The Cuban Council of Ministers has passed Decree 175, the regulation for Law 185 "On Agricultural and Forestry Land," which lays out operational guidelines for the ownership, possession, inheritance, and use of agricultural assets by both individuals and legal entities in Cuba.
Signed by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz on August 27, 2026, this decree was published on Wednesday in the Ordinary Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba No. 75 of 2026, spanning pages 103 to 150.
This decree serves as a regulatory expansion of Law 185, which was approved by the National Assembly on July 29, 2026. The law itself is described as the general framework for "the proper regulation, management, and administration of land as a critical production resource, aimed at agrarian development, food sovereignty, the revaluation of rural areas, and social justice."
Key Provisions and Institutional Changes
Decree 175 addresses twelve key areas: the designation of idle or underutilized land, land registry activities, land transfers and deactivations, land allocation through usufruct rights and their termination, primary production lines, land ownership transfers, land division or consolidation, illegal occupancy declarations, inheritance rights for deceased landowning farmers, agrarian affairs commissions, administrative sanction procedures, and resolution of agrarian disputes.
One significant institutional innovation is the establishment of the Administrative Land Registry under the Ministry of Agriculture. This registry, with offices at central, provincial, and municipal levels, is designed to oversee land use and allocation via usufruct rights, as per Article 6.1 of the decree.
Implications for Land Management
Individuals and legal entities, whether landowners or usufruct holders, are subject to registration in this system.
Article 3 empowers the municipal agriculture delegate to declare land as idle or inadequately used and to enforce administrative sanctions on the responsible party, whether owner, manager, or usufructuary. For state-run enterprises managing land, the decree mandates that idle land must be distributed through usufruct rights.
Those affected by the municipal delegate's resolutions have the right to appeal, as outlined in Article 5.2.
The new decree explicitly repeals Decree 203 of 1995, which dealt with land possession, ownership, and inheritance violations, as well as Decree 350 of 2018, which regulated the allocation of idle state lands for usufruct, itself amended by Decree 105 in 2024, along with its supplementary rules.
Comprehensive Legislative Package for Agriculture
Agricultural administrative procedures will be resolved through decisions by either the Minister of Agriculture or relevant agricultural delegates, following the supplementary Law 169 on Administrative Procedure from 2024.
Official Gazette No. 75 introduced a comprehensive legislative package for the agricultural sector. Alongside Law 185 and Decree 175, it included six decree-laws from the Council of State, modifying regulations on cooperatives, zoogenetic and phytogenetic resources, agricultural mechanization, soil conservation, and fertilizers, as well as five resolutions from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Law 185 will become effective 90 days after its publication in the Gazette, with its enforcement commencing around December 8, 2026.
FAQs on Cuban Agricultural Land Regulation
What is the purpose of Decree 175 in Cuba?
Decree 175 provides operational guidelines for the management, ownership, and use of agricultural land in Cuba, aiming to support agrarian development and food sovereignty.
Who is responsible for declaring land as idle in Cuba?
The municipal agriculture delegate has the authority to declare land as idle or underutilized and to enforce administrative sanctions on the responsible parties.
When will Law 185 become effective?
Law 185 will take effect 90 days after its publication in the Official Gazette, starting around December 8, 2026.