2022 should be a good year for the members of the Romárico Cordero Credit and Service Cooperative (CCS, by its acronym in Spanish) in the municipality of Colombia. They have the will to make the most of the land and the commitment to produce more food for the population.

Las Tunas, Cuba.-In this statement, there are not only words. There is also shame, responsibility, and a lot of effort shared among all, because some more and some less, the farmers help each other to get ahead amid economic limitations and the drought that is worsening every day in the province of Las Tunas.

Gustavo Gesto Morera, president of the CCS and responsible for his farm, knows a lot about this. He defines the individual and collective challenges with a simple phrase: "Measures must be taken with those who do not comply, those who will not make the land produce cannot have it."

In other words, we have to work and that means getting up at dawn, taking care of the animals and sowing their feed, tending to the crops, delivering what has been agreed with the State and, especially, looking for alternatives in the face of the lack of chemical fertilizers and other important inputs.

"The cooperative is doing well for the moment. Some members defaulted because they had problems with births and that affected a lot. We plan to grow in mass and milk collection because this year we will incorporate a high number of heifers that were not there in 2021.
"Now the payment of 20.00 pesos per liter is a stimulus to cattlemen to encourage stockpiling. We want to buy more cattle and incorporate them into milking and we also have to solve the cleaning of the lands, some areas are not exploited one hundred percent."

The "Romárico Cordero" is a livestock unit; but currently, its members diversify production, not only with pasture and forage, which will be given to the cattle but with viands and grains, among other items.

"There is a large group of farmers who are joining this. They are even planting rice for their consumption and thus avoid having to buy this food at very expensive prices."

Incorporated to the Support Project for Agricultural Inter-cooperation (Apocoop), the members of the unit received several training actions and a mill that is in operation to process part of the feed consumed by the animals.

"It is already grinding. We placed it in my house because we still do not have the 220-volt current installed in the collective use lands. In due time we will put it there; but now the producers come and use it to grind cane, corn, dried fish, and others.

"Apocoop has benefited us and it should continue. We know that other resources may come to us at some point. We need irrigation systems, which is what the people are asking for to increase the crops. We have electricity and good wells, but only two systems in the cooperative.

The unit has seen a transformation, despite the COVID-19 disease and the fuel shortage, another issue that affects them significantly. Nevertheless, they maintain their willingness to produce more food, as is the case of Gesto Morera.

"I have 69 head of cattle and I have to incorporate 13 more heifers to the milk collection, so I plan to reach 20 thousand liters. This year I think we will eat some animals if the plans are fulfilled and there are no deaths. I hope there are no problems."