Low Harvest Yields Force Sugarcane Producers to Diversify Crops in Jovellanos.
This limitation has forced sugarcane producers in Jovellanos municipality to diversify their production to include crops such as plantains, cassava, corn, beans, rice, sweet potatoes, and taro.
The National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) in Jovellanos municipality reported that the Arturo Suárez and Evelio Valenzuela Agricultural Production Cooperatives (CPA) have not achieved the same sugarcane harvesting yields as during the previous harvest season.
This situation is part of a sustained downward trend due to the decrease in the area cultivated with sugarcane in the region.
Among the main causes of this poor performance are the shortage of agricultural inputs such as fumigants, fertilizers, fuel, and spare parts for machinery. These last two factors have been the most critical, to the point that one of the two combine harvesters owned by the municipal ANAP remains out of service due to lack of maintenance.
The Biopurpose Business Unit of Spain, the entity to which the affected agricultural cooperatives (CPAs) contribute their production, has provided logistical support, although this is insufficient given the current national economic situation.
This limitation has forced the sugarcane cooperatives in the municipality to diversify their production toward crops with lower technological requirements and higher yields, such as plantains, cassava, corn, beans, rice, sweet potatoes, and taro. This strategy not only allows them to generate alternative income but also contribute to meeting the food needs of the local population.
Written by Yannier Delgado Díaz.
