Faced with permanent harassment on his farm in Cardenas, Matanzas, Ernesto is considering selling his animals and abandoning the country
By Julio Cesar Contreras (14ymedio)
HAVANA TIMES – Ernesto has had Spanish nationality since 2008 (as many thousands of Cubans have acquired) and in recent years he has traveled to Spain a few times, but he always returns. In Cuba, specifically in Cardenas, Matanzas, he manages a livestock farm in which he also cultivates some land with vegetables which would be very difficult for him to part with. Until now, as a producer, he had been able to get by – although he acknowledges that “it has not been easy” – but the situation that farmers and ranchers are experiencing has led him to consider selling his animals and permanently leaving the country.
“A few years ago, I managed, with a lot of effort, to obtain three caballerias of land [roughly 100 acres total]. I had to go see the delegate of Agriculture in Matanzas so that they would give me this property in usufruct [a form of leasing]. After many efforts I achieved it. However, my goal developing livestock has cost me dearly,” the 58-year-old farmer confesses to this newspaper.
Between cows, bulls and calves, Ernesto has a total of 67 heads of cattle on his farm, distributed in two barns or dairy houses. “I initially thought of dedicating part of the land to livestock production and the other part to the cultivation of some vegetables, but the difficulties in obtaining the necessary resources have prevented me from moving forward,” he explains.
According to the rancher, about half of his pasture, with useful land, remains unused. “Where can I buy machetes, rakes or gloves to deal with the weeds? Where are the supplies that guarantee that we guajiros can take care of the land and the animals? These years I have seen everything: campesino stores, projects with foreign financing, sales of some products in MLC (magnetic dollars). But these are just insufficient attempts to help producers and they have all come to nothing.
