Cuba distributes farm land to boost crops, food

[Judi Lynn]

Cuba distributes farm land to boost crops, food
ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press Writer
February 6, 2009 3:17 PM

HAVANA (AP) - Cuba's communist government announced Friday it has turned over to small farmers fallow land equivalent to six times the area of New York City and predicted a rebound in agricultural output this year.

In a full-page story on farming in the Communist Party newspaper Granma, officials announced the distribution of 1,827 square miles (4,730 sq. kilometers) of unused state land to Cubans with agricultural experience or other private citizens.

The newspaper previously reported that as of Jan. 22, the government had distributed 45,518 parcels of land without specifying the total area.

The land redistribution is Cuba's biggest in decades and was designed by the government of Raul Castro, who succeeded brother Fidel Castro as head of state nearly a year ago. He is under increasing pressure to slash food imports, which cost the island more than $2 billion in 2008.

Thousands of small farmers kept their plots after Fidel Castro took power in 1959 and still grow much of Cuba's food. But at large farms taken over by communist planners, output has dwindled. About half of the country's arable land is now underused.

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In a full-page story on farming in the Communist Party newspaper Granma, officials announced the distribution of 1,827 square miles (4,730 sq. kilometers) of unused state land to Cubans with agricultural experience or other private citizens.

The newspaper previously reported that as of Jan. 22, the government had distributed 45,518 parcels of land without specifying the total area.

The land redistribution is Cuba's biggest in decades and was designed by the government of Raul Castro, who succeeded brother Fidel Castro as head of state nearly a year ago. He is under increasing pressure to slash food imports, which cost the island more than $2 billion in 2008.

Thousands of small farmers kept their plots after Fidel Castro took power in 1959 and still grow much of Cuba's food. But at large farms taken over by communist planners, output has dwindled. About half of the country's arable land is now underused.

More:
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