HAVANA, Cuba – Cuba is extending coffee plantations to the plains. According to Prensa Latina, the process has begun several years ago, in order the extend the area under cultivation and increase production.
The Director of Coffee, Cocoa, and Coconuts of the Agroforestry Business Group of the Ministry of Agriculture, Elexis Legra, said to Prensa Latina that owing to the program there are around 2.300 hectares of the plantation in eight of the provinces of the country.
Coffee in Cuba is mainly grown in the areas of the Sierra Maestra mountains, especially under forest canopies.
The purpose of the project, according to the directive, is to reach 10 thousand hectares by 2030, which requires the support of the most careful usage of science and technology.
There are already producers with a ton of coffee per hectare, not unlike in Vietnam, which is collaborating with Cuba in the field.
Cuba demands for its consumption some 24 thousand tons a year, but the current production is insufficient, which is why this program is meant to contribute to the solution of these requirements.
The prospective development plans of coffee production for 2030 foresee reaching 30 thousand tons, and exporting around 5000, which is why a number of projects and investments are underway, including production on the plains.
Legra stated that applying technologies validated in 30 years, among them the use of grafts and cuts, along with the knowledge of fighting plagues and plant sicknesses are fundamental to this end.
