cuba

Question 1

location

Answer 1

~northern Caribbean sea
~gulf of Mexico

Question 2

basic info

Answer 2

~population - 11.02 mill
~hdi - 0.764
~12.8% suffer from food insecurity in 2022
~exists out of global communications

Question 3

backround of cuba

Answer 3

1. In the 1960s Cuban agriculture was heavily industrialised
2. When the USSR collapsed they lost more than 50% of their oil imports
3. They spend billions of dollars every year importing food into the country

Question 4

what percent self sufficient is Cuba in fruit and vegetables

Answer 4

90%

Question 5

what is the problem with state owned farms

Answer 5

They are inefficient, for example most tomatoes grown in 2012 rotted as state trucks failed to collect on time

Question 6

challenges facing cuban agriculture

Answer 6

1. Increased frequency of severe weather events due to global climate change
2. Sugar plantations with degraded soils
3. Lack of mechanisation
4. Shortage of foreign exchange needed to buy imported food
5. Inefficient state-owned farms
6. Insufficient food shops
7. The existence of a ‘black market’ for products

Question 7

changes since 1989

Answer 7

~daily calorie intake 1989-1993, 3012-2325
~now stands at 3300
~90% self sufficient in fresh fruit and veg
~in 2008 cuba spent 2.2$ billion on food imports including $700 million on rice and $250 million on powdered milk

Question 8

urban agriculture

Answer 8

~urban farmers organiponios : small scale co-operatives producing fruit and veg on urban waste ground
~food is supplied to people directly from market stalls
~around half of Havana’s demand for fruit and veg is supplied by 383,000 urban farms - employment around 140,000
~permaculture- food production in a closed loop that is sustainable
~vivero organiponico: flagship farm 11- hectare outskirts of Havana farm with 164 workers

Question 9

changes in land tenure

Answer 9

~large, inefficient state run farms have given over to small-scale co-operatives - thye comprise 10,000 acres of rent free land leased from the state
~15% of cubas arable land is now privately owned, aloowing farmers to make own choice and not depend on government
~Cuba has 6 million hectare’s of flat land

Question 10

new crops

Answer 10

~increasingly farmers are adopting drought resistant crops such as avocado, oranges and guava.
~crops resistant to wind and hurricane season like squash, sweet potato and yams are widely grown
~GM corn planted across 14 provinces

Question 11

support for farmers

Answer 11

~government has raised guaranteed prices
~programmes of local support - modernisation of agriculture - provides irrigation systems and rents equipment to drill bore holes