Cuban President Raul Castro participated in the closing ceremony of Tenth Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) held in Havana over the weekend. Raul Castro told the delegates that the Cuban Revolution, Communist Party and government were confident in the farmers and its most important duty: producing food for the people.

ANAP delegates said that to eliminate the current deficiencies in Cuban food production requires planning and discipline.

ANAP President Orlando Lugo Fonte presented a summary of the main report that was discussed among the delegates, after which the conclusions from each of the three working commissions, in session on Saturday, were presented.

The documents set out ANAP’s main objectives for the next mandate period as well as a set of recommendations to improve actions to increase food production and import substitution.

The president of the 26 de Julio Credit and Service Cooperative (CCS) in Banes, Holguin, Alfredo Guerrero, spoke about the importance of profitable cooperatives. He added that non-profitable cooperatives mean that its members do not respect the established organizational and economical principles. “We cannot waste production potentials because of a lack of will or planning.”

The delegates stressed the need to improve marketing mechanisms related to contracting. In this regard, delegates spoke about the need for better regulatory control over contracts.

Lidia Ester, ANAP president in Fomento, Sancti Spiritus, spoke about experiences in her territory regarding production diversification, indicating the importance of promoting fruit production, a production which allows for crop interspersion.

Ester also spoke about the need to increase the production of natural fertilizers, which are more economic and allows for more extensive use of organic fertilizers.

Among the new guidelines are to increase cattle production by 85% in each cooperative, an area that is generally quite poor in Cuba.

Emphasis was made on the importance of attracting more workers to the agriculture sector. Different territories presented recent results in their campaigns to attract workers, especially young people.

Delegates Ana Bueno, from the Cuba Socialista CPA in Madruga, and Yolanda Quesada from Cienfuegos, spoke about the participation of women in the agriculture sector and confirmed that the Revolution can always rely on their willingness and disposition. They also pointed out the importance of preparing new generations to take charge of future projects of the farmer’s organization.

The closing remarks were made by the Minister of Economy and Planning Marino Murillo, who spoke about the patriotic tradition of ANAP congresses and recalled several moments of Cuba’s revolutionary process, in which ANAP has always been an important component.

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