The Ministry of Agriculture sets it sights—and hopes—on production poles

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 9 (ACN) The Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG) is focused today on the agricultural and forestry production poles intended to supply the big cities, the food industry and tourism, as well as to replace imports and increase exports, without disregarding the local food systems at municipal level.

“There can be a mutual contribution here,” deputy minister of agriculture Maury Hechevarría Bermúdez said on TV, although he devoted his appearance to the former and clarified that it is a matter of coordinating and organizing our economic actors in a single geographic space to streamline the food value chain.

“We currently have around 64 poles, of which 15 are for various crops, 4 for grains, 5 for coffee, cocoa and coconut, 13 for livestock, 3 for fruit trees, 8 for timber, and one for beekeeping. However, they can also produce milk, meat, root vegetables, etc., for the sake of diversification and self-consumption.

MINAGE is very hopeful about the potential of these systems to boost economic and social development, secure new investments and reinforce our foreign trade. They also help develop production linkages and allocate resources to the top producers, among other advantages.
These poles are also expected to count on units for seed production and marketing and for science and innovation in order to become exporters of goods and services.

“Nevertheless, they are monitored and required to make an efficient use of the land, provide irrigation where most needed, achieve high yields per hectare, and improve their crop rotation practices,” according to MINAG Director of Agriculture Miguel Rosales Román.