Cacao plantations are planted on farm in central Cuba

 CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba, Jan 8 (ACN) The survival of cocoa plantations in more than six hectares of the farm-industry La Candelaria, in the central province of Ciego de Avila, is a good omen that this important exportable line, distinctive of Baracoa, easternmost province of Guantanamo, can also be planted in Ciego de Avila.

Belonging to the Patricio Sierralta Credit and Services Cooperative, in the municipality of Ciro Redondo, La Candelaria, with 100 hectares of land, is one of the companies that pays taxes to the Ceballos Agroindustrial Company with fruit juices and pulp.

Alexander Ramirez Marrero, owner of the farm, explained exclusively to the Cuban News Agency that to everyone's astonishment, because it is not yet time, there is flowering in not a few bushes, which indicates that the cultural attentions have been fulfilled to the letter and that in a year and several more months they will be bearing fruit.

To achieve that purpose, I conditioned a nursery with certified seed from the Baracoa Agroforestry Experimental Station, an area where this type of production is greater in Cuba, said Ramirez Marrero.

Cocoa is a small tropical plant that is grown for its seeds in the form of almonds, which are used to make chocolate, hence my interest in having it in my hectares because I can close a production cycle and thus contribute to the food industry that demands it for various sweets, the experienced farmer added.
Ramirez Marrero also aspires to close the cycle with this plant, as a supplier of vegetable fat, a highly demanded component in the soap and perfumery industry, while the vegetable mass is ideal for the manufacture of preserves and horchata.

There is a provincial plan until 2026 to develop coconut cultivation, which aims to reach 1,260 hectares, since the objective is to guarantee La Candelaria 70 % of what is harvested and the other 30 % to offer it in a natural way in the hotel network of the northern keys of La Candelaria, informed sources from the sub-delegation of Miscellaneous Crops in Agriculture.