About 111 irrigation systems will be received through the Support Project for Agricultural Intercooperation in Cuba (Apocoop), to contribute to agricultural development in Las Tunas, committed to food sovereignty, sustainability, and adequate nutrition of the population.
Las Tunas, Cuba.– Eduardo Cudina Espinosa, the coordinator of Apocoop here, explained to 26 that despite the current epidemiological crisis and the intensification of the economic blockade against Cuba, the promotion of the productive program is a priority for the State. In this sense, 91 of these watering machines are already in this territory, which will benefit more than 254 hectares of the province.
According to the representative, during its first phase, Apocoop was only developed in the municipality of Manatí; however, for the second, it is inserted in the eight municipalities, specifically in 40 production units. "The re-motorization of 10 tractors, with their tires, multipurpose forage machines, photovoltaic panels, and the acquisition of seven carts to support the commercialization of agricultural products are other actions that will contribute to strengthening the production capacities."
Based on transformations involving science, academia, and producers, the project plans to empower local actors from a gender perspective. In light of this, its resources are not only used to increase food production; in the municipalities of Puerto Padre and Jesús Menéndez, units of the Family Attention System (SAF) will benefit from crockery, pans of different capacities, fans, and other resources to contribute to the resilience of the most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19 and collaborate with the population of each of those communities where the project intervenes.
Cudina Espinosa reported that, among the fundamental initiatives, the Elpidio Sosa credit and services cooperative (CCS), from Puerto Padre, will be benefited from the production of cassava flour for celiac children and adolescents; and in the 26 de Julio agricultural production cooperative (CPA ), from "Amancio", a mini-industry for meat processing will enter into operation. "Office materials and 22 computer modules are already made available to different units and production bases, which help to guarantee the fulfillment of the project's objectives," he said.
With the help of the Canadian non-governmental organization Oxfam and funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (Cosude), Apocoop promotes the creation of capacities and conditions to achieve advanced forms of cooperative management in the agro-productive sector and increase food production. "In cooperatives, higher results must be achieved in production yields, from the implementation of modern agricultural implements and machinery in favor of benefiting work in the field," he concluded.
