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Cuban Vicepresident on a working visit to Las Tunas

The Agricultural System in Las Tunas owes its people. It has debts with the production of short-cycle crops and vegetables to always keep the groceries and points of sales supplied.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa exchanged with executives of the Government, the Agriculture system, and the Sugar Group of the province and reflected on the need to solve the problem of sweet potato production, for example, which is only in private hands.

In vegetables, so necessary not only for food but for health, its monthly offer of 10 pounds per inhabitant must be stabilized so that the population can purchase them every day, because Las Tunas has conditions for it and that is a necessity, pointed out the Cuban leader.

He referred to the fact that the Balcón de Oriente (Eastern Cuban Balcony) must cultivate and harvest taro to include it in the diet of its inhabitants, which must start from a rigorous selection of the producers who can take on this task who must be paid what corresponds, because it is an expensive food from the groove, and thus prevent vendors from continuing to transport it from Havana and other areas with unaffordable prices for the people.

But there are much more serious dilemmas. Valdés Mesa reflected that those who work in the Agricultural System must banish justifications that the plans are not fulfilled due to drought or excess humidity; that is, neither in the spring nor when it does not rain; an obvious contradiction. The plans are sacred and are made to fulfill them, despite climate change since there are professionals and preparation to achieve it from the improvement of the structures.

According to the per capita of 31.4 pounds of groceries and vegetables that arrive monthly in Las Tunas, according to the report presented, the Cuban Vice President promised that on his next visit he will go to the markets to verify if these products are available to everyone as it is said. "It is assumed that with the solution of cassava and sweet potatoes, these and other foods are found in those places and, above all, it is necessary to analyze prices behavior," he said.

Livestock has also very serious insufficiencies that prevent more meat and milk from being produced. Valdés Mesa pointed out that the panorama has become more complicated, and there are many violations and indiscipline that threaten the good development of the sector, besides theft and illegal slaughter of large cattle.

“Fidel made clear to us the livestock policy in this country. He worked on it, improved the genetics, transformed it, and in the 1970s, we had almost seven million heads of cattle; today we are around three million, and we don't know if that's really the figure, because there is barter, indiscipline, violations. I know that when a dairy farm is told that they are going to count them, the others lend cows, and ithere may becattle that have been counted three times when in reality it is only one,” he pointed out.

He also criticized that 80 percent of cattle ranching is in the hands of the private sector, contracts are lacking, the existing ones are not fulfilled, and there are many landless cattle owners.

Regarding the preparations for the next harvest, he insisted that the four sugar mills of the province must be ready on the established date; but the two that are going to produce sugar must have the guarantees to make a good harvest. "The Antonio Guiteras sugar mill must start producing alcohol on November 1st, to prove it well for sugar manufacture, complete the workforce, and achieve high yields and a correct milling performance."