TWN Info Service on Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge
(Feb17/05)
13 February 2017
Third World Network
Cuba: Seeds are key to improving bean production
Published in SUNS #8399 dated 10 February 2017
Havana, Jan (IPS/Ivet Gonzalez) -- "You have to have good and varied seeds
to test which one adapts best to each kind of soil," says 71-year-old
farmer Ruben Torres, who on his farm in central Cuba harvests 1.6 tons of
organic beans every year, among other crops.
The importance that Torres places on seeds in order for the agricultural sector
to meet local demand for beans, a staple of the Cuban diet, coincides with the
assessment by researchers consulted by IPS, who propose promoting genetic
improvement and the production of other kinds of legumes.
After two decades of selecting seeds, Torres produces and sells four varieties
of black beans, four kinds of red beans and one kind of white bean.
"And I have eight varieties for family consumption and for scientific
research," he told IPS.
Located in a livestock farming area on the outskirts of the city of Santa
Clara, 268 km east of Havana, Torres' plot of land is unusual in the area
because he devotes most of his 17 hectares to growing beans and rice, which
form the basis of the diet of the 11.2 million people in this Caribbean island
nation.
Banos de Marrero, as his family farm is called, also has avocado and coconut
trees and crops of maize and tomatoes.
Other portions are covered with seedbeds and garden beds badly in need of
repair where Torres produces 20 tons of ecological fertiliser from worm
castings.
"When farmers go to plant they often don't have seeds. That's why I always
give some of mine to those who need them. Without quality seeds, you can't
succeed," said Torres, a participant in the Programme for Local Agrarian
Innovation (PIAL), which since 2000 has helped empower farmers in 45 of the
country's 168 municipalities.
"There is a public company that sells seeds," but in his opinion,
"to get really good ones farmers have to guarantee them themselves."
With the support of the Swiss development cooperation agency and the
coordination of the state National Institute of Agricultural Science, PIAL
started to teach family farmers in western Cuba how to obtain and select their
own seeds.
It has expanded and now is promoting participation by women and young people in
farming.
"Without quality seeds, you really can't make progress in terms of
productivity," agronomist Tomas Shagarodsky told IPS about a key aspect in
raising yields in bean crops in Cuba, where there is potential for growing many
more beans.
As part of the government's agricultural reforms implemented since 2008,
incentives were put in place for the production of beans, with the aim of
boosting the surface area devoted to this crop in the different kinds of
agricultural production units: state-run farms, cooperatives, and small private
farms.
Between 2009 and 2014, the country grew on average 126,650 hectares per year of
beans, obtaining an average of 118,830 tons. In 1996, 38,000 hectares yielded
9,000 tons of beans.
Now, the Agriculture Ministry's Agro-Industrial Grains Group seeks to increase
bean production between 15 and 20 per cent a year, in order to meet domestic demand
and lower the high cost of beans in the farmers' markets that operate according
to the law of supply and demand.
"Cuba currently has extensive bean crops, but it hasn't reached its full
yield potential," said Shagarodsky.
To achieve better harvests, he said the sector must solve "structural
problems" such as shortages of resources, labour power and equipment, and
more complex issues related to climate change and water scarcity.
In that sense, Shagarodsky, an agronomist and researcher at the state "Alejandro
de Humboldt" Tropical Agriculture Research Institute (INIFAT), pointed out
a vulnerability that is rarely discussed.
"We need young professionals devoted to improving seeds," he said at
INIFAT headquarters, located in the poor outskirts of Santiago de las Vegas, 18
km south of Havana.
"The stock of improved seeds has shrunk because the breeders who used to
do this job have retired, have died or have left," said Shagarodsky,
surrounded by the unpainted walls and deteriorated ceilings of the INIFAT
central offices.
"That has to change and more attractive salaries have to be paid," he
said.
In live collections and cold chambers, INIFAT preserves the largest quantity of
genetic resources in Cuba.
In its germplasm bank it keeps 3,250 of the 18,433 samples safeguarded in the
entire national network of institutions that share this mission. Legumes
constitute 46 per cent of the resources preserved by INIFAT.
The institution safeguards 1,465 varieties of pulses, including pigeon peas
(Cajanus cajan), peanuts, chickpeas, soybeans, lentils, peas and green beans
(Phaseolus vulgaris).
In recognition of the important work it carries out, INIFAT was chosen in
December to host the activities to end the International Year of Pulses, as
2016 was declared by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO).
FAO representative in Cuba Theodor Friedrich pointed out at this event that
pulses contribute to food security in two senses: they have high protein value
and they naturally fertilise soil with nitrogen.
In addition, he said that "growing pulses is the only way to add nitrogen
to the soil without resorting to fertilisers. And they have important
nutritional properties," such as zero cholesterol and gluten, and high
content of iron, zinc and other nutrients.
For these and other reasons, FAO promotes the cultivation of pulses in the
western provinces of Pinar del Rio and Artemisa, in a project aimed at
strengthening local capacities to sustainably produce bio-fortified basic
grains adapted to climate change, including several kinds of pulses, by 2018.
"We eat all kind of pulses, from beans to chickpeas and lentils. They are
very important for children because they fall under the category of vegetable
proteins," Misalis Cobo, who lives with her six-year-old son in the Havana
neighbourhood of Cerro, told IPS.
"We get beans from the ration card and the rest I buy in markets and
stores," said the 37-year-old self-employed worker.
"I can afford these purchases although they are expensive because they
stretch a long way for us since it's just my son and me. But [for] large
low-income families, they're expensive," she said.
Each person in Cuba receives a small monthly quota of beans at subsidised
prices through the ration card.
But to feed the family for an entire month, more beans and other pulses are
needed, and must be bought at the state and private agricultural markets, and
stores that sell imported goods.
Prices range from 0.5 cents of a dollar up to 1.2 dollars for half a kilogram
of pulses, in a country where the average income is 23 dollars a month in the
public sector, Cuba's biggest employer by far.
LATIN AMERICA, THE BEAN POWERHOUSE
The countries of Latin America account for more than 45 per cent of global
production of beans, according to FAO figures.
The drought in recent years has hurt the yields of beans, which are a staple
for the diet and economy of small farmers in the region.
Archeological studies reveal that beans are native to the Americas, with
evidence dating back to 5,000 to 8,000 years. Mexico and Peru dispute the claim
of being the birthplace of beans. +