Cuban vice-president exchanges on food production and the harvest in Matanzas.

On the preparation for sugar production in the province, the Cuban vice-president said that sugar milling in Matanzas will begin next December, in spite of the multiple inconveniences presented in the repairs.

Cuban Vice-President Salvador Valdés Mesa, exchanged on Wednesday in Matanzas with authorities responsible for food production and the sugar harvest in the province.

During the meeting, the leader learned about the actions developed to guarantee the cold planting campaign. In this regard, Rebeca Fundora Águila, coordinator of objectives and programs of the provincial government, informed that planting has already exceeded 93 percent of the more than 28 thousand hectares committed.

These objectives are reflected in the fulfillment of the planting of viands, with emphasis on sweet potato, cassava, malanga and plantain. However, more effort is needed from producers for vegetables, fruits and grains.

Regarding the upcoming potato planting campaign, the province of Matanzas has planned to plant more than 770 hectares, in which twelve productive forms of agriculture and areas of several Matanzas municipalities are committed, including the Zapata Swamp, which returns with the experience of agroecological potato.

The also member of the Political Bureau reflected on the importance of guaranteeing stable irrigation in the midst of the complex energy situation. «The potato has guaranteed seed and the technological package, despite this, the province must ensure irrigation. Potatoes must have water. Decisions must be made and alternatives must be sought in the face of the lack of energy to comply with production plans,» he stressed.

Another deep analysis was developed about the production of meat and milk in the province, items that still the territory of Matanzas does not meet. In this regard, Fundora Aguila explained that, among other difficulties, the sale of milk to the industry has been affected by more than four million liters and the daily collection of the last weeks does not meet the demand of the family basket of the province.

The Cuban vice-president stressed the importance of eliminating non-payments to producers and solving the financial capital problems of the Dairy Products Company, as well as applying science and innovation alternatives to the recurring technical problems in the industry and those related to transportation.

«It is necessary to achieve linkages with other forms of management and other state entities that allow diversifying the Company’s offerings. It is necessary to achieve that the capitalization of an upcoming bank credit is reverted in a sustained economic growth and that milk and other products are guaranteed to the people of Matanzas», said Mario Sabines Lorenzo, first secretary of the Party in the province.

«Control is very important, just as the defects in contracting must be resolved. Whoever has land, regardless of the form of ownership, has the responsibility to contract the productions, but that process must be accompanied by a strict control by the structures of the Government, ANAP and Agriculture», Valdés Mesa reflected.

Regarding the preparation for sugar production in the province, the Cuban vice-president informed that milling in Matanzas will start next December, in spite of the many inconveniences in the repairs.

Jorge Pablo Santana, coordinator of the AZCUBA Business Group in the province, informed about the intense work being carried out in the mills and boilers of the Jesús Sablón Moreno plant, in Calimete, especially in view of the problems with electric energy and the guarantee of industrial gases.

Likewise, Valdés Mesa learned about the actions being developed in Matanzas to ensure the cutting of sugarcane and the transportation of raw material, the fulfillment of the sowing and the alternatives to guarantee the attention to workers, technical personnel and specialists.

Written by Gabriel Torres.