Tens Of Thousands Of Cubans Seeking Farm Land
Cuba has around 250,000 family farms and 1,100 private cooperatives, but
they till less than one third of the land.
Tens Of Thousands Of Cubans Seeking Farm Land
Published: November 17, 2008 20:24h
Cubans are applying for land by the tens of thousands for the first time
since the 1960s as part of the Communist government's reform of the
state-dominated agriculture sector, a top farm leader said.
The president of the National Association of Small Farmers, Orlando Lugo
Fonte, told members at a meeting in eastern Guantanamo province that
some 80,000 land requests have been made by workers, private farmers,
cooperatives and state companies since applications began in September.
Lugo's comment, reported in state-run media on Sunday, was the first to
give any national data for the land lease program, though he did not say
how much land had been requested, how much had been leased so far or to
whom it had been given.
The land is supposed to be granted from 45 to 100 days after
application, but three hurricanes and the Caribbean island's state
bureaucracy have slowed the process, according to sources.
Cuba has not handed out land on such a large scale since shortly after
the 1959 revolution when large landholdings were nationalized and some
of the acreage given to small farmers.
The current program is part of President Raul Castro's agricultural
reform aimed at increasing domestic food production and decreasing
reliance on imports.
It allows private farmers who have been productive to lease up to 99
acres (40 hectares) of land for 10 years, with the possibility of
renewing for another 10.
Cooperatives and state farms also can request unspecified amounts of
additional land to work for 25 years, with the possibility of renewing
for another 25.
Cuba has around 250,000 family farms and 1,100 private cooperatives, but
they till less than one third of the land.
The remainder of the land is owned by the state, and half of that lies
fallow.
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