FAO donates seeds that allow prioritizing short-cycle crops in eastern Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, November 11 (ACN) The delivery of cabbage, lettuce, beet, and carrot seeds to the municipalities of Guantanamo, Niceto Perez, and Caimanera, donated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), allowed for the immediate start of planting in Urban, Suburban, and Family Agriculture units, reported Yoanda Kindelan, director of that program in the province.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture (Minag) website, the official stated that the municipalities most affected by Hurricane Melissa were Guantanamo, Niceto Perez, Caimanera, Yateras, and El Salvador, and that the goal is to advance recovery through short-cycle crops to guarantee fresh food for the population.

In Santiago de Cuba, Arturo Clavel Duran, representative of the program, indicated that the nine municipalities suffered serious damage to semi-protected greenhouses, organoponics, intensive gardens, and plots, whose rehabilitation is a priority task.

The official added that there are isolated areas where the damage has not yet been quantified.

In Granma, Yurien Valdes Gonzalez, head of the Urban, Suburban, and Family Agriculture Department, explained that all 13 municipalities reported damage to seedbeds, winter crops, and facilities, although they have seeds of cucumber, pepper, carrot, chard, and lettuce donated by the FAO to restart planting.

Urban, Suburban, and Family Agriculture has been developed in Cuba since 1987 at the direction of Army General Raul Castro Ruz, with the objective of generalizing vegetable cultivation in raised beds enriched with organic fertilizers and efficient technologies.

Specialists from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS by its Spanish acronym) and the Ministry of Agriculture (Minag) emphasized that agricultural recovery after the hurricane has a direct impact on food security and rural employment, as it guarantees income and stability for thousands of families linked to production.

The urgency to replant, they explained, stems from the need to ensure food security for the victims and the population as quickly as possible, making short-cycle crops a national priority.