Cuban First Vice-president Insists in Boosting food Production

GUANTANAMO, Cuba, Feb 6 (ACN) Cuban first vice-president Jose Ramon Machado Ventura called in this eastern province for increasing food production in order to replace costly imports, particularly agricultural products that can be largely developed on the island.

Machado Ventura, who is also the second secretary of Cuba's Communist Party Central Committee, headed a meeting to analyze an investment project at the Caujeri Valley, a very fertile extension of land, which, Revolution leader Fidel Castro visited on two occasions and called on workers to turn it into an agricultural garden providing "a sort of economic and social paradise."

Accompanied by first Communist Party secretary in Guantanamo Luis Antonio Torres, the first vice-president received detailed information on the benefits contributed to that ongoing agricultural project by a canal transferring fresh water from the local Sabanalamar River to a reservoir called Pozo Azul.

Machado expressed his satisfaction about the works aimed at rehabilitating and modernizing the watering system in the valley and he called for a rapid compensation with local production of the effort made by the revolution to replace imports and for the increasing standard of living of the rural population.

While touring facilities at local fruit-processing plant adjoining the agricultural project he stressed the need to have the industry, currently under experimental stage, operate at full capacity.

The top government Cuban official invited executives and workers to reinforce efforts aimed at turning the plant into an industry with capacity to export its products, which would entail an important service for the country.

At the end of the visit, Machado Ventura said he will take to Fidel and Raul Castro production samples he was given in the area, since they are the major promoters of ongoing transformations in the beautiful valley.