{"id":2437,"date":"2020-07-24T09:24:16","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T09:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=2437"},"modified":"2020-07-24T09:24:19","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T09:24:19","slug":"trump-administration-wants-to-deprive-cubans-of-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/trump-administration-wants-to-deprive-cubans-of-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration Wants to Deprive Cubans of Food"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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AppleMark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Food availability was the top concern of 21 percen<\/a>t of Cubans responding to a recent opinion survey. The question thus comes to the fore of how the U.S. economic blockade affects the supply of food that Cubans eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. State Department liked<\/a> the idea of a blockade in 1960 because it would lead to deprivation and suffering. That happened in 1992 with the so-called Cuban Democracy Act. Under that law, which is still in effect, foreign partners of U.S. companies are prohibited from exporting goods to Cuba, including food and agricultural supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food supply in Cuba is precarious now, along with Cuba\u2019s economy. What\u2019s going to happen will depend on how the government manages agriculture and the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the U.S. economic blockade is the crucial factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no quick fix for some problems. Sugarcane monoculture took a toll on soil fertility<\/a>. The woody marabou plant<\/a>, useful only for making charcoal and requiring heavy machinery to remove, has invaded 4.2 million acres of Cuban land \u2013 18 % of the total. Cuba has recently experienced severe drought conditions interspersed with intense rains and flooding; 60 percent of the land is at risk of desertification. The agricultural sector accounts for 40 percent of the financial losses due to hurricanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to one report<\/a>, disempowerment of women in rural areas \u201cimpedes progress in the agricultural sector.\u201d Agricultural work lacks appeal for many of Cuba\u2019s highly-schooled young people. More Cubans live in cities these days \u2013 77 percent<\/a> of the population \u2013 and the burden of feeding them has increased accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuba has long had to import 60-80 percent of food that is consumed there \u2013 at an annual cost of $2 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beginning in 2008, Cuba\u2019s government instituted economic changes affecting the entire society, agriculture included. The government and Communist Party fashioned ambitious documents that outlined comprehensive reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2008, private individuals and collectives gained long-term usage rights to small tracts of land. Now some 500,000 new, independent farmers work 4.9 million acres of agricultural land. The 5.93 million acres worked by these and other private farmers account for almost 80 percent of Cuba\u2019s domestically produced food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The largest class of farmers, the UBPC cooperatives, heirs of the dismembered state farms, control 8.42 million acres<\/a> of Cuba\u2019s total of 15.56 million acres of arable land; 1.16 million<\/a> acres remain idle and unfarmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new private farmers ought to be producing \u201ceven more food<\/a>,\u201d says one observer. Supplies, equipment, spare parts, fertilizers, and seeds provided by state agencies are often unavailable<\/a>, delayed, or of low quality. Access to credit and insurance<\/a> may be limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuban farmers face gasoline and diesel fuel shortages, mainly because of drastically reduced shipments from Venezuelan oil producers, the result of U.S. anti-Venezuela sanctions. The resulting decrease in food production in May 2019 led the authorities to bolster food rationing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food distribution is inefficient. The National Union of [food] Collection, otherwise known as the \u201cAcopio,<\/em>\u201d is the Agriculture Ministry\u2019s agency that is in charge of distributing food. Problems include delayed payments to producers, inadequate storage facilities, transportation delays, regional variations in service, and \u201ccumbersome<\/a>\u201d criteria for defining food quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Acopio<\/em> operates 400 state agricultural markets and 1200 other food-selling facilities. Consumers experience long wait times, variable quality, and frequent non-availability of desired food products. Vendors setting their own prices often reserve<\/a> higher-quality food for consumers who pay with the convertible currency used by tourists. Cubans relying on rationed food may be left with lower quality food and smaller amounts, and then face high prices for food they still need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some government efforts at bolstering food supplies for urban populations recall the ecologically-oriented initiatives introduced after the fall of the Soviet Bloc, during the Special Period. They bear names like \u201cProgram for Municipal Self-supply;\u201d \u201cthe Program of Urban, Suburban, and Family Agriculture\u201d (for growing food in small spaces), and the \u201cProgram of Local Support for Agricultural Modernization,\u201d for 37 municipalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking in<\/a> February, President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel called for local self-sufficiency and for the Acopio<\/em> to collect farm products promptly and thoroughly. With more food arriving at markets, he suggested, the state could regain control over food sales and prices and thus push out speculators and black marketeers. Later D\u00edaz-Canel spoke approvingly<\/a> of producers bypassing the Acopio<\/em> and selling at local markets. Discussion is taking place about the \u201cparticipation<\/a> of other state and non-state actors\u201d in the Acopio<\/em> system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing the examples of Vietnam and China \u2013 socialist countries that export food \u2013 reformers are proposing that remittances<\/a> from Cubans living abroad be invested in food production and that way promote farmers\u2019 autonomy. D\u00edaz-Canel recently advocated greater involvement of scientists and academicians in food production<\/a>, just as with the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official response to food-supply problems may at times lack focus and coherence. To the extent that such is the case, it has to stem largely from a regimen of shortages cemented in place, courtesy of the U.S. economic blockade. To learn that planners are often stymied would be no surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While government officials deliberate and farmers and consumers complain, a U.S. presence hovers, specter-like, in the background. It\u2019s there as officials look abroad to transfer money, secure credit, import food, and seek foreign investment. It\u2019s in the room when they want to import farm machinery, tools, spare parts, premium seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, purebred livestock. and hydrocarbon fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. pressures on foreign financial institutions are unrelenting. Foreign suppliers face merciless penalties if they ship agricultural supplies to Cuba, particularly if they are associated with U.S. companies or if their goods contain some tiny U.S. component.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One imagines, moreover, that recriminations and even animosities crop up whenever agricultural ventures end up badly or when food is short. An undercurrent of anti-government ideas may develop. That would be precisely the object of what the U.S. government does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source counterpunch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Food availability was the top concern of 21 percent of Cubans responding to a recent opinion survey. The question thus comes to the fore of how […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101011,"featured_media":2439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-aggression"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5927,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cubans-will-not-forget-u-s-treachery\/","url_meta":{"origin":2437,"position":0},"title":"Cubans Will Not Forget U.S. Treachery","author":"Editorial Team","date":"February 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Is the U.S. in a position to maintain the embargo upon the pretext of bringing democracy to Cuba with its record in destabilising secure states, even those upholding democracy? Economic sanctions against Cuba were discussed in April 1960 by the U.S. government. If the U.S. found it impossible to counter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "US Aggression"","block_context":{"text":"US Aggression","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/usa\/us-aggression\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/lacaballeriacorrales-721x483-2.jpeg?fit=721%2C483&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/lacaballeriacorrales-721x483-2.jpeg?fit=721%2C483&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/lacaballeriacorrales-721x483-2.jpeg?fit=721%2C483&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/lacaballeriacorrales-721x483-2.jpeg?fit=721%2C483&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4880,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/six-ways-the-cruel-u-s-blockade-makes-cubans-suffer\/","url_meta":{"origin":2437,"position":1},"title":"Six ways the cruel U.S. blockade makes Cubans suffer","author":"Editorial Team","date":"July 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The United States, a country with a $20 trillion economy, is waging a full-scale economic war against an island whose economy equals half of one percent of that \u2014 Cuba. The war has been going on for 60 years. It began shortly after the 1959 revolution to punish Cuba for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "US Aggression"","block_context":{"text":"US Aggression","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/usa\/us-aggression\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7062-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7062-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7062-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7062-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7062-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8124,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/how-does-the-us-blockade-affect-food-production-in-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":2437,"position":2},"title":"How Does the US blockade Affect Food Production in Cuba?","author":"Editorial Team","date":"June 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"milk products. \u201cWhat would we Cubans achieve if the blockade did not exist? This genocidal policy that intends to bend our sovereign will by hunger must cease. They will never succeed,\u201d the minister concluded.","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/cuban-street-1-1.jpeg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/cuban-street-1-1.jpeg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/cuban-street-1-1.jpeg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/cuban-street-1-1.jpeg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4152,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/an-unstoppable-wave-against-the-blockade-of-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":2437,"position":3},"title":"An Unstoppable Wave against the Blockade of Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"April 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Pedro Mart\u00ednez P\u00edrez on April 26, 2021 This past Sunday, and in spite of the COVID pandemic, many people around the world once again came out against the U.S. blockade of Cuba.\u00a0 And for the first time, a regatta was held in front of the Havana seawall with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_0325.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_0325.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_0325.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_0325.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4968,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/the-reality-on-the-ground-in-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":2437,"position":4},"title":"The reality on the ground in Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"August 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hear about the realities on the ground for people living in Cuba, and the destruction that the US blockade and Trump's 243 additional sanctions have wrought on the Cuban people. The goal of the US unilateral blockade (voted against at the UN annually) is to deprive Cubans of basic food\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2021-08-03-at-15.54.50.png?fit=773%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2021-08-03-at-15.54.50.png?fit=773%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2021-08-03-at-15.54.50.png?fit=773%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2021-08-03-at-15.54.50.png?fit=773%2C436&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8508,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/in-cubas-report-us-blockade-comes-off-as-weapon-of-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":2437,"position":5},"title":"In Cuba\u2019s Report, US Blockade Comes Off as Weapon of War","author":"Editorial Team","date":"October 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Photo by\u00a0Jeremy Stewardson Cuba\u2019s foreign ministry annually reports on the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba and its recent impact mostly in order to enlighten delegates of the United Nations General Assembly prior to voting on a Cuban resolution.\u00a0\u00a0For 31 consecutive years the General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution claiming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-23.06.16-1.png?fit=677%2C428&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-23.06.16-1.png?fit=677%2C428&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-23.06.16-1.png?fit=677%2C428&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xdTY-Dj","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/cuban-flag-street.jpeg?fit=1365%2C910&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101011"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}