The failure of food policies, with a year without water in several localities and the collapse of the sugar crop are the most critical points
14ymedio, Havana, 13 June 2024 — On July 18, the government of Villa Clara will present to the National Assembly its 2023 management report, and so far this year, it will not delight the state leadership. The failure of food policies, with a year without water in several locations and the collapse of the sugar crop are the most critical points in the province. The officials, however, have said from the beginning that it is not their fault, but the “complex stage from the economic and social point of view” has affected them.
Among the sectors analyzed, food is the one that has hit bottom the hardest, and the problem starts in the fields. In 2023, only 46% of the land dedicated to food was planted, and the demand for fertilizers to meet the plan was covered by only 32%. In the plots for animal consumption, the planting covered only 62% of the hectares destined for these crops.
As a result, livestock and the breeding of free-range animals also suffered last year. The province’s milk plan achieved 21 million liters in 2023 and 1.3 million in the first quarter of 2024. In those same periods, the delivery of beef was, respectively, 66% and 109%; the higher numbers reflects figures that coincide with the livestock census and the ban on selling animals.
“The non-compliances are due to the (poor) quality of the feed, the aging of the laying hens and the delay in moving the flock”
Egg production did not reach what was planned either, and last year only 78.9% of the amount planned was collected. The data, however, are not surprising considering that the malnutrition of chickens was news at the end of that year in the official press. In the first months of 2024, however, the figure is even more alarming, since the debt was 4,581,400 units. “The non-compliances are due to the (poor) quality of the feed, the aging of the laying hens and the delay in moving the flock,” the document a