harvesting machinery and dryers.
Faced with the harsh outlook, René Alemán Rodríguez, from the Juan Darias Credit and Services Cooperative (CCS), from Yaguajay, a pioneer of this type of crop in the nation, warns that “corn producers are in danger of extinction due to lack of inputs.”
“Corn producers are in danger of extinction due to lack of inputs”
The official says that in addition to this, beans, tobacco and even sugarcane are prioritized in the country. “This factor, together with fuel limitations, poor drying conditions or the lack of electricity for irrigation, plus the lack of a technological package and exorbitant prices of inputs, slow down production,” he adds.
Today, Cuba depends on more than one 80% of imports to cover basic food needs. This year alone, imports from the United States of grains and feed almost quadrupledgoing from 6.8 to 23.8 million dollars, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture of that country. This increase is also a record in the last five years, since since 2020 it had fluctuated between 6 and 9 million.
