Urban Agriculture In Cuba Essay

As Pérez-Stable says, "safeguarding the Cuban quota in the U.S. market was their priority" (16-17). Conflicts arose between industrialists who wished to diversify Cuba’s economy by encouraging growth of other industries, and sugar producers who desired to maintain sugar’s economic dominance. According to Pérez-Stable, industrialists argued that a diversity of products would improve the Cuban economy and "change only the composition of Cuba-U.S. trade, not its overall amount" (23). For its part, the sugar industry continued to insist that its interests were best for the nation (Pérez-Stable 23). Despite some attempts at sugar reform, the Cuban government, which was reluctant to weaken its economic ties with the United States for fear of losing its support, refrained from taking any serious steps. The discontent produced by the lack of economic diversification added fuel to the fire of the revolutionary cause.

Many of these factors had either been introduced or improved by Castro and just the idea of having a country that is third world having these factors so long ago is an indication of how beneficial Fidel Castro was to Cuba. The extent to which the US — a superpower — felt threatened by a third world country like Cuba is also an indication of how beneficial Fidel Castro was to Cuba. This source further explains how under Castro there were food shortages, increased rationing and growing scarcities. The introduction of sanctions under Castro’s rule is said to have been damaging because the source these sanctions upset and disadvantaged the middle-class and therefore were a social disadvantage. This source also explores how the suspension of US exports under Castro was damaging as these badly affected people like retail merchants, manufacturers and industrialists and many of them found it difficult to remain in Cuba. Therefore, this particular policy under Fidel Castro proved to be both socially and economically

After it became officially globally acknowledged that Cuba was in fact a communist state and was being led through a dictatorship run by Castro, it did not take long before powerful enemies and essential allies were formed. The act of seizing all foreign land with none or very little compensation was received with great hostility amongst those who lost in their property through this process, and probably the reaction that had the biggest impact on Cuba’s economy was that of the US. Castro’s communistic policies did not of course help calm this resentment and also took part in leading to the establishment of trade embargos with Cuba from the US. This meant that Cuba would now lose a very valuable buyer of their precious sugar, [5] but they did however gain another one, a powerful nation that shared quite similar Marxist ideals and were quick to form an alliance with the Cubans, the USSR.

economic growth comes from agriculture and exports to and from Europe. Since America has had an embargo on Cuba since 1962 neither countries trade with each other because of many disagreements about governing techniques and Fidel's unwillingness to comply with U.S. instructions. Cuba’s long history and culture has contributed to many economic and social growth through out the world, but Cuba is still struggling to try to stable their economy.

Until sugar production made Cuba the wealthiest agricultural region on earth in the nineteenth century, the island was considered relatively diverse, compared to others in the Caribbean. The quality of soil was universally unparalleled, and gained countries interest. Although the French and Spanish were in feud over the island, merchants from Portugal, England, and Holland participated in trade, which brought diversity to Cuba. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Haitian Revolution changed the racial, social, and economical demographics on Cuba. Seeing that the Haitian revolution was a triumph of colossus proportions, the individuals who started it, embodied the spirit that initiated the great uprising. From the late eighteenth century, into the nineteenth century, formally freed slaved from Haiti migrated to Cuba in astonishing numbers. This not only altered the demographics on the island, it brought in a new workforce that proliferated local sugar production. Within a short period of time, Cuba became the biggest sugar cane producer in the world. The United States gained interest in capitalizing from the islands newfound wealth, and being close in proximity made the temptation of interfere with France and Spain irresistible. In the late nineteenth century, the United States interfered with Cuba’s fight for independence and increased their investments tenfold. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the US gained control of the island through ownership,

The United States embargo of Cuba has its roots planted in 1960, 53 years ago, when “the United States Congress authorized President Eisenhower to cut off the yearly quota of sugar to be imported from Cuba under the Sugar act of 1948… by 95 percent” (Hass 1998, 37). This was done in response to a growing

Many people who relied on their farm and on agriculture struggled in the 1980’s. WWII was the fire that lit the Farm Crisis of the 1980’s. WWII brought forth many new advances in all aspects of agriculture. New farm equipment, pesticides, seeds, and fertilizers made it easier for the everyday life of a farmer. Greater efficiency and productivity were the result of the new inventions. In the 1950’s and 1960’s there was a massive

From their end, Cuba has surprised many around the world for striving against such barriers. “ The main driver of the Cuban economy is agriculture. The country is a major producer of several crops but sugar and tobacco are the big money products. Despite not being able to export their products to the United States Cuba has become a major exporter of agricultural products. There has been an attempt on the part of the Cuban government to diversify their economy and it looks like natural resources will be one way that they can do this. The country has become a major nickel producer and this has quickly become one of their largest exports. There is also the potential for Cuba to become a major oil producer. There are large reserves of oil in the Caribbean that are in Cuba's territorial water. It is very likely that in the near future they will take advantage of these reserves in order to help diversify the economy.”

It also says that shops will have a large range of products, however there are still large shortages of food. Rations are sometimes not even guaranteed to be delivered and if they are they will be very late. In 1991 the grain supply to Cuba from the Soviet Union since it collapsed which also caused the cattle to not be able to be fed. Since they could not feed the cattle all of the products and bi-products were very rare like the milk, beef, and eggs and chicken. Since a lot of the fuel was in a shortage the crops had to be harvested by people which made the production of food slow to crawl. They have improved the production but the shortage is still very common and no they are starting to resort to non-rationed stores and even the black market. The actual food/cuisines of Cuba come from many cultures like the Spanish, Africans and Caribbean, One very small part but slight influence is from the Chinese also. Some of the most popular foods include varieties of meat and rice with black beans. The traditional type of Cuban food can also be called criollo. Some of the most common spices and seasonings used are things like garlic and onion and common ingredients are things like lettuce, pork, eggs and tomatoes and more. One product of Cuba is also Coffee which is normally sold to other places and the coffee that Cubans normally drink are from places like

Cuba’s colorful history can be documented to before the days of the American Revolution in 1776, but today, American policy directly affects many Cubans’ lifestyles because of a nearly 45-year-old trade embargo that has been placed on the island nation. It is crucial to analyze the development of Cuba and its neighboring island nations in order to discern the reasons for Cuba’s current political situation with the United States. The following paper will discuss the events that shaped Cuba and larger Caribbean nations like Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica; next, a detailed description of Cuba’s turbulent history will help in explaining the Cuban transformation into a

The Cuban coffee, tobacco, and sugar productions transformed in the 19th century due to the hurricanes of 1842, 1844, and 1846. The productions of coffee, tobacco, and sugar prior to the 1840’s hurricanes were profitable businesses. Many Cuban farmers saw the productions as a great way to grow and to invest in the future. But once the 1844 hurricane hit Cuba, many farmers were left completely devastated as the

When we think of Cuba, we think revolution, yet we will zoom in on a different revolution that has been happening in Cuba and this is a food revolution. This crucial movement was in response to crisis, hitherto it resulted in the most innovative act of sustainability. After Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, the US placed an embargo on the country. They were maintained by the Soviet Union, yet they would face a downfall that would propel innovation. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, deemed the Special Period, the country suffered a tremendous loss in the supply of food, medicine, and fuel, and so had to find a way to feed the people. Action to grow in vacant lots began and resulted in what is now called organoponicos. In Micky Ellinger’s “Urban Agriculture in Cuba,” he cites that there are over 7,000 organoponicos and growing. In the city of Havana there are close to 2.1 million people, it houses more that 200 gardens and thousands of backyards and rooftops where people are practicing the sustainable food growing practice of urban agriculture. (Worldatlas.com)

“American farmers can sell to Cuba, but with one hand tied behind their backs. This commonsense legislation simply lets them compete. Removing arbitrary financing restrictions on selling to Cuba could significantly increase U.S. agricultural exports, create jobs across the country and provide the Cuban people with high-quality American food”. (Engage Cuba Coalition).

Cuba is population is 11,075,244 and still growing . The whole area of Cuba is 42,803 square mile. The capital is Havana it is the largest city in Cuba. The currency for Cuba is the Cuban peso. Cuba is located 50 mi west from Haiti across the Windward Passage, 87 mi south of the Bahamas, 90 mi south of Florida, 130 mi east of Mexico and 91 mi north of Jamaica. Cuba is the largest in the Caribbean. the land is mostly flat but has rolling plains, high hills and mountains in the southeast region.

The Special Period of 1989 in Cuba was a devastating economic period due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Cuba received many goods important for their daily lives that made the country efficient and functional, now they had to adapt to the shortage of imports. Soviet Russia was a huge benefactor to many communist countries at the time and once they collapsed, left these places, including Cuba, in shambles. The economy was in crisis as they lost approximately one-third of their imports of food, petroleum, etc. Cuba had to adjust to the change, and they needed to adjust quickly. Cuba was in shock and frantically searching for ways to keep up the strength of their society. People began questioning and brainstorming new economic paths to make