In the previous article, we took the position that sustainable agriculture was the way forward to help build vibrant rural economies. In this article, we will study Cuba as a success story in sustainable organic farming. This farming revolution was forced upon the Cuban people by their practice of agribusiness to serve an export market that collapsed after the Soviet Union withdraw support. This situation is eerily similar to what is being practiced in Kenya today by the growing of cash crops for export although not to such a grand scale.
The article below has been gleaned from several sources.
A brief history
From 1492 to 1898, Cuba was a colony of Spain. Both the native people and the forest were annihilated to make way for large cattle and sugar farms in the hands of a few wealthy owners and worked by slaves.
In 1898, the United States entered into the Spanish-American war, Spain was easily defeated, and Cuba was under US military rule from 1898 to 1902. Over the next few decades, U.S businesses and individuals acquired some of the best land and US marines were stationed in Cuba to protect US interests. Sugar production continued to increase in importance at the expense of food production, which caused greater reliance on food imports. Wealth was concentrated in a few hands, and the vast majority of Cubans continued to live in poverty without access to land or incomes sufficient to feed their families.
On December 31, 1958, the Batista government was overthrown, and a socialist government took power. The expropriation of US property in Cuba led to a US policy of isolation. By 1960, the isolationist policies caused Fidel Castro to turn to the Soviet Bloc. By 1962, Cuba effectively was a Soviet satellite. Cuban agricultural policies followed the Soviet model—large monocultural state farms were highly mechanized and heavily reliant on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Soviet Union subsidized this industrial model by trading its oil, chemicals, and machinery for Cuban sugar at preferential rates.
Then, in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Almost overnight $6 billion in Soviet subsidies to Cuba disappeared. At the same time, the US trade embargo tightened, and Cuba was plunged into an economic crisis that was further exacerbated by the United States passing the "Cuban Democracy Act," in 1992 which prohibited assistance to Cuba in the form of food, medicine, and medical supplies.
State implemented reform
Cuba radically changed the state sector in 1993; 80% of the farmland was then held by the state and over half was turned over to workers in the form of cooperatives-UBPC (Basic Unit of Cooperative Production). Farmers lease state land rent free in perpetuity, in exchange for meeting production quotas. A 1994 reform permitted farmers to sell their excess production at farmers' markets.
The reforms emphasized five basic principles:
• Focus on agro ecological technology: this was supported by the state/university research, education, and extensions system.
• Land reform; state farms were transformed to cooperatives or broken into smaller private units, and anyone wishing to farm could do so rent free.
• Fair prices to farmers: Farmers can sell their excess production at farmers' markets; average incomes of farmers are three times that of other workers in Cuba.
• Emphasis on local production: Urban agriculture played a big part in this reform. More on this below.
• Farmer-to-farmer training:this served as the backbone of the extension system.
Urban Agriculture
Another area in which an innovative approach has been applied is that of urban agriculture. The Cuban government promoted and nurtured the public enthusiasm for urban agriculture. It ruled that any unused city lot, even state-owned, could be taken over by citizens to grow food. Growers were permitted to sell their surpluses on the open market.
Government programs were launched to help city folks learn to farm. Experts explained organic growing, composting, and natural pest control and water conservation. Shops were opened to sell seeds and supplies. An estimated 1,000 kiosks for fresh local produce were set up at farm gates and busy street corners throughout Havana.
The popular gardens range in size from a few square meters to large plots of land which are cultivated by individuals or community groups.
Production in other agricultural areas
The reforms have not yielded dramatic results for sugar, meat, or dairy, nor for traditional import crops (rice and beans). Cuba continues to rely on food imports, as it has since it was colonized. Cuba buys rice from India and China, dairy products from the European Union, grains from South America and Eastern Europe, and meat from Canada and Brazil. Cuba has to buy these products from distant countries, adding on average 30% to the cost of food imports over what they would pay for US products.
Effect on meat production
Meat production and dairy production were hit particularly hard by the loss of subsidized Soviet feed and petroleum. The loss of petroleum meant that animal traction became a strategy to reduce reliance on farm machinery. Animal traction is also better for soil management, particularly given the smaller farm size after land was redistributed. However, the conversion to animal traction was impeded by lack of oxen and expertise. The solution was to prohibit slaughter of cattle without government permission (in order to build up the herd) and to create "schools" to train the oxen (and presumably farmers).
Other government programs
Social equity is a clearly a higher priority for the Cuban government than personal liberty. Despite being the second poorest country in the Americas, there is no widespread hunger; housing is generally free, if dilapidated and crowded; Cubans are one of the most educated populations in the world; and there is universal free health care. All Cubans have access to a basic (although minimal) diet through their ration card. Cubans supplement this with food they grow, barter for, or buy at farm stands, farmers' markets, or dollar stores.
The Future
It seems likely that Cuba will continue to promote agro ecological practices and to expand urban agriculture simply because they are yielding results. The bad experiences with large agricultural operations, both before and after communism, make it unlikely that anyone could credibly promote a return to large, high-input operations as a matter of national policy.
The positive results that farmers, university researchers, and extension are getting from the transformation of Cuban agriculture will likely encourage them to continue to pursue sustainable practices whatever comes next. Cuban people are eating better and healthier than before, though things are far from perfect. However, the relevant comparison is to other Latin American countries; Cuba simply does not have the widespread hunger, destitution, and suffering that are commonplace in countries with much higher GDP per capita.
Conclusion
There are many lessons we can learn from Cuba for Kenya:
• The government giving citizens plots to farm on in urban areas could go a long way to alleviate hunger and stabilize our food supplies in the urban areas.
• The food ration card to ensure all Kenyans get access to a basic diet is a positive. The government could contract local and rural farmers for this program.
• A barter system, food for food or food for services by urban and rural farmers would be an idea worth researching and implementing.
• The possible establishment of a sustainable agricultural department by the government to train urban and rural farmers in organic agriculture
• Discounted availability of seeds and agricultural supplies would help potential urban and rural farmers.
Next we a will study a few other examples from other developing nations that have implemented positive policies in sustainability.
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