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Agriculture in Cuba
Agriculture in Cuba has played an important part in the economy for several hundred years. Today, it contributes less than 10% to the gross domestic product (GDP), but it employs about 20% of the working population. About 30% of the country's land is used for crop cultivation.
Cuba's agricultural history can be divided into five periods, reflecting Cuban history in general:
During each of these periods, agriculture in Cuba has confronted unique obstacles.
Agriculture in Spanish colonial Cuba resulted in rapid deforestation. Naval and agricultural enterprises both needed wood and in 1815 the Spanish Crown gave sugar planters the right to clear land at will. Large amounts of forests were cleared to provide land for growing sugarcane and top use wood for energy in mills.
Before the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the agricultural sector in Cuba was largely oriented towards and dominated by the US economy. The revolutionary government seized all large private and foreign plantations and distributed the seized lands to approximately 200,000 farmers who received title to the small parcels on this they worked. The remaining land was organized into state-controlled cooperatives in 1961 and in 1962 cooperatives were converted into state farms with cooperative members becoming state employees. These state employees also retained small collective parcels for their own use.
The majority of farms in Cuba were state-owned in the 1960s. State ownership of farms declined over time, as state farms were converted into agricultural cooperatives – UBPCs (Unidad Básica de Producción Cooperativa; Basic Units of Cooperative Production) and CPAs (Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria; Agricultural Production Cooperativers).
The Soviet Union supported Cuban agriculture by paying premium prices for Cuba's main agricultural product, sugarcane, and by delivering fertilizers. Sugar was bought by the Soviets at more than five times the market price. 95% of its citrus crop was exported to the Comecon countries. The Soviets provided Cuba with 63% of its food imports and 90% of its petrol.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cuban agricultural sector faced a very difficult period. The sugar industry was one of the more highly mechanized sectors of the Cuban economy, and its machinery came from the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany. After the disintegration of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, spare parts became increasingly hard to come by.
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Agriculture in Cuba
Agriculture in Cuba has played an important part in the economy for several hundred years. Today, it contributes less than 10% to the gross domestic product (GDP), but it employs about 20% of the working population. About 30% of the country's land is used for crop cultivation.
Cuba's agricultural history can be divided into five periods, reflecting Cuban history in general:
During each of these periods, agriculture in Cuba has confronted unique obstacles.
Agriculture in Spanish colonial Cuba resulted in rapid deforestation. Naval and agricultural enterprises both needed wood and in 1815 the Spanish Crown gave sugar planters the right to clear land at will. Large amounts of forests were cleared to provide land for growing sugarcane and top use wood for energy in mills.
Before the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the agricultural sector in Cuba was largely oriented towards and dominated by the US economy. The revolutionary government seized all large private and foreign plantations and distributed the seized lands to approximately 200,000 farmers who received title to the small parcels on this they worked. The remaining land was organized into state-controlled cooperatives in 1961 and in 1962 cooperatives were converted into state farms with cooperative members becoming state employees. These state employees also retained small collective parcels for their own use.
The majority of farms in Cuba were state-owned in the 1960s. State ownership of farms declined over time, as state farms were converted into agricultural cooperatives – UBPCs (Unidad Básica de Producción Cooperativa; Basic Units of Cooperative Production) and CPAs (Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria; Agricultural Production Cooperativers).
The Soviet Union supported Cuban agriculture by paying premium prices for Cuba's main agricultural product, sugarcane, and by delivering fertilizers. Sugar was bought by the Soviets at more than five times the market price. 95% of its citrus crop was exported to the Comecon countries. The Soviets provided Cuba with 63% of its food imports and 90% of its petrol.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cuban agricultural sector faced a very difficult period. The sugar industry was one of the more highly mechanized sectors of the Cuban economy, and its machinery came from the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany. After the disintegration of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, spare parts became increasingly hard to come by.