At the end of the year 2023, the lack of guaranteed areas under irrigation systems remains one of the main problems of agricultural activity in the province of Las Tunas and, consequently, of food production for the population.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- According to Yunier Pérez Olano, head of the Department of Agricultural Engineering in the Delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture (Minag in Spanish), there are just over 7,330 hectares under irrigation in the territory of Las Tunas, most of which are dedicated to the cultivation of sweet potatoes and beans.

He indicated that there are 1,131 systems, which were received by the Rural Cooperative Development Project in the Eastern Region (Prodecor) (818), by More Food (85), by the World Food Programme (88), and by the Support Project for Agricultural Intercooperation (Apocoop in Spanish) (111).

Pérez Olano added that 29 machines are included, of which 20 are active. The remaining ones are out of service due to a lack of tires and spare parts or the theft of some of their parts. He also said that Minag intends to return these machines to service.

The specialist added that the assembly of irrigation systems is progressing in 67 hectares to be planted with fruit trees in the community of San Gregorio, in the municipality of Las Tunas, and that the completion of personnel specialized in maintenance and repairs is being managed.

The low availability of appropriate technology for the irrigation of various crops has been the Achilles heel of agriculture in the province, and this difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that this is one of the territories with the lowest average rainfall in the country.

Fortunately, data published a few days ago indicate that the reservoirs in Tuna are recording favorable volumes of water, accumulating 84 percent of their total filling capacity.