FAO Representative to Cuba Highlights Role of Education in Agriculture

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 27- UN Food and Agriculture Organization representative to Cuba Marcio Porto highlighted the important role education plays to achieve sustainable development in Cuban agriculture.

Porto said that Cuban farmers have all the knowledge they need to use new technologies that will allow them to raise yields in their harvests.

He said a good example is growing beans within mango fields which allows farmers to better use the available land, optimize the use of fertilizers and to have a profit in short time.

Porto pointed out that the sustainable development model Cuban agriculture is using is based in short, medium and long term strategies which are already producing good results in areas surrounding towns and cities.

This will allow Cuba to produce domestically all the food it needs in times when prices have skyrocketed throughout the world, due to the world financial crisis, he added.

Porto explained that farmers attending workshops are increasing their professional level, a situation that doesn’t happen in many other countries, where people don’t know the benefits food could bring them.

“If they don’t know that fruits contain minerals and proteins they don’t grow them, therefore they don’t consume them and stick to traditional crops that satisfy their appetite”. (acn)

Implement suburban agriculture in 156 cuban municipalities

Sancti Spíritus, Dec 27- In January 2011 the suburban agriculture will be implemented in the 156 foreseen municipalities, IT was informed during the national annual balance of the program of urban and suburban agriculture.

The doctor Adolfo Rodríguez Nodal , member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and national boss of that activity directed by the Ministry of the Agriculture, informed the conclusion and approval of the projects that norman that work in each territory.

Highlighted the effort of those who developed the works starting from the experiences of the municipality of Camagüey, initiator of that work in April 2009, conceived to impel the good and rational use of the surrounding lands of the establishments with more than a thousand inhabitants.

When presenting the report of the results of the present year, Rodríguez Nodal, highlighted that of the objectives of the alone stage only are in execution the investments in the cultivations semiprotegidos when subtracting to conclude them in 102 hectares.

Among the difficulties stand out, said, the affectation of the watering in areas of the urban agriculture when lacking 410 hectares of those foreseen, question to solve in the first trimester of the 2011.

He also expressed dissatisfaction for the non termination of the investments in the organopony technology in almost 195 hectares.

During the encounter was proclaimed Sancti Spíritus like the most integral county in the program of the urban and suburban agriculture during the 2010, and as outstanding classified Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila and Villa Clara.

It was also recognized to the better producing of each territory and the Cooperative of Agricultural Production New Cuba, first in completing the 23 agreements signed between the Agriculture and the National Association of Small Farmers.

The encounter was presided over by Ulises Rosales del Toro member of the Political Desk of the PCC and vice-president of the Council of Secretaries; Miguel Acebo Cortiña, first secretary of the PCC in the county, and Gustavo Rodríguez and Orlando García, minister of the Agriculture and the Sugar, respectively. (Cristóbal Álamo Pérez/AIN)

Fidel Castro Speaks over the Phone with Cuban Doctors in Haiti

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 27 - Cuban Revolution leader spoke over the phone with members of the Cuban Medical Brigade that is fighting the cholera outbreak in Haiti.

Fidel called Cuban Health deputy Minister Marcia Cobas, who is in L’Estere town in the Artibonite department, the most affected by the pandemic, and spoke with several doctors that graduated from the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM)

Cobas is following instructions from the Revolution leader to get in touch directly with all the members of the Henry Reeve medical brigade that are in Haiti, to find out how they are dealing with the tough conditions they are working in.

She asked the cooperants about their health, food, safety and how they are communicating with their families back in Cuba. She also forwarded greetings from Fidel and Cuban President Raul Castro and handed them over a card signed by Fidel.

Among them were Honduran Yorlenis Ramírez, US Gregory J. Wilkinson and Uruguayans Verónica and Brayan who thanked Cuba for having trained them as doctors.

Doctor Elisa Ortiz Vázquez, who heads the 145 health professional brigade in Artibonite, told Fidel they were proud of proving medical services wherever in the world they are needed.

The medical brigade has treated over 46000 Haitinas that had contracted cholera, and have kept mortality at a low 0.59 percent. They also checked over 181000 people and detected 1265 sick among them which they treated.(acn)