New measures aim at improving cattle raising in Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 15 (ACN) The new measures taken by the Cuban government in the agricultural sector will make it possible to increase the cattle mass and the production of milk and meat, and thus generate a higher income for producers and better options for the population.

Ydael Pérez Brito, newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, explained that such provisions are aimed at increasing production because with the livestock mass that Cuba has, it is not possible now to cover domestic demand.

For this reason, actions should be taken to promote pastures, animal feed and genetic improvement, he said.

Many of the 63 measures approved by the government on Tuesday have as a fundamental basis the fulfillment of the contract, which becomes the fundamental tool to achieve concrete results and must now be more effective than before, real and carried out in direct contact with the producers, the Minister emphasized.

He explained that the recently announced directives increase the price of a liter of milk to nine pesos paid to the producer when he fulfills the established contract with the necessary quality and safety indexes, which applies to the total milk, not only to over-compliance.

In addition, in order to stimulate production, transportation and refrigeration rates were increased, and the sale of milk and its derivatives is authorized free of charge after the contract has been fulfilled.

The sale of milk and its derivatives after the contract has been fulfilled is authorized, which can generate more income for the growth of livestock farming.

It is also a novelty that the maximum stocking prices are differentiated by cattle categories, with a greater incentive for first and second quality meats, he said.

Of interest for producers and the population in general is the measure that authorizes the sale of meat from small cattle directly to stores in freely convertible currency (MLC) and national currency, without the need for a company to mediate.

Likewise, the commercialization of bovine meat (beef and buffalo) and the self-consumption of the producers is allowed once the state order is fulfilled, and as long as there is no decrease in the livestock mass.

Pérez Brito clarified that this process entails a control to ensure the growth of the cattle mass in the country, with requirements such as the correct reporting of births, transfers and deaths.

The new directives are influenced by the implementation of the commercialization policy, which helps to promote them, while granting autonomy to the territory, as it allows it to set prices and puts all actors on an equal footing.

This policy further eliminates intermediaries, so that fresher products arrive and the producer acquires better income, while the nomenclature of products authorized for sale is expanded.

The Minister emphasized that work is being carried out to reorganize the cooperatives, in which the difficulties have been analyzed with a view to merging or even eliminating some of them.

Cuban agriculture continues with the premises of promoting local development projects between producers and cooperatives; incorporating the principles of circular economy; consolidating food production at the local level on the basis of the Food Sovereignty and Nutritional Education Program and developing mini-industries.