The agricultural production cooperative (CPA) Calixto Sarduy Arcia, of Becerra, in the municipality of Las Tunas, treasures economic and social results in favor of the community that should be multiplied among its counterparts in the province.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- It was the venue of the CPA Meeting, which was attended by presidents of the boards of directors and representatives of the grassroots organizations of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), along with the main political and governmental authorities of the province.
"We have more than 1,200 hectares," said Reydenis González Céspedes, head of the unit, "and except for one hectare in the orchard and another in the soil polygon, all lack irrigation systems. Drought is the biggest problem we have now.
"Nevertheless, we fulfill the productive plans for milk and beef, which is our mission, and through different alternatives, we plant some miscellaneous crops, especially cassava, and vegetables. Most of these productions are sold directly to the population residing in the surrounding area.
"The cooperative's hands are all over the neighborhood and we attend to 14 social cases with what we can. We don't give up here. The soils are between regular and bad; but, we look for solutions with the application of compost and worm humus, in addition to Ecomic."
Rafael Antonio García Ramayo, in charge of the small plant located in Becerra, explained the virtues of this natural product in grains, cassava, sweet potato, plantain, and coffee, among other crops. "We have made calculations and with eight tons we can satisfy the demand of the 42 CPAs in the province."
Other experiences that were generalized have to do with the link between ANAP and the management of the units. In this case, the relationship between the factors in the "Julio Díaz", in Majibacoa, stands out, as Yanet Martínez Hidalgo, from the grassroots organization, said.
"We organize all the processes according to the integral management of the cooperative, which includes the productive, economic, political, and social spheres in the community. Communication must prevail so that all the activities can be carried out, the peasant patrols, the visits to the cutting platoon, to the livestock module... The interest is to always work together."
Also in Majibacoa, there are good experiences in "Frank País", a cooperative whose forces are gradually diminishing. However, according to its president, Norge Verdecia Sánchez, they maintain excellent results in attending to their neighbors.
"We are a sugarcane cooperative and although we are not satisfied with the yields, we already reach 34 tons per hectare. However, that is not our only function, as we guarantee attention to the associates and 240 residents in the community."
"We grow viands and vegetables that we sell at very low prices. We also have a livestock module with numerous specimens of all species, including rabbits. We recently suffered an outbreak of viral hemorrhagic disease and they all died. Nevertheless, we already have a new breeding stock."
In the CPA Alianza Obrero-Campesina, of "Amancio", the success is in the operational contacts with the heads of areas. Its president Jorge Carmenate Pérez, who regretted not having more areas to put into food production, expressed this.
"We are livestock farmers and we plant various crops. Now the goal is to increase yields to have more production on the same amount of land. That is why we prioritize seed selection and soil conservation. In livestock, we are working on milk production and bull fattening."
Intense drought, lack of inputs, and organizational problems in some units prevent us from making better use of the land owned by the CPAs, which amounts to more than 37,763 hectares. Of these, more than 1,381 are poorly exploited.
Manuel René Pérez Gallego, member of the Central Committee of the Party and first secretary in the province, called to remedy this difficulty, insisting that conditions must be created so that people remain in rural areas, where today 32.8 percent of the population lives.
He urged those present to apply science and technological innovation and to establish prices consistent with production costs. He also recognized the contribution of these structures for more than 40 years in favor of feeding the Las Tunas people.
The representatives of the territory to the national meeting of CPAs to be held soon were selected, and the most outstanding units in the transformation of the peasant communities, the sugarcane program, forestry development, and other indicators were recognized.
