Journal
Thursday,May 26 2005, 07:46:02 PMFarming in Cuba : A Breif Review
Farming in Cuba
Once farmers have sold their quota to the state, they may sell their excess fruit and vegetables at the farmer’s markets. In 1993 when the government began to break up the state farms, they introduced Resolution 357, allowing the formation of relatively autonomous cooperatives. They farm government land but they own the harvest. They must sell their quota to the state and adhere to state rules, like selling at 20% below the farmers' markets.
In addition to a salary, the 43 workers on Norma's farm receive 40 pesos worth of produce a month. As the average monthly wage is about 217 pesos (roughly US $10), the supplemental food is welcomed. They breed goats, sheep and chickens for the workers. They sell a large selection of fresh and dried herbs. Spices are hard to get outside of the organiponicos. Medicinal herbs, known as green medicine, are grown here. The use of alternative medicine is widespread.
They teach organic gardening courses on-site and hope to incorporate canning and preserving into the curriculum. Jars (for preserving) are hard to come by in Cuba and this is a simple project that the government could alleviate easily.
The Antonio Nunez Jimenez Foundation is a non-profit, dedicated to promoting sustainable environmental practises. The group is housed in a well-maintained museum, a tribute to its founder, a prolific writer, scientist, explorer, and collector. They offer permaculture courses; publish and distribute brochures and newsletters; and maintain a small demonstration garden. Course graduates then go out and start urban gardens on roof tops, boulevards and in community spaces.
Around the corner from A. Nunez is a government run, seed house (Casa de Semillas). These "gardening stores" sell a variety of seeds, seedlings, biological pest controls, organic fertilizers and tools. None of the farmers we talked to saved their own seeds because they were readily available from the government, and storage was a problem in the tropical environment. Farmers did complain about the lack of variety. Only one variety of lettuce is grown on many farms.
(See: http://www.cityfarmer.org/CubaSpringPhotos.html
Recent Cuban Reforms -- (Extracts from: http://www.choicesmagazine.org/2003-4/2003-4-01.htm
Faced with a crisis brought on by an end of Soviet subsidies, Cuba radically changed the state sector in 1993; about 80% of the farmland was then held by the state and over half was turned over to workers in the form of cooperatives—UBPC (Basic Unit of Cooperative Production). Farmers lease state land rent free in perpetuity, in exchange for meeting production quotas. They may even bequeath the land, as long as it continues to be farmed. A 1994 reform permitted farmers to sell their excess production at farmers' markets.
The reforms emphasized five basic principles. Foremost of these was a focus on agroecological technology, supported by the state/university research, education, and extensions system. There had been researchers, outreach specialists, and faculty devoted to agroecology before the crisis. The crisis not only brought them to the forefront, but universities, research centers, and agricultural policies were reoriented to make agroecology the dominant paradigm. To begin to understand the magnitude of this reorientation, imagine for a moment that your local college of agriculture reoriented its entire curriculum, research, and extension programs to agroecology. Pick yourself up off the floor, and now image that all the universities as well as all national agricultural policies in your country were reoriented to agroecology.
A second principle of the reform was land reform; state farms were transformed to cooperatives or broken into smaller private units, and anyone wishing to farm could do so rent free. In effect, a right-to-farm policy was implemented. A third principle of the reform was fair prices to farmers: Farmers can sell their excess production at farmers' markets; average incomes of farmers are three times that of other workers in Cuba. A fourth principle of reform is an emphasis on local production in order to reduce transportation (and hence energy) costs. Urban agriculture, a key to this reform, produces nearly the recommended daily allowance of 300 grams per person of produce. The fifth principle of reform is farmer-to-farmer training as the backbone of the extension system.
Impact of the Reforms
What were the results of these reforms? Production of tubers and plantains tripled and vegetable production quadrupled between 1994 and 1999, while bean production increased by 60% and citrus by 110%. Potato production increased by 75%, and cereals increased by 83% between 1994 and 1998. Calorie intake rose to 2,580 per capita per day—just under the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization. This is despite Cuba being the second poorest country in the Americas.
The conversion of Cuba's agriculture to more sustainable practices has focused on urban agriculture and domestic crops. Indeed, these practices seem to free up scarce chemicals for the traditional export crop, sugar. Sugar continues to be produced in monoculture, but increasing amounts of organic sugar are being produced, largely for export.
Urban agricultural production climbed from negligible in 1994 to more than 600,000 metric tons in 2000. There are more than 200,000 urban farm plots ranging in size from a few meters to a hectare in size. Production practices rely on organic matter, vermiculture, raised beds, crop rotation, companion cropping, and biopesticides. Yields are between 6 and 30 kilos per square meter and are predominantly roots, tubers, and vegetables. A proposed project called Calle Parque (street parks) will extend urban agriculture and provide much-needed urban cooling by converting some streets in central Havana to parks and gardens. The reforms have not yielded dramatic results for sugar, meat, or dairy, nor for traditional import crops (rice and beans). Cuba continues to rely on food imports, as it has since it was colonized. In 2000, Cuba imported US$141 million in rice, US$65 million in beans, and US$60 million in milk products. Cuba imports about a million metric tons of feed grains, a half million metric tons of soybeans, 100,000 metric tons of chicken and pork, substantial amounts of cooking oil, soybean meal, and malt. Because of the U.S. embargo, Cuba has to buy these products from distant countries, adding on average 30% to the cost of food imports over what they would pay for U.S. products. Cuba buys rice from India and China, dairy products from the European Union, grains from South America and Eastern Europe, and meat from Canada and Brazil.
Meat production and dairy production were hit particularly hard by the loss of subsidized Soviet feed and petroleum. The loss of petroleum meant that animal traction became a strategy to reduce reliance on farm machinery. Animal traction is also better for soil management, particularly given the smaller farm size after land was redistributed. However, the conversion to animal traction was impeded by lack of oxen and expertise. The solution was to prohibit slaughter of cattle without government permission (in order to build up the herd) and to create "schools" to train the oxen (and presumably farmers). More than 150,000 oxen have been trained at these schools, and pairs of working oxen are ubiquitous throughout Cuba. This dramatic transformation did not come without a cost—the availability of beef plummeted, and anyone caught illegally slaughtering cattle could spend up to 20 years in jail.
Policy Themes -- This kind of policy solution—trading personal liberty for social goals—is common in Cuba. Not only cattle are managed as a national resource—the dean of an agricultural university in Cuba declared that "soil is a strategic national resource." Intellectual property is also managed as a public resource. Cuban researchers are developing biotechnology applications for agriculture and medicine. However, the Cuban government prevents anyone from patenting discoveries funded by government research. Intellectual property developed with public funds is treated as a public resource.
Cubans share their poverty; living standards are low. Yet, despite being the second poorest country in the Americas, there is no widespread hunger; housing is generally free, if dilapidated and crowded; Cubans are one of the most educated populations in the world; and there is universal free health care. All Cubans have access to a basic (although minimal) diet through their ration card. Cubans supplement this with food they grow, barter for, or buy at farm stands, farmers' markets, or dollar stores. Cubans spend about two thirds of their income on food, but not everyone has the same buying power. A 2000 Lexington Institute study found that it took the average Cuban on a government salary four days to earn enough money to buy a basket of food consisting of one pound each of pork, rice, and beans, two pounds of tomatoes, three limes, and a head of garlic. A retiree on a pension would need 7.2 days, and a private taxi driver in Havana would need 3.5 hours.
Citizen Responses
Cubans have a range of responses to this situation. Many Cubans are dedicated to social equity and are pragmatic about the individual sacrifices required so that everyone has something to eat. Some are discontented feeling that they are underemployed given the level of (free) education that they have and could have a higher living standard under a capitalist system. No one says that the situation is easy, and the embargo (called a blockade in Cuba) is viewed by all as the primary barrier to improving the situation.
The Farm Bureau has made some headway with the State Department to allow some U.S. exports (in Havana, we bought Washington State Red Delicious apples -- for 50 cents each! -- at a dollar store). Cuba wants to buy U.S. farm products: rice, dairy products, feed grains, soybeans, meat, and poultry. However, it is unlikely they will be able to do so without some means of earning dollars, and their export products are sugar, citrus, tobacco, tropical fruits and vegetables, and seafood, which would compete with some U.S. producers.
The Future
Everyone expects political changes when Castro dies, but one must be mindful that there is an immense state system that permeates society. Many people benefit from this system, and Cubans are well aware of the example of the Soviet collapse and ensuing economic and social crisis in Russia. It is likely that Cuba will continue to promote agroecological practices and to expand urban agriculture simply because they are yielding results. The bad experiences with large agricultural operations, both before and after communism, make it unlikely that anyone could credibly promote a return to large, high-input operations as a matter of national policy.
The positive results that farmers, university researchers, and extension are getting from the transformation of Cuban agriculture will likely encourage them to continue to pursue sustainable practices whatever comes next. Cuban people are eating better and healthier than before, though things are far from perfect. However, the relevant comparison is to other Latin American countries; Cuba simply does not have the widespread hunger, destitution, and suffering that are commonplace in countries with much higher GDP per capita.
The extent of future success with sustainable agriculture will of course depend on what markets Cuban farmers will have access to and what types of competition they will face from imports. Although great strides have been made, Cuba will likely always be a food importer, and it will certainly be in Cuba's interest to buy its imported meat, rice, beans, oil, soy, and dairy products as cheaply as possible. If the United States wants to supply these imports, it will need to negotiate a means for Cuba to earn the money to buy them. Removing the travel ban and permitting U.S. tourists would certainly yield more unity among U.S. agricultural interests than allowing importation of Cuban sugar, citrus, and tobacco.
On Cooperatives:
It is possible to set up an organization owned by the community (the members) and operated democratically by the workers. Policy issues would have to be negotiated between the two constituencies. Ideally, the workers would have the protection of a union whose values and actual functioning parallel direct democracy, in order to protect aganist rouge power tripping member boards or other such tendencies that would undermine democracy within. On the same token, the workers should be required to negotiate with the community with regard to the end result of what is done or produced (ie. we could do without a collectively run GMO farm, or chemical manufacturer, that is not accountable to the community). Also, both constituencies are checks upon one another.
In short, a sort of decentalized socialist democracy and economic democracy, as a coalition between workers in an organization and the community it affects. The process to reform coops or collectives into a hybrid model of direct democracy is experimental and not easily accomplished without commitment and effort.
Co-operatives are about workers, producers and consumers having a share or the rights of OWNERSHIP. A collective is about the workers, producers, etc, having equal MANAGEMENT rights and decision-making responsibilities. Co-ops usually have a board of directors that may or may not include workers, but collectives are run by the people who make the big decisions together. Whether you work in a co-op or collective, you have to work under certain decisions that are made...it's just that in a co-op, you might have to live with decisions that you had no input into, but in a collective, you helped negotiate any decisions that were made.
So it's a lot harder for collectives to sell-out...
Funes, F., Garcia, L., Bourque, M., Perez, N., & Rosset, P. (Eds.) (2002). Sustainable agriculture and resistance: Transforming food production in Cuba. Oakland, CA: Food First Books.
Sinclair, M., & Thomson, M. (2001). Cuba: Going against the grain: Agricultural crisis and transformation. Boston, MA: Oxfam America.
international@lifecyclesproject.ca, http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1460
5/26/2005 7:48 PMNULL
En diciembre del año 1986, se da inicio a una nueva etapa para Vietnam, porque el Congreso Nacional del Partido Comunista decide adoptar una vasta reforma conocida como Renovación Económica, DOI MOI, en idioma vietnamita, con la declarada finalidad de introducir cambios radicales en la economía y en la sociedad, para acelerar el anhelado crecimiento y desarrollo del país. Esta notable 'renovación económica' la comentaremos en los párrafos siguientes, porque está culminando el último medio siglo de la historia de Vietnam con positivos logros en su economía y en el nivel de vida de su laborioso pueblo.
1.- A fines de 1986 la economía de Vietnam mantenía una agricultura tradicional, planificada centralmente, de propiedad estatal y organizada colectivamente; el estado acentuaba su atención en el desarrollo de la industria pesada; los niveles de productividad en todos los sectores de la economía eran bajos; y todo el sistema estaba siendo manejado con ineficiencia, cuyos resultados se reflejaban en la notoria escasez de bienes de consumo, el déficit en la balanza de pagos, un alta tasa de inflación, todo lo cual creaba una situación que ocasionaba el deterioro en el nivel de vida de la población. La 'renovación económica'- conducida por el estado- generó las siguientes políticas que se pusieron de inmediato en ejecución: a) moderar el énfasis que se tenía en desarrollar la industria pesada; b) intensificar el desarrollo de la agricultura para producir más alimentos y los mejores productos para la exportación, por tener el país ventajas comparativas en el exterior; c) reducir significativamente la intervención del estado en el comercio y facilitar al máximo el comercio exterior; y d) promover y atraer la inversión extranjera, como también la aportada por los privados vietnamitas, a fin de dinamizar todos lo sectores que fuesen atractivos para esas inversiones. Los sucesivos Congresos del Partido Comunista de Vietnam han acordado mayores precisiones a todo lo anterior, con el objetivo de optimizar su aplicación en función de la construcción del socialismo, sistema que está orientado a consolidar una economía que respeta las reglas del libre mercado, pero supervisado responsable y eficientemente por el estado. Debemos consignar que los principios, derechos y obligaciones que deben observar todos los actores de la 'renovación económica', están incorporados- desde el año 1992- en la Constitución Política de Vietnam.
2.- Uno de los aportes cruciales de la 'renovación económica' ha sido la reducción de la intervención del estado en las diversas áreas y sectores de la economía. Así, por ejemplo, en el año 1989 existían 12.297 empresas estatales, las que se redujeron a 5.300 el año 2001, ya sea por fusión, traspasos al sector privado o simple eliminación, por ser consideradas ineficientes o tecnológicamente obsoletas. Las empresas que permanecen como estatales gozan de una mayor autonomía financiera y administrativa. El nuevo status de estas empresas se denomina 'equitación', con referencia a las riendas que se debe manejar un buen caballo. Para el período 2001-2005, se estima que cerca de 2.000 empresas estatales habrán alcanzado ese prestigioso status.
3.- El actual sistema financiero y bancario que ahora opera en Vietnam lo integran el banco central del estado y algunos bancos privados, los cuales trabajan con tasas para las divisas extranjeras que reflejan las tendencias del mercado y el comercio exterior. La política monetaria del estado está orientada a controlar drásticamente la inflación, y se ha abandonado la práctica de imprimir 'dongs', la unidad monetaria de Vietnam, que era utilizada para cubrir el déficit fiscal, el que ahora se resuelve emitiendo bonos y certificados del tesoro, ambos documentos respaldados por el estado.
4.- El comercio interno y los precios han sido liberalizados y están determinados por el comportamiento del mercado; 'no obstante, todavía existe un reducido número de recursos y productos sujetos a un control del estado, de preferencia los referido a la tierra, varios otros recursos naturales, el agua de superficie el espacio aéreo, y los servicios de electricidad, agua potable, telecomunicaciones y los puertos marítimos, todos ellos siguen permaneciendo en manos del estado o de cooperativas' (1)
5.- El comercio exterior de Vietnam se ha transformado en un dinámico sector de la economía, acentuado el carácter de gran exportador que ha adquirido ese país en el amplio mercado internacional. En efecto, en el año 1991 las exportaciones de los productos agrícolas y manufacturados alcanzaban el 8%, pero en el año 2000 esos productos representaron el 40% de las exportaciones. Se debe destacar que Vietnam es actualmente en el mundo uno de los principales exportadores de arroz, café pimienta y marañón, entre otros productos. Este notable esfuerzo exportador ha permitido reducir la brecha o diferencia entre lo importado y lo exportado, de 4 mil millones de dólares el año 1996, a sólo 1.400 millones de dólares el año 2001'. (2) Por lo anterior, Vietnam se ha hecho merecedor a ser considerado miembro de la Asociación Americana de Libre Comercio ( AFTA, sus siglas en inglés), de la Convención Económica del Area del Pacífico (APEC) y de la Asociación de Mercados del Sueste de Asia ( ASEM, sus siglas en inglés). Desde 1995 Vietnam ha tratado de ser incorporado a la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC), y se espera su reconocimiento como miembro en el transcurso de este año 2005. (3)
6.- Una visión macroeconómica de lo logrado por la 'renovación económica' lo otorga los antecedentes sobre el Producto Interno Bruto (PIB), el que se dobló al término del decenio 1990-200. El año 2001 este indicador tuvo un crecimiento de 6,8%, el segundo más alto en Asia del Sureste, ocupando China el primer lugar. En octubre de 2003, el Banco Mundial proyectaba que las economías de China y Vietnam crecerían a tasas de 7,4% y 7%, respectivamente, siendo los países de mayor crecimiento en Asia. Según un informe el Banco Mundial 'el factor crucial para el crecimiento de Vietnam son los esfuerzos de la reforma económica para transitar- desde una economía subsidiada por el gobierno- a una de libre comercio'. (4)
7.- Aunque este trabajo se ha centrado en el crecimiento y desarrollo de la economía vietnamita, de conformidad a las orientaciones de su mentada 'renovación económica', no podemos dejar de referirnos sucintamente al impacto que las políticas generadas por esa reforma ha tenido en el bienestar humano de la población de Vietnam, logrando satisfacer muchas de las sentidas demandas de un pueblo que merece disfrutar un mejor vivir. Los antecedentes divulgados por el Banco Mundial señalan que el año 1986 la población de Vietnam registraba que el 70% vivía en la pobreza, la que disminuyó al 58% el año 1993 y al 32% el año 2001; esta última cifra ubicó al país en el lugar 43 entre los 87 países en vías de desarrollo, de acuerdo al índice de pobreza humana (HPI, según las siglas en inglés). La tasa de alfabetismo en la población adulta era del 93% el año 2001 y la expectativa de vida al nacer se estimaba en 68 años. La educación pública para todos los niveles continúa siendo una de las preocupaciones importantes del estado, el cual mantiene en sus escuelas la mayor parte de los niños en edad escolar, y a una alta proporción de los adolescentes estudiando en los centros de formación técnica y en las universidades. 'Vietnam tiene actualmente 2 millones de subscriptores a Internet, lo que significa que 6,2 millones o el 7,44% de la población tiene acceso a este servicio'.(5) La salud pública está organizada y administrada por el estado, pero sus usuarios deben sufragar costos razonables, para recibir la atención médica o hospitalaria. No obstante lo mencionados progresos, el gobierno y el pueblo vietnamita reconocen que todavía el país enfrenta dificultades y complejos desafíos, derivados de una todavía ineficiente estructura material y tecnológica, y por el déficit de trabajadores altamente calificados. Además, pese a los progresos económico, todavía no se ha podido reducir m} el desempleo y alcanzar la deseada meta de empleo pleno, a que debe aspirar una verdadera sociedad socialista.
8.- Para finalizar estimamos oportuno destacar la claridad teórica y conceptual del alto dirigente del Partido Comunista de Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, quien en un simposio entre China y Vietnam, celebrado en Beijing, en octubre de del año 2003, declaró que: 'La economía socialista orientada por el mercado, es un nuevo modelo en el período de transición hacia el socialismo. La economía de mercado puede ser entendida como la 'universalidad', mientras que la economía orientada por el mercado es para Vietnam la ' especificidad', al conformarlo a las específicas condiciones y característica del país'. (6) Esta particular cita deja una valiosa lección teórica y práctica para los dirigentes socialistas de nuestras latitudes, defínanse éstos como revolucionarios, históricos o renovados, para que consideren que es factible, vital y necesario utilizar al libre mercado como básico instrumento, para dinamizar el proceso de avance hacia una sociedad socialista, bajo la conducción y orientaciones políticas del estado. De comprender y aplicar lo expresado, muchos pueblos evitarían el fracaso ocasionado por sus gobernantes o líderes que se definen como socialistas, pero que terminan siendo utilizados o simplemente sirviendo los particulares intereses de todos los libres mercados de este planeta… .
Referencias: 1) Nguyen Duy Khein : Economy and Trade, Informe divulgado por www.vietnameconomy.org 2) Idem. 3) Vietnam: Business and Economy, The Open Encyclopedia Project. 4) World Bank: Report on Vietnam, Octubre de 2003. 5) www.vietnam.industries.htm, noticia divulgada el 12 de febrero de 2005. 6) Radio Voice of Vietnam: Socialist oriented market economy; concept and development solution, Comunicado de Prensa de la Embajada de Vietnam en Washington, 17 de noviembre de 2003.* Danilo Salcedo Vodnizza, Sociólogo y ex Adémico de la Universidad de Chile.