Cuba: Potato campaign in Sancti Spíritus below plan
"We’ve had a lot of impacts due to problems with power generation, and this limits our activity because we can’t meet the 22 risks required by the tuber."
Nearing completion, the conventional or national balance potato harvest in the province of Sancti Spíritus is reporting a balance far below what was planned, necessitating the search for alternatives to ensure its distribution to the population.
Of the 36 hectares (ha) planned in the program, this central region managed to plant all of them; however, of the thirty hectares harvested to date, only 261 tons (t) have been collected, Servando Martínez, a crop specialist at the Provincial Delegation of Agriculture, told Radio Sancti Spíritus’ website.
He noted that of a demand of 578 tons, about 310 tons must be harvested, as the yield is very low, at 8.53 tons per hectare, even though the district selected the best areas, especially those protected with specialized electric irrigation machines, and guaranteed the technological package.
We’ve had a lot of impacts due to problems with power generation, and this limits our activity because we can’t meet the 22 risks required by the tuber, he explained.
He also clarified that with the limited hours of power, producers must speed up their machines, and the delivery of the crop’s standard is affected. The electricity situation actually affects growth, because if the potato has guaranteed nutrition, it must grow, Martínez pointed out.
Given the failure to meet the planned volumes, the Agriculture Department adopted strategies to distribute food to each resident at a rate of two pounds in some cases, or three pounds in others, the website report continues.
According to Eduardo Jiménez, the agency’s senior specialist, since this is a national balance, the country brought a volume from other provinces to the territory to cover Trinidad, part of Fomento, and, currently, the provincial capital. Meanwhile, the remaining municipalities mostly used what was harvested on their land.
The Banao production center, for example, was responsible for supplying Sancti Spíritus, but the yields were very modest, he noted.
For the fourth year, Sancti Spíritus has planted agroecological or low-input potatoes for local self-sufficiency. Cabaiguán has taken over a large portion of the crop, and although it is growing and producers are becoming more knowledgeable, it urgently needs to be extended and consolidated in the rest of the municipalities.
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