Havana, Cuba. – Cuban agriculture requires as soon as possible of government decisions that manage to stimulate the creative initiative of all the factors that work the land, especially of the actors that develop in the non -state sphere of the economy, such as owners, usufructuary and cooperatives.
Only in this way would they be eliminating a part of the obstacles that today wear the development of productive forces, and prevent the takeoff of that important sector of the national economy. However, information that has emerged in recent days indicate that the ruling does not move in that direction.
On March 27, the official newspaper Granma He announced That in the session of the National Assembly of the Popular Power next December a draft Law of Property, Possession and Use of the Earth will be submitted to the consideration of the Deputies, which, according to the ruling party, “will benefit producers and cooperatives with property titles, people and land with agricultural goods in usufruct, and state companies”.
But, an approach to several of the project section allows us to appreciate that government control over the different land holders will be reinforced.
The bill establishes that the lands must be given “a rational and adequate use.” That is, that government guardianship will always be to verify that, even in the case of the owners, the land is used in accordance with the interests of the State.
In the same way it will not be admitted that the lands are abandoned without justified causes. And for those owners who decide to declare heirs, the latter must commit to continue the work in agricultural and forestry production.
In the case of land usufructuaries, it is forbidden to give them a different use than approved. That is, the one that is avoided with state interests. It is also clarified that when it is intended to increase the areas in usufruct, non -state usufructuaries (natural persons) will have the worst part, since only new lands will be given gradually, unlike legal and almost governmental persons basic units of cooperative production (UBPC), which will receive them unlimitedly.
The draft specifies that the usufructuaries will have a period of 60 days to abandon the lands and the well -heems – almost always housing that have built – when the State decides to cease the usufruct contract. And we already know of previous decisions that are very arbitrary and subjective several of the causes for which the State can decree the end of the usufruct. One of those causes is related to “the non -clarity of the sources of financing that the usufructuary has.”
So far we have referred to the clauses of the Project of Property, possession and use of the land that are generally linked to agricultural production. To this we should add the pressures that producers receive when it comes to marketing their productions.
The Castro Machinery of power aspires that all agricultural production be hired by the State, and after the state entities – among them the inefficient collection – the only ones that participate in the commercialization of agriculture products. A situation that greatly harms producers, who receive less income, and also to final consumers due to the shortage generated.
Precisely, during the renewal and mandate assembly of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) In Havana It was announced As a negative element “non -hiring with the state of all production by producers, which creates gaps to illegalities and distortions.”
In the end, we are convinced that the obedient Castristas deputies will approve, as come from “above”, to the Project of Property, Possession and Use of the Earth when they are submitted to their consideration.
