By:  Saad Dagher

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As a result of a severe lack of petrol in Cuba, cars and tractors were unable to be utilized, factories and machines stopped working, people could not reach their work, doctors could not reach the clinics and hospitals, professors and students could not arrive to their universities or schools, chemical fertilizers and pesticides disappeared, people were starving, to get meat it was prescribed as a medical prescription for whoever needed it, everything stopped. This period was called the “Special Period,” and it lasted for ten years (from 1990 to 2000), during this time, the people of Cuba, despite their suffering, exercised determination, will, and management.

Cuban citizens persevered and found opportunity in their problems to devise a solution. Health clinics, for example, were moved from cities to rural areas. In every neighborhood there were specialized clinics that had a surplus of doctors who were sent to the world (Africa and Latin America).  About 30,000 doctors worked voluntarily.  In addition to doctors, thousands of engineers, agricultural technicians, and sports coaches were recruited as well.

Bicycles instead of cars in Cuba- Sa’d Dagher

Doctors, teachers, professors, and students used bicycles to reach their clinics and universities. They imported five hundred thousand bicycles from China, and asked later for another million bicycles.  The United States pressed China to stop its supply, but China did not comply. One and a half million bicycles replaced cars and public buses that were rarely used.  Schools and universities opened branches in communities close to the people thus allowing them to reach their services by bicycle, on foot, or with horse-drawn carts.

Cuban citizens had previously relied on the production of sugar cane and cigars, but this was not their only source of living.  In fact, ten years before the petrol crisis, Cuban citizens were anticipating a crisis and dozens of centers began to explore and experiment with alternative fuel sources to best sustain life after they expected the oil to stop flowing, and for the pesticides or chemical fertilizers to disappear. Before the “Special Period”; Experiments for alternative energy were conducted in 18 laboratories and research centers focused on the study of earthworms.

 380,000 family farms, including 150,000 environmental farms, saved Cuba from famine and helped strengthen the country for the fuel crisis that would soon hit and that would overthrow a number of countries globally.

With the oil shortage, all tractors and agricultural machinery stopped working. Cuban research centers and farmers looked for alternative sources of power for their labor, such as cattle. They used the animals to plow the land, carry the goods inside the farm, and to make natural fertilizers that were put into the earthworm soil, enriching its nutritional content. Cubans developed and adapted all of the tools and plows so they could be used and pulled by cows instead of by tractors.

Earthworms ponds- Saad Dagher

Biogas (on the right) and cows plowing the land (on the left) in Cuba- Saad Dagher

The cows would plow and give manure, which was used to fertilize the land.  The Cuban government required every farmer with more than three cows to build "biogas" for the production of gas, which was then used for the kitchen and for the production of electricity. Some farmers developed a gas-powered light bulb.

The most interesting aspect of the agricultural issue in Cuba has been the continuous development and cooperation between the research centers, universities, and farmers. All of the capacities were directed to serve the real needs of farmers, allowing them to continue their production without relying on external production inputs. The basic pillars of this approach are:

• The shift from mono-agriculture to diversified agriculture at the level of individual farms and nationally (the opposite exists in Palestine, where dependence on unilateralism appears through development and government institutions).
• The shift from fully implemented chemical agriculture, where Cuba previously imported 23 thousand tons of pesticides, to only a thousand tons of chemicals in some farms which continue to exercise mono-agriculture. In Palestine, reliance on chemicals is increasing.  Cuba's natural conditions for food production without chemicals are more difficult than in Palestine, because of very high temperatures and very high humidity, yet they still implement better agricultural practices.
• Cuba has turned to the production of food for local consumption (vegetables, fruits, grains, oils...) Instead of producing agricultural commodities for export (sugar, cigars...).  In fact, Cuba now produces about 97% of its food needs, as opposed to previously, when the country produced less than 35% of its food and imported the rest.
• State policy has shifted towards encouraging the production of food through environmental agriculture and encouraging farmers to produce their own seeds.

• Agriculture in Cuba is family based.  This is very similar to agricultural practices in Palestine, despite the control of some companies on agriculture with the support of external bodies that do not want the best for the Palestinians.

What helped Cuba overcome the "Special Period" was improved environmental agricultural practices, in addition to scientific research and enhanced knowledge. Scientists and laboratories were prepared and farmers applied the idea. After the rapprochement with the United States under Obama’s presidency, several attempts were made, trying to reintroduce chemicals and genetically modified seeds into Cuba, but ANAP, the National Association of Small Farmers, worked hard to prevent this recoil.  The ANAP continues to work as hard as they can to combat this reintroduction through meetings and direct action with farmers via promotion of a "farmer to farmer" approach.  This approach was developed in Cuba and then moved to different parts of the world. The Cuban experience deserves attention and study, as it can very effectively be applied to our Palestinian society. Promotion of agro-ecological agriculture practices can enhance Palestine’s ability to produce adequate and healthy food.

Translated by:  Ghadeer Kamal Zaineh