The also second secretary of the Cuban Communist Party sent a letter to the attendees to a meeting held in the islands central province of Sancti Spiritus in which he praised the great efforts of the over 300 000 producers engaged in urban agriculture who managed to get over one million tons of products last year.

This program was created 20 years ago for growing vegetables in towns and cities all the year long. Nowadays, other 28 programs are included for the cultivation of fruits, flowers and the production of honey, among other things.

Cuban agricultural engineer Ana Luisa Pérez was the first to practice urban agriculture in the island in 1987 when she decided to grow vegetables in her own house in Havana using organic substrata. After verifying the result of the experiment, Raúl Castro immediately suggested to do the same throughout the country, giving prority to the urban areas.

(www.escambray.cu)