Cuban agriculture threatened by worst drought in 115 years
Cuban agriculture threatened by worst drought in 115 years
English.news.cn 2015-08-25 07:35:26
HAVANA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's agriculture is being threatened by the worst drought to hit the Caribbean in over a century, which is jeopardizing plans for the island to achieve its long-desired food independence.
The government is currently spending around two billion U.S. dollars to import 80 percent of the food necessary to meet the demands of its 11.2 million inhabitants, with President Raul Castro calling on Cubans to produce everything that could be harvested in the country.
Since 2008, Castro's administration has delivered over one million hectares of state-owned unused land to more than 70,000 new farmers while easing rules and regulations for the granting of bank credits and for the free trade of food.
However, these plans are now at risk from a severe drought currently afflicting the entire Caribbean Basin. Considered to be the worst drought in the region in 115 years, it is hitting particularly hard in Cuba.
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