• Submitted by: admin
• national
• Business and Economy
• 05 / 19 / 2010

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The Cuban government has told its bureaucrats to give farmers more autonomy.

In a country where farmers have had to purchase supplies from the state, the government is now hoping to help farmers boost food production by allowing them to purchase privately.

In Cuba, there are 350,000 family farmers and members of private cooperatives.

Farming is the largest private sector in Cuba, accounting for 70% of the food produced while using just 41% of the land.

This year, farmers have been attending meetings throughout the country, in an attempt to persuade the government to let them privately sell their produce and buy supplies, apart from the regulations that have guaranteed the state's near monopoly of the agricultural system.

Up to now, there has been a long-standing practice of the state taking 75% of farmers' production in return for fuel, pesticides and fertilizer.

Source: story.zimbabwestar.com/