Cuban agriculture

Agriculture in Cuba has played an important part in the economy for several hundred years. Today, it contributes less than 10% to the gross domestic product (GDP), but it employs about 20% of the working population. About 30% of the country's land is used for crop cultivation.

The inefficient agricultural industry in Cuba has led to the need to import large amounts of beef and lard.Cuba now imports about 70–80% of all the food its people consume and 80–84% of the food it provides via the rations to the public. The rationing program accounts for about a third of the food energy the average Cuban consumes. However these affirmations are contested.

Cuba's agricultural history can be divided into five periods, reflecting Cuban history in general:

During each of these periods, agriculture in Cuba has confronted many and unique obstacles.

Before the revolution 1959, the agricultural sector in Cuba was largely oriented towards and dominated by the US economy. After the Cuban Revolution, the revolutionary government nationalised farmland, and the Soviet Union supported Cuban agriculture by paying premium prices for Cuba's main agricultural product, sugarcane, and by delivering fertilizers. Sugar was bought by the Soviets at more than five times the market price. 95% of its citrus crop was exported to the COMECON. On the other hand, the Soviets provided Cuba with 63% of its food imports and 90% of its petrol.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cuban agricultural sector faced a very difficult period. Cuba had to rely on sustainable farming methods. Agricultural production fell by 54% between 1989 and 1994. The government aimed to strengthen agricultural biodiversity by making a greater range of varieties of seed available to farmers. In the 1990s, the government prioritized food production and put focus on small farmers. Already in 1994, the government allowed farmers to sell their surplus product directly to the population. This was the first move to lift the state's monopoly on food distribution. Due to the shortage in artificial fertilizers and pesticides, Cuba's agricultural sector largely turned organic, with the Organopónicos playing a major role in this transition.

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