Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/827853
WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 17 Without money to invest in domestic production, food shortages ensued. The government enacted farm reforms and transferred some land to cooperatives, says Amando Nova Gonzalez, an economics researcher at the University of Havana. But without government inputs, crop production stagnated. About 60 percent of Cuba's farmland was abandoned, Gonzalez says, with much of the soils degraded from abuse by machinery and chemicals used extensively under the socialist model. During this difficult period, the University of Florida began working with Cuban economists and agricultural scientists. University ag economist William Messina Jr. is among those who have traveled extensively to Cuba. "Keep in mind that Cuba has tremendous potential to be a food producer," Messina says. "Its agriculture is very heavily based on cooperatives. The problem is, they can't get the inputs they need, or if they get them, it's often not when they need them." In particular, Cuban farms lack fertilizer, which is only available in limited quantities, Messina says. And Cuban farms can only buy from the government; no private sources of farm inputs are available. "Much of the farm equipment is very old," Messina says. "It's not uncommon for a cooperative to cannibalize older tractors and equipment for parts. Mechanization is far below what it was in the late 1980s." Since 2008, Cuba has undertaken substantial economic reforms. The biggest changes occurred in agriculture, where 3.7 million acres of unused land was transferred in usufruct—which gives individuals the right to use the property of another—to 156,000 individual producers, according to Gonzalez. Acreage transfers ranged from less than 33 acres to 168 acres. Growers may farm the land themselves or enter into a cooperative arrangement. Today, 70 percent of Cuba's farmland is held in various types of what the government calls "private" ownership, although titles to land remain with the state in most instances. To boost productivity, new reforms go even further, and efforts are underway to shift some decision-making from the government to a more local municipal level, Gonzalez says. EMBARGO POLITICS American growers and ag businesses in favor of repealing the embargo welcomed the support of the Obama administration. In March 2016, Obama visited Cuba with a government contingent that included then-U.S. secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack. During the visit, Vilsack met with Gustavo Rodriguez Rollero, Cuba's minister of agriculture. The two signed a memorandum of understanding that paved the way for the USDA to post staff at the U.S. embassy in Cuba and exchange information with Cuban officials. The goal is to learn more about the country's animal and plant health, climate change and farming methods. Despite these recent policy shifts, sectors of the U.S. ag community, including some growers in neighboring Florida, remain wary of lifting the embargo. "Cuba produces the same crops and commodities as we do in Florida," Messina says. "So there is a lot of concern about invasive pests and diseases." Another concern is the subsidized competition. The Cuban government leases the land to farmers at no cost to grow crops. For their part, Cuban trade officials have said the embargo should be repealed and free trade allowed. Some analysts have also said open trade with the U.S. with credit terms will help Cuba rebuild its agriculture industry. Today, Cuba imports nearly $2 billion in agricultural products, including rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, soy products, poultry and nonfat dry milk. But in the end, the decision to repeal the embargo lies with the U.S. Congress. And until Congress takes action, supporters and opponents can only speculate on trade potential and challenges. This article was originally published on the Syngenta's Thrive website. For more news from Syngenta, visit www.syngentathrive.com. opponents can only speculate on trade potential and challenges. WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 17