Cuba (José Martí): Potato planting began

According to Omar Álvarez Velázquez, the main specialist of that crop in the territory, in the current agricultural contest only ten hectares of the demanded root vegetable will be planted in the Municipality with two varieties of national production, Atlas and Metro, all in that same enclave headed by the outstanding usufructuary Euclides Veyrut González.

Álvarez Velázquez noted that despite the current limitations and recurring difficulties, this season there was more time, the land designated for this crop was freed up more quickly, and in that sense, the preparation of said land was optimal with the aspiration of achieving a good harvest in this new cycle.

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Regarding the domestically produced varieties, the experienced specialist explained that both seeds were produced by farmers from Artemisa and, considering that the country does not have imported potatoes for this planting season, it was decided that these two varieties would be cultivated on the island.

Omar recalled that the local potato crop hadn’t been planted in the territory since the second half of the 1990s and stated that this time, the effort is aimed at ensuring the municipality has a sufficient level of potato production and preventing the loss of this tradition, as the island went approximately 12 years without cultivating potatoes. He also emphasized the importance of providing workers with the opportunity to maintain the expertise they have already acquired and ensure that potato cultivation continues here.

Regarding the actions to achieve commendable yields, he specified that the land preparation, which is an important phase of cultivation, was carried out with the required quality, while in the planting process – which should take three or four days – emphasis is placed on the appropriate depth and distance in order to achieve the expected results this year.

Finally, he referred to the setbacks that always accompany the start of a planting campaign and that, with the experience already accumulated by the work collective of the Capitán Lawton production hub, have been resolved to start the new potato season, whose harvest is predicted for the end of February or the first days of March 2026.