http://www.foodfirst.org/
Food First Announces Our 6th Sustainable Agriculture Delegation to Cuba
February 4th to 13th, 2001
Cuba is currently engaged in one of the most ambitious and intensive
transformations from chemically dependant to organic, sustainable
agriculture ever attempted.
Join Food First as one of the growing number of international farmers and
agricultural professionals to study and support this valuable undertaking.
·Visit cooperative & individual farms, organoponicos, biological control
production centers, worm composting facilities, and research extension
agencies.
·Learn about the policy changes and technological innovations that have
facilitated the transition to organic systems.
·Meet the farmers, researchers, extension workers, and policy makers who are
leading the transition.
The $1,400 fee includes round-trip airfare from Cancun, Mexico to Havana;
visa fees, double room accommodations; transportation in Cuba; 3 meals each
day; program fee; travel health insurance; translation of program; expert
trip leaders and reading materials as well as one year membership to Food
First and a copy of the documentary video "The Greening of Cuba."
Deadline for application: December 31st, 2000
Space is limited so send in your application soon
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CUBAN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE DELEGATION APPLICATION
DUE BY DECEMBER 31ST, 2000 - e-mail to: [log in to unmask]
Name
Address
Phone - Fax - Email
Passport # - Expiration Date
Issue date & Place
Citizenship - DOB
Organizational Affiliation
Health Concerns:
Dietary Restrictions:
Experience in Sustainable Agriculture:
Why are you interested in participating in this delegation?
What are your expectations from this delegation?
What do you plan to do with the information that you learn?
List other special interests:
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Why Should We Care About Agriculture
in Cuba?
In our efforts to oppose the destructive practices of corporate, chemical
agriculture, we are constantly refuted by the myth that organic,
small-scale, sustainable methods of food production are simply not
economically viable. The popular perception is that toxic chemicals, the
demise of the family farm, and the consolidation of the control over our
food system into a few, powerful, transnational corporations are all
necessary if we are to feed the worldıs ever-expanding population.
Cuba is proving that preconception a myth. It is the first nation to attempt
to convert the majority of agricultural production to sustainable methods.
This conversion does not mean a simple substitution of organic inputs for
chemical ones; Cuba has changed the very structure of its agricultural
system. The formerly monolithic state farms have been slowly parceled out to
cooperatives and individual farmers, thereby increasing their efficiency and
farmers more security and control over their resources. In the cities,
unused land has been made available to its citizens for cultivation,
creating a vast system of organic urban gardens. The more than 8,000 gardens
in Havana alone produced 541,000 tons of food in 1998 and accounted for as
much as 30% of the nutritional needs of certain areas.
Cuba has become a leader in the world of organic agriculture. Its research
and development and its extension agencies have advanced organic methods in
the urban and rural sectors. The National Institute for Basic Research in
Tropical Agriculture (INIFAT) has research stations across the country that
specialize in the specific challenges of their area. They construct and
maintain nurseries and implement extension programs that provide technical
assistance to farmers and gardeners.
The Plant Protection Research Institute has created more than 200 Centers
for the Reproduction of Entomophages and Entomophathogen (CREEs) that
research and produce biological controls. The CREEs are located throughout
the country, supplying farmers and gardeners with new and useful biological
products.
With continued commitment and international support, the Cuban organic
movement can become a new way to think about food production. With so much
hunger and food insecurity in the U.S. and across the world, and the
persistent social and environmental degradation caused by our current system
of agriculture, it is time for us to seriously consider our alternatives.
Cuba presents us with a case where alternatives are practiced, and where
they are succeeding in increasing food security and environmental safety.
For more go to: http://www.foodfirst.org/cuba/events/2001/2-2001.html
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