International cooperation project supports development of food sovereignty

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, Sep 9 (ACN) The municipality of San Luis in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba has among its priorities achieving self-sufficiency, in order to achieve a level of independence and guarantee the availability and stable access to food for the population.

Therefore, the international collaboration project "Support for Food Sovereignty and Nutritional Education" is well received in this southeastern territory.

The project, carried out in five districts of the province, benefits San Luis producers from the Gustavo Moll and Antonio Guiteras Credit and Services Cooperatives (CCS).

The goal is to support the efficient production of diverse, healthy foods and promote better yields that meet local demand and the nutritional needs of those who live here, Idalmis Sanchez, municipal coordinator, explained to the Cuban News Agency.

We aim to create a resilient and sustainable local food system as part of the local strategy to support the self-sufficiency program.

Therefore, tents, boxes, scales, and other resources were delivered for marketing at agricultural fairs, and we have the necessary supplies to set up a market where juices, fruits, preserves, and other products made from crops grown on farms participating in the project will be sold, Sanchez noted.

Resources, parts and pieces of equipment, and modules for raising small and large livestock have already been delivered, benefiting more than twenty producers, with an emphasis on women and youth, and will gradually increase yields, Lilian Serrano, a livestock producer benefiting from the Antonio Guiteras CCS, commented.

From a global perspective, food sovereignty assumes that each municipality produces what its residents need to consume and encourages the planting of every piece of land, down to the micro-domestic level, she stated.

Soraida Llamos, president of the Antonio Guiteras CCS, is crystal clear on these issues. She is grateful for the project promoted by the National Association of Small Farmers, the Association of Animal Production, and the Association of Agricultural and Forestry Technicians, along with the Spanish MUNDUBAT Foundation.

The Food Sovereignty and Nutritional Education Support Project is already impacting what San Luis residents eat and enjoy, as it supports access to sufficient, diverse, balanced, nutritious, safe, and healthy food with the help of external resources and inputs, while respecting cultural diversity, gender equality, and environmental responsibility.