Agricultural Reforms, Land Distribution, and Non-Sugar Agricultural Production in Cuba

Abstract

Acopio, which is officially known as the Unión Nacional de Acopio (UNA), currently operates under the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) and consists of 12 enterprises (empresas nacionales) and 15 basic enterprise units (Unidades Empresariales de Base-UEBs) that operate nationwide, except in the provinces of Artemisa, Mayabeque, and Havana, and in the Isle of Youth, where the direct commercialization of selected agricultural products is permitted (Martín González, 2018). Acopio supplies an estimated 400 state-run agricultural markets (Mercados Agropecuarios Estatales-MAEs) and some 1,200 agricultural sales outlets (puntos de venta) on daily basis with domestic agricultural products, which are collected from state farmers, agricultural cooperatives, and private producers (e.g., independent farmers and usufructuraries) (Martín González, 2018).

Agrarian Policy Changes and the Evolution of Land Tenure in Cuba

“…The most important include an uncertain legal environment (e.g. the relatively short-term and renewable nature of usufruct contracts, the risk of contract cancellation by the state for failure to , 2007, 2017. fulfil the terms of the usufruct contact or meet its "social requirements"), insufficient access to essential inputs mainly due to the inexistence of input markets, inadequate access to essential technology and modern production techniques, limited access to credit and other sources of financing, a fragmented and inefficient supply chain, the poor state of Cuba's public infrastructure, communications and transportation networks, excessive bureaucracy and government regulations, and the exodus of labour to other (more dynamic) sectors of the Cuban economy (Mesa-Lago et al, 2018;Gonz alez-Corzo, 2019;Thiemann & Spoor, 2019).…”

“…In the case of Cuba, while the measures to decentralise agricultural commercialisation and procurement introduced between 2011 and 2015 have resulted in moderate increases in the availability of (certain) agricultural products, positive externalities (in the form of stronger linkages with other sectors of the economy) and measurable increases in the incomes of agricultural households, deeper structural changes are necessary to improve the current system of agricultural commercialisation and procurement (Garc ıa Alvarez & Gonz alez Aguila, 2016;Mesa-Lago et al, 2018;Gonz alez-Corzo, 2019). Some of the most important policy measures necessary to achieve this objective include (i) diversifying existing forms of agricultural commercialisation and procurement by allowing non-state actors to play a greater roleparticularly in key areas such as intermediation, storage and transportation; (ii) expand access to diverse forms of credit financing for all types of activities related to agricultural commercialisation and procurement; (iii) facilitating the expansion of input markets where agricultural producers can obtain essential inputs at prices that correspond with their real purchasing power; and (iv) authorising foreign investment in agriculture and the insertion of agricultural producers in global supply chains (Garc ıa Alvarez & Gonz alez Aguila, 2016;Mesa-Lago et al, 2018;Gonz alez-Corzo, 2019). Lesson 4: Credit constraints substantially lower the value of agricultural output and have a negative impact on the incomes of agricultural households (Carter & Olinto, 2003;Foltz, 2004;Guirkinger & Boucher, 2008).…”

“…In the case of Cuba, even though the price increases introduced since 2007 represent a step in the right direction, a more profound process of price liberalisation is required to incentivise agricultural output and improve efficiency (Spadoni, 2014;Mesa-Lago & P erez-L opez, 2015;Gonz alez-Corzo, 2019). The prices of essential agricultural inputs are strictly regulated by the state; higher procurement prices (paid by Acopio) remain limited to selected agricultural products; state sector producers (e.g.…”

“…To address these challenges, incentivise production, improve efficiency and reduce agricultural imports, the Cuban government has implemented a series of reform policies and strategies since 2007. These include price reforms, reorganisation of the Ministries of Agriculture (MINAG) and Sugar (MINAZ), an updated agricultural tax system, decentralised commercialisation of selected agricultural products, microcredits for non-state agricultural producers and the extension of usufruct rights (Mesa-Lago, 2018;Nova Gonz alez & Figueroa Alfonso, 2018;Gonz alez-Corzo, 2019).…”