As 2012 was the International Year of Co-operatives, we visited a dairy co-operative, credit services co-ops, market co-ops, urban organic farms, the Santa Gertrudis show cattle farm, farmers markets and a crocodile preserve farm. Eighty per cent of Cuba is co-operatively owned while twenty per cent is state owned.
I also learned more about co-operative principles, which I think are a good review for all of us, to understand why our co-operative system has been/is failing in this country. All seven principles must be present for the co-op to work.
1. Voluntary and open membership: Co-operatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
2. Democratic member control: Co-operatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary co-operatives members have equal voting rights - one member, one vote - and co-operatives at other levels are also organized in a democratic manner.
3. Member economic principle: Members contribute equitably to and democratically control the capital of their co-operative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing their co-operative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the co-operative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
4. Autonomy and independence: Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they should do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their co-operative autonomy.
5. Education, training and information: Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public - particularly young people and opinion leaders - about the nature and benefits of co-operation.
6. Co-operation among co-operatives: Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the co-operative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.
7. Concern for community: Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members.
In Cuba, farm co-operatives' profits go to the members. They make $1,000 peso a month, double what a doctor makes. Cuba exports doctors in exchange for oil.
Members work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., producing sustainable food for people. Twenty years of urban agriculture has resulted in green spaces - parks of beauty which clean the air and provide food. Some are family operations, some co-operatives and some state-owned. The government provides tools at minimum cost.
One farmer is growing tobacco for export for the state even though he is losing money. Workers are given incentive to farm by payment of a salary as well as part of the crop. Some don't like farming as it is difficult work, and there is a lot of time in the sun. They use five per cent of the energy of northern countries.
In 2011, 1.3 million hectares of land were handed out: 87 hectares per person.
On sustainable dairy farms, they make pedestals, which consist of high protein grasses and rotational grazing. The CPA we visited is called July 26, 1953. It has mixed breeding of Zebu and Holstein cattle; Zebu are more efficient in this climate. This CPA is a CIDA project called Enhancing Sustainable Dairy Production.
We met with the board. Juanito, the president, explained the CPA is elected democratically with seven members re-elected. People can vote and/or add another name to the ballot. The term is two and a half years. The president had been in office since 2000.
The co-operative supports 250 people and consists of 53 members. Two Canadian dairy farmers, Gladys and Jim, presented Juanito with two hydrometers. Some farmers were adding water to the milk to get paid more by volume.
We stayed for lunch and were served beef, beans and rice, tomatoes and cabbage salad. Each visitor was presented with a rose or flower.
On our way to the next co-op, we saw fields of rice, coffee, corn and sugar cane. We visited a CCS - credit services co-op.
The focus is on small farmers, rather than huge industrial thinking. Main production is in root vegetables, meat and milk. In the last few years some grains have been added along with soya, beans, corn and chick peas.
There are many kinds of co-ops depending on which province you are in. Forestation co-ops are into re-forestation. Potatoes are the biggest production as they have a very rich water aquifer. Greenhouses produce tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers for hotels. Oranges were one of their biggest crops until the Nematodes pest attacked. The only way to control the pest was to grow no oranges for four years. There are also machinery co-ops.
We passed a guava fruit grove, chicken farm, sheep and a citrus factory. We met at the social circle - the co-op meeting place. President Elin explained they have 500 members with 3,000 hectares of land. Farmers used to have 26 hectares each and then were given 76 hectares each. They grow fruit, grain, vegetables and tobacco. This co-op is not into cattle, just a few for necessity.
They have an 11-member board, elected by secret ballot. The administrator lends dollar services to commercialize. Machinery is lent out, but older farmers own their machinery. They had had no rain since September, so they had to irrigate. Fruit is marketed to consumers, hotels and as fair trade products for export.
The land is state supported with technological and university support, e.g., a soil institute. Every hectare is classified by soil to tell what kind of crop can be grown and what fertilizer, etc., is needed to be more productive. Support is given for planning and protecting crops from pests. Seeds are supplied to each province along with information on drainage and irrigation.
There are many institutions and research is continuously being carried out on preservation of soil, seeds, etc.
Farmers have a pigs agreement. The farmer provides 30 per cent of the pig feed ration and the state provides the rest. They buy from the state and sell back to the state. The price the farmer will receive for hogs is known before production. The state takes most of them because farmers do not like selling one or two at a time to consumers.
On our way to Gaspar and Georgine Ricardo Palucio's, we saw a truckload of citrus pulp for cattle, people making charcoal, fields of papaya, yucca (cassava) and banana fields. At this farm we saw rabbits and worm culture. The soil is very rich as they use a worm culture which takes about three months to fill a one-foot deep trough. They feed the worm trough every seven days with field waste.
Gaspar especially likes women working on the farm as they are dependable, multi-taskers and harder workers. They get equal pay or more as, on July 26, he gives them bonuses.
This CPA certifies and renews and elects its board every two and a half years. They were getting ready for elections the following day. They have 85 members in their food production co-op.
Gaspar's co-operative has 469 hectares in mango, guava, papaya and pineapple, which made a $147,000 profit. Fifty per cent is shared amongst the co-op members and 50 per cent is reinvested. When the orange crop failed, they put 230 hectares into other fruits and have crop insurance. The rest is in livestock - 185 mixed. They do fair trade with a Dutch NGO. Gaspar has his picture on the label of their orange juice container.
Gaspar also has hives, but for pollination there is a beekeepers' co-operative. The beekeepers' co-operative exports honey: one ton for $17,000 pesos.
We visited a UBPC or urban organic farm. Oregano, basil and mint are used to repel insects that are harmful. The gardens have several "stop sign" coloured sticks with used tractor grease on them to catch and hold harmful insects. Different colours - yellow, blue, white - are used for different insects. They use sorgo and corn as a windbreak.
The UBPC is under the Minister Of Agriculture and was established in 1993 at a cost of half a million dollars. In 2008, they paid off a $20,000 mortgage. They have made $5 million Cuban pesos in profit since 1996. Last year, they budgeted $200,000 but grossed $230,000, a profit of 68,000 pesos.
They have four hectares and 13 members, of whom seven work directly in the garden. Others are in marketing, etc. Each man looks after his own raised beds. They produce 300 kilograms of food per hectare each year or, on average, 1.2 kilograms per square metre a month. They sell 70-80 kilograms of produce a day.
There are 30 UBPCs in the city. Fifty per cent of profits are reinvested and 50 per cent goes to members, about $1,000 pesos per person per month.. A family gets 30-40 per cent of their rations from the coupon book (le brettas). The rest comes from farmers markets, state farms, vendors and the black market.
According to the book, Transform Food Production in Cuba, co-ops produce a significant portion of the crops in Cuba: 18 per cent of sugar cane, 81 per cent of beans, 40 per cent of beef, 85 per cent of tobacco, 40 per cent of coffee, 60 per cent of corn, 30 per cent of milk, 60 per cent of cocoa, 50 per cent of vegetables, 68 per cent of fruit, 51 per cent of honey, 49 per cent of beeswax, 59 per cent of propolis, 33 per cent of root crops, 50 per cent of fish and 37 per cent of pork. The figure for chicken was not available.
There are one million organic arable hectares in Cuba.
We stopped at Feria Agropecuria, the agricultural fairgrounds, to see the Santa Gertrudis cattle at Turiguano where they hold La Elite del Rodeo. We saw eight bulls and eight cows. They have a semen bank. The cattle go to market at about 400 kilograms or 800 to 900 pounds. The grounds were built in 1961 by the Minister of Agriculture.
