Cuba accelerates cultivation of beans to reduce imports

Cuba develops with velocity a program to increase the seed of beans, in search of reducing the imports of the grain that annually are about the 60 thousand tons.

The project traffics at this time for the selection of those producing of cooperative of proprietors or usufructuary of earth, informed to the AIN Félix Manso, of the Ministry of the Agriculture.

Orlando Lugo Fonte, president of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), pointed out in this city that the immediate objective is to assure the plantation of 20 thousand hectares in September and 80 thousand in the period October 2010 to January of the coming year, the best stage for the cultivation in the country.

The program anticipate the sale to the farmers of a technological package that costs Cuba 16 million dollars, and compose pesticide and fertilizers.

To the current price of 868 dollars the ton in the international market, Cuba would be saved more than 52 million dollars.

The purpose is to assure that plantation area annually with this project, expressed Manso.

In 2008, the country gathered 97 thousand tons and the following year it increased in some some 13 thousand, informs the National Office of Statistical.

This cultivation showed in the last times a fall from the 133 thousand tons in 2004.

Monthly the State sells to subsidized prices each Cuban determined quantity of this grain.
( Lucilo Tejera Díaz)