Cuban Government Increases Payments to Potato Farmers
The Cuban government has approved an increase in payments to farmers who harvest potatoes and deliver them to the state. The new resolution from the Ministry of Agriculture, published in the Official Gazette, maintains the retail price of potatoes at $11.00 CUP per pound.
Under the new payment rates, potatoes harvested with national seeds will be paid at $1,204 CUP per quintal, while those grown with imported seeds will be paid $839.00 CUP per quintal. This increase in payment rates is attributed to the rise in prices of fundamental inputs for potato production, according to official information from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The resolution also emphasizes that “the State cannot afford to generate losses or provide subsidies to producers,” and empowers the ministry to modify the prices at which the state-owned Acopio buys food from farmers. It also confirms that “the margin for the wholesale marketing of potatoes will be shared between the parties by mutual agreement.”
Looking ahead to the 2024 potato harvest, the Agriculture website in Cuba has forecasted a goal of planting 5,260 hectares of potatoes to obtain an estimated production of 107,014 tons. Of the projected hectares, 900 will have national seeds, and the rest will have imported seeds.
According to agricultural experts, the yields in the country for the last 5 campaigns have exceeded 21.53 tons per hectare in total. The agricultural experts also revealed that in the past 40 years, 11,964 hectares of potatoes have been planted in Cuba.
With these new payment rates and forecasts for the upcoming harvest, Cuban potato farmers are gearing up for an important period in the country’s agriculture sector.