History
Cuba's agricultural history can be divided into five periods, reflecting Cuban history in general:
- Precolonial (before 1492)
- Spanish colonial (1492–1902)
- United States Neocolonial (1902–1958)
- Socialist Cuba, pre-Socialist bloc collapse (1959–1989)
- Socialist Cuba, post-Socialist bloc collapse (1989–present)
During each of these periods, agriculture in Cuba has confronted unique obstacles and undergone numerous challenges.
Before the revolution 1959, the agricultural sector in Cuba was largely oriented towards and dominated by the US economy. After the communist government took over, the Soviet Union supported the Cuban agriculture by paying premium prices for Cuba's main agricultural product, sugar, and by delivering fertilizers. Sugar was bought by the Soviets at more than five times the market price. Also 95 percent of its citrus crop was exported to the COMECON. On the other hand, the Soviets provided Cuba with 63 percent of its food imports and 90 percent of its petrol.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cuban agricultural sector faced a very difficult period.After this period to this, Cuba had to rely on sustainable methods of farming. The agricultural production fell by 54% between 1989 and 1994. The answer of the Cuban government was to strengthen the base of agricultural biodiversity by making a greater range of varieties of seed available to farmers. In the 1990s, the Cuban government prioritized food production and put the focus on small farmers. Already in 1994, the government allowed farmers to sell their surplus production directly to the population. This was the first move to lift the state's monopoly on food distribution. Due to the shortage in artificial fertilizers and pesticides, the Cuban agricultural sector largely turned organic, with the Organopónicos playing a major role in this transition.
Today, there are several different forms of agricultural production, including cooperatives such as UBPCs (Unidad Básica de Producción Cooperativa) and CPAs (Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria).
Some of this is described in the documentary The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.
Read more about this topic: Agriculture In Cuba
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