Document(s) 13 of 13

This chapter discusses the origins, features and needs of the Parque Metropolitano de la Habana (PMH) Project, as well as the relevance of incorporating urban agriculture as an environmentally and economically necessary component of its implementation.

The different forms of urban agriculture carried out in the PMH and their potential for fostering citizen participation, environmental awareness, reforestation and the local economy, all necessary for implementing the project, are also considered and compared.

Harahí Gámez Rodríguez and Carlos Álvarez Carrés collaborated in the writing of this chapter.

Background

Historically, Havana has been a city lacking green space. This lack, dating back to the colonial period when greenery was confined to patios, certain plazas and tree-lined avenues, is even more noticeable in larger spaces.

Although the city was influenced in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by international trends incorporating green space as an integral part of urban design – which inspired the appearance of large gardens, streets, avenues and one-hectare parks in some of its neighbourhoods “it was not until the early 1960s that a newly created group of physical planners prepared the first Havana Master Plan. This plan contained a comprehensive proposal for developing green areas and a land structure that defined, among other things, sites for parks at the municipal level.

The Parque Metropolitano de La Habana (PMH) was one of the parks conceived by the 1963 Master Plan and has been retained in all subsequent development plans that have been designed, including the Green Space System in the city’s development plan to 2010. As early as 1926, the outstanding French urban planner, J.N.C. Forestier, had suggested creating the Gran Parque Nacional as a component of the beautification and expansion plans for Havana in part of the space occupied by the current project.

Given this background, it is understandable that even with the increase in new construction that the city experienced after the Revolution until the 1980s, the Provincial Physical Planning Branch, the governing institution, did not approve any expenditures requested for productive facilities, housing or other construction deemed a priority at that time within the area intended for the park.

It is interesting to note that the city’s administrations and governments during that period made this park project their own and defended it to some extent, even with the pressures of economic and social development. Only the construction of the National Circus headquarters and a sports complex was promoted and authorized, as it was thought that both facilities would benefit the park and promote other investments of that type.

The proposed site for the future PMH forms part of a large green belt located in the western area of the city that extends north-south from the mouth of the Almendares River, the most important in the province, to Calle 100. This large green belt was designed to comprise the city’s four large parks: the National Zoological Park, the National Botanical Garden, Lenin Park and the PMH, which is the most urbanized.

The first three suburban parks were built before the acute economic crisis of the 1990s. Their construction involved significant costs and

mitigation of the impact on housing, industrial and other facilities in the area.

It should be noted that, although we are currently working towards better forms of participation, these city parks had an undeniable participatory component. This is reflected in the fact that while planning was reserved for technicians, professionals and managers, citizens did participate en masse in their construction.

Although the implementation of the PMH project has been delayed because of its complexity and the amount of expenditure required, work on the project has continued.

• In 1989 the PMH working group was created by the Vice-President of the Council of Ministers to develop actions aimed at improving the environment.
• In 1994 the revitalization of the PMH project began with the reclamation of one of its areas, the Parque Almendares.
• In June 1995 the first convention on international cooperation was signed between the PMH and the Canadian Urban Institute for its institutional and professional capacity building. From this moment, efforts to prepare a comprehensive development strategy in which residents participate from the diagnostic and planning stages to implementation and assessment were set in motion.

The Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Project

The site occupied by the PMH project is approximately 700 hectares (ha). There is a significant diversity of operations within this area both in the use of soil and buildings and in green spaces and social components. This is demonstrated by the differences between the mansions inhabited by the middle and upper classes in the Miramar and Nuevo Vedado areas and the modest houses of the working-class neighbourhoods of Pogolotti and El Cerro. Between these neighbourhoods lie the precarious settlements of El Fanguito and La Isla del Polvo. Today all of these neighbourhoods show great cultural and racial diversity.

Further evidence of diversity is the presence of industries and workshops from different productive sectors. There are also farms that are not very productive and, although on the fringe of Cuban agriculture, have high agricultural inputs harmful to the environment and cannot be considered traditional agriculture. Equally notable are the old and deteriorated yet still beautiful gardens at the two breweries in the heart of the area, as well as the more than 500 hectares that have been deforested.

The PMH project is incorporating a new way of thinking and acting into urban planning, starting with reclaiming and making good use of all that exists in the area, apart from current incompatibilities that can be rearranged or can coexist, and even become an economic, educational and ecological potential that must be preserved.

The PMH project team has proposed the following mission: ‘To create an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable park for the enjoyment of Havana’s residents.’

Among the main objectives are:

• Creating a green lung with multiple uses, using a minimum of 80 per cent of the land for reforestation, agricultural development and gardening.
• Using this project as an example of sustainable landscaping, where problems become opportunities.
• Carrying out an environmental cleanup of the site, focusing on the Almendares River as the central element of the PMH.
• Promoting economic development of the PMH to guarantee its economic self-sufficiency.

Given that the PMH is a complex and ambitious project, efforts have been prioritized in six work plans:

1. Investment Planning and Development Programme. This is aimed at establishing services as soon as possible with a minimum of resources and halting the deterioration of existing facilities in the park, as well as developing other facilities which generate income that is reinvested in PMH project activities.
2. Agroforestry Programme. The programme’s main objective is to create a green lung with multiple uses and improve the environment, using a minimum of 80 per cent of the park’s land for reforestation, agriculture and gardening.
3. Environmental Education, Participation and Communication Programme. This programme seeks to develop environmental awareness in the community and promote the PMH project to all of Havana’s residents through the media.

   The PMH project hopes to work with all members of the community –residents, industrial workers, local governments, People’s Councils, producers, individuals and organizations who have a certain interest in the park and/or have economic resources to contribute to its development, as well as those individuals and organizations that know, share and feel involved in the project.

4. Protection Programme. This programme seeks to harmoniously combine the physical and environmental protection of the park with maximum citizen participation.
5. Sociocultural Development Programme. This programme’s development is fundamental, since the PMH as a social project must provide recreation and entertainment to Havana’s residents, whether through existing facilities or directly with the community in the area’s neighbourhoods. The educational component goes hand-in-hand with this program, and the project works towards identifying those who enjoy recreation and those who provide it with caring for nature and the environment.
6. Cleanup Programme. This programme aims to promote, together with the institutions involved, the development and implementation of a comprehensive process for cleaning up the Almendares River and including it in the watershed regulation project. It also seeks to reduce industrial pollution through joint actions with polluting industries and governing ministries.

The PMH team has stated that cleaning up the river is a comprehensive solution, in that it includes both the technical aspect of wastewater treatment and water purification and social components such as community participation in reforestation and environmental education, which will give it strength and continuity.

The PMH has been envisioned on a pedestrian scale for individual and group enjoyment, favouring a setting where many people can stay for long periods of time throughout the day.

It is also planned that the forest will become a central element providing shade, air and protection for pedestrians. The park must appear natural, although it may not be. This does not entail recreating the natural site as it may have been hundreds of years ago, but rather improving and recreating it with current ideas, designing a space for future generations to continue contributing to work that, given its nature, should never end.

Description of Natural Conditions of the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Site

The area under study is located in the Almendares River Watershed region.

In this area, the effects of human activity are a general feature. Such activity has altered the course of the Almendares River and reduced its water level, as well as causing great changes in soils, which has led to a reduction in its agricultural use in many areas. Another important feature

is the pollution of the entire area caused by mixed-waste dumping areas. The hydrographic network shows similar characteristics, receiving sewage from neighbourhoods surrounding Marianao, such as pollutants emitted by dozens of manufacturing centres both inside and outside the Parque Metropolitano area.

Geology

The area under study forms part of a sedimentary basin. Paleogenic terrigenous sediments upwardly transect carbonated sediments with new terrigenous deposits. A marly sequence predominates and is covered by limestone. An extensive development of Quaternary alluvial sedimentary deposits is observed, owing to the presence of the Almendares River Watershed.

Geomorphology

In the area under study, two basic types of reliefs were identified. These were divided into plains and low hills, in accordance with their morphology and morphometry.

The plains are the basic type and cover more than 90 per cent of the total area. They were divided into subtypes according to their origin: fluvial plains, accumulative plains, denudative plains and erosive plains with high slopes.

The hills form small sectors, the highest in the area, which were classified as low erosive-petromorphic altitudes.

Climatology

The area studied presents a climate resembling the typical Cuban climate, that of a tropical plain with long dry and rainy seasons. The information below was gathered over a period of ten years.

The highest temperatures are reached in the months of July and August, with an average monthly temperature of 27.3°C and 27.5°C, respectively.

The lowest temperatures occur mostly in the months of December and January, fluctuating between 20.3°C and 18.6°C, respectively.

The region’s average annual temperature is 25.7°C.

Precipitation varies from one year to the next, showing some changes in the rainy and dry seasons (from May to October and November to April, respectively).

Most precipitation occurs during June and October, with 50.8 mm and 57.3 mm averages, respectively.

Wind blows predominantly from the east with a speed of 10.22 m/s. March and April are the windiest months, with average speeds of 14.02 m/s and 11.60 m/s, respectively.

Average annual relative humidity is 80 per cent, with June being the most humid month (88 per cent).

Soils

During the research process, the Soil Research Institute (IIS) of the Ministry of Agriculture prepared a map classifying agriculturally productive soils on the PMH site. This work permitted updating previous opinions, stating: ‘There is very good farm land in the PMH, composed mainly of soils enriched by alluvium from the Almendares River and its tributaries, the Mordazo and Santoyo Rivers.’

The new study showed that over time the soils became considerably impoverished, owing in most part to poor resource management, natural erosion, insufficient protection of the hydrographic belt and deforestation.

Currently, soils in category 3 (moderately productive) and 4 (not very productive) dominate in most dry-farmed crops. It is worth mentioning that the limiting factors with the highest incidence are deficient drainage and alkalinity, affecting 37 per cent and 57 per cent of soils, respectively. In general, more than 30 per cent of the area with agricultural potential is suitable for most irrigated crops.

History of Urban Agriculture in the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana

Since the eighteenth century there have been farms in the PMH area producing “minor fruits” that provided the city with many of the agricultural products its markets required. Subsequently, and for more than three-quarters of a century, Chinese communities settled in the area and produced mainly vegetables in intensive-cultivation gardens for the same markets. Alongside these Chinese immigrants lived dispersed field workers whose production was more extensive and diversified and, little by little, these became the sole occupants of the land.

In the 1980s, some of these field workers formed an Agricultural Production Cooperative (CPA), which was in operation until the mid-1990s.

From its beginnings, the cooperative posed serious organizational and operational problems, basically due to management changes and the instability of its members for various reasons, including a progressive lack of interest in the work. From an economic standpoint, the cooperative had serious difficulties caused by low production and failure to carry out plans. The shortage of – not to say nonexistent – supplies and the fact that a significant percentage of the workforce was hired help also had an impact.¹

Another operational problem was the difficulty in transporting goods, as the cooperative only possessed two tractors and a truck in deplorable

condition. The cooperative’s location in an urban area itself created instability in the workforce, as some of the members (non-farmers) did not have any knowledge of agriculture or incentives to produce and the economic situation prohibited the cooperative from encouraging its workers.²

As a result of the CPA’s problems, the Ministry of Agriculture decided to disband it and place the land under the PMH’s administration. It was then that their team devoted itself to preparing a development strategy for urban agriculture.³

The remaining field workers who were not members of the CPA (approximately ten) came together in 1994 with other field workers from land adjacent to the PMH in a Farmers’ Grassroots Organization of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) named Nguyen Van Troi. At the end of 1996, simultaneously with the Parque Metropolitano Team’s working process, this organization was divided into three Credit and Services Cooperatives, one of which is located in the project area and retains the name Nguyen Van Troi.

Taking into account that there was no experience for integrating this agricultural activity into the city park project, the PMH Directorate consulted specialists in the field and the area’s agricultural producers to develop a proposal on the matter.

As a result of this process, it was determined that PMH agricultural activity should be: urban, agroecological, intensive and sustainable. It was also decided that it was necessary, among other things, to conduct research on possible water supply sources, agriculture’s contribution to the economic development of the park and local economy, soil types, their agroproductive capacity and the legal framework regarding the matter.

Other results of this process were already more connected to designing agricultural areas, their dimensions and ways of integrating them as poles of development and park attractions.⁴

In addition, it was considered important to establish the organizational technical bases for sustainable and self-sufficient development of agricultural production in the Parque Metropolitano. Sustainable development is understood to be improvement of the producers’ quality of life, economic efficiency of agriculture and preservation of natural resources. Self-sufficient development involves agriculture’s contribution to the economy and the implementation of the PMH project.

The Agroforestry Programme’s medium-range goals were also defined, the following being considered the most important:

1. Improving the organizational structure of the agricultural area by creating small farms no larger than 4 or 5 ha.
2. Improving soil management while taking into account ecological criteria.
3. Developing water sources suitable for agriculture.
4. Guaranteeing the technical capacity of producers.
5. Ensuring the physical protection of the agricultural area.
6. Establishing the mechanisms for marketing the agricultural products produced in the PMH.

At the same time, the reforestation situation was analyzed. There was no reforestation plan for the PMH until 1992, because it depended on the plans of the four municipalities composing it. This led to a lack of attention to and prioritization of the park’s needs. In July 1992, it was decided that the park would have its own plan, although coordinated with the municipalities. Completion of the park’s reforestation plan was negatively affected by several factors. These included the shortcomings in promoting municipal nurseries, lack of contact with the urban community to promote and plan reforestation of its areas, shortage of farming tools and the lack of protection and maintenance of new plantations.

Description of Urban Agriculture in the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana

Forestry activity is included in the promotion and development stage of urban agriculture in the Parque Metropolitano. When tree plantations and the project are consolidated, this activity will assume its traditional role in the park.

Land devoted to agriculture in the PMH area covers 151ha. Some 88.4ha are being used for various crops, trees and vegetables, or 58.5 per cent of all agricultural land.

Of those 151ha, the Agroforestry Program aims to use 100 per cent, but only 60 ha have been set aside for agricultural production and they will support themselves with urban agriculture. This implies a change in use in the future (mainly tree crops) in part of the current areas being farmed.

Urban agriculture currently represents 12.6 per cent of the PMH project’s total land. In the future, this activity will account for 9 per cent, a figure that will change depending on the stages of development and consolidation of forestry activity. It is worth repeating that the PMH will dedicate 80 per cent of its land to creating a green lung in the city, or 560 ha of forests, gardens and urban agriculture. The latter will represent 10.7 per cent of the green space.

Agricultural activity is located mainly in the municipality of Marianao and almost exclusively in Pogolotti-Belén-Finlay People’s Council No. 5. This is a periurban area of great racial and cultural diversity.

Currently, agricultural and forestry activity in the PMH appears in three forms:

The 88.4 ha currently used for urban agriculture are distributed in the following manner:

Source: PMH Agroforestry Farm and Nguyen Van Trói Credit and Services Cooperative (Nguyen Van Trói CCS).

The Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Agroforestry Farm

The PMH Agroforestry Farm was created to implement the Agroforestry Programme. It is under two authorities: methodologically under the PMH Directorate and administratively under the Havana Multi-Crop Company, located outside the PMH area and part of the Ministry of Agriculture Local Office.

The Farm’s management and services are the responsibility of seven people: a farm manager (agronomic engineer), a technical consultant (geography baccalaureate), an economic Development Manager (intermediate technician in economics), a Human Resources Manager (intermediate technician in labour organization and salaries), a Warehouse Manager, an Agricultural Equipment Operator and a Mechanic.

The Agroforestry Farm supervises:

Source: PMH Agroforestry Farm.

The farm has 25 workers in total. Some 72 per cent of them are directly involved in production, representing 19 per cent of all 129 PMH workers.

Of the farm’s 25 technicians and workers, 20 per cent are women. There is only one woman directly involved in production. Four women belong to the Management and Control Team, representing 57 per cent of its members. This is in keeping with the pattern of these indicators in Havana.

It is important to note that not all PMH workers officially appear as a staff member. Some of them are administratively related to other bodies, such as the Multi-Crop Company, the Communal Services Branch, the Ministry of the Interior (forest wardens) and others.

The Agroforestry Farm’s age distribution shows the following:

Source: PMH Agroforestry Farm.

It can be seen that only 8 per cent of farm workers are under 25, and they work in management and services. Workers between 26 and 59 constitute 68 per cent, while 24 per cent are older adults. Although most workers are adults, there are also job opportunities for older adults, specifically in direct production work. The latter corresponds to the employment needs of this growing age group and the opportunities this activity offers regardless of the individual’s education or experience.

Upon assessing the workers/ha indicator, the following results are observed:

As stated above, the PMH’s agricultural area has periurban features and the structure of farms is typical of the farming sector. Therefore, the provincial field worker indicator (0.5 producers/ha)⁵ is used, which shows a similar pattern when applied to the direct employees of the Agroforestry Farm.

The Agroforestry Farm received funding through three channels:

1. PMH Budget   Technicians’ salaries
2. Multi-crop Company   Agricultural workers’ salaries. Supplies.
3. External Cooperation   Farm development. This funding is received through the PMH.

Each farm, including the nursery, is authorized for use free of charge, and has a manager who decides how many people to hire. On average, they are:

In all cases, the workforce is not very stable, which is related to the attraction of the nearby city and the fact that the workers still do not have, as will be seen below, sufficient economic benefits motivating them to remain at their jobs, especially those working on the multi-crop farms.

The farm workers, including those at the nursery, receive a basic monthly salary in the following manner:

Source: PMH Agroforestry Farm.

In addition to this basic monthly salary, farm managers and workers receive an incentive, depending on the following:

• Multi-crop farms. Marketing excess production, after production quotas have been met.
• Tree farms. The seedlings of trees planted and harvested annually and their maintenance, once the money received for these activities covers the salary debts with the Multi-Crop Company.
• Nursery. 5 per cent of the nursery’s total annual sales is allocated to worker incentives.

Of the nine farms, including the nursery, three have houses for the farm managers. One was built and two were renovated with the support of cooperation projects. The farm managers and their families live in them. The remaining farms only have sheds for storing materials and supplies. There is the intention to build one house per farm, which is a means of encouraging farm managers to remain at their jobs.

It is important to emphasize that:

• All workers directly involved in production live in the PMH territory (90 per cent) or immediate area (10 per cent).
• Of the family members living on the farms, only the farm manager is directly involved in agroforestry activity. The rest study and/or work outside the PMH.

Until March 2001, the Agroforestry Farm had only one tractor in poor condition that served all the farms, including the nursery, through collective planning. This tractor is currently being repaired and a new one that will work in the same manner was purchased. This service is paid for by the farm managers. They buy products offered by the Multi-crop Company. Resources coming from external cooperation are given as a donation.

Productive aspects of the Agroforestry Farm:

Main crops and area cultivated in 2000

Note: These figures include crops planted throughout the year. The same area was planted more than once, which accounts for the difference between the total and the cultivated area.

Multi-crop Farms

There is very poor crop diversity, which is due in part to insufficient crop interplanting, crops that require more time such as plantain and yucca, and the significant amount of time spent preparing the soil, including fallow periods.

Flower cultivation began in 2000, occupying the following areas by variety:

Flowers are grown on only three of the multi-crop farms and the area set aside for this activity is different. On one farm, approximately 80 per cent of the area is set aside for flowers, while on the other two a little over 25 per cent is set aside.

Each of the multi-crop farms uses timber and fruit trees to mark its boundaries and internal fields.

Cooperation projects have made it possible to have a yoke of oxen to plow the field and an irrigation system on four of the five multi-crop farms. The irrigation systems have not been used to their full potential because of limitations concerning the quality of water sources.

A small number of pigs and poultry are raised on the farms, mainly for the workers’ own consumption, usually by farm managers in their backyards.

Summary of multi-crop farms

Source: PMH Agroforestry Farm.

Average yield of various crops and flowers

Source: PMH Agroforestry Farm.

As the figures in the table above show, the year 2000 marks what could be called the beginning of consolidated production on these farms, since the number of farms remains the same, as does the area cultivated. Meanwhile, the increase in total production is directly related to the increase in yields, which is almost 3.5 times higher than in the previous year.

Flower production also began in 2000. The decision was taken because this crop generates immediate income, which these farms need.

On comparing the results of multi-crop production (excluding flowers) with the average number of field workers in Havana in 2000, the following is observed:

Source: PMH Agroforestry Farm.

The indicators for the PMH multi-crop farms represent 30.4 per cent of yields and 15.9 per cent of the average production/producer ratio for the city’s field workers. The assessment conducted by the Agroforestry Farm determined the following as possible causes of this marked difference:

• The lack of agricultural knowledge among Agroforestry Farm producers, demonstrated by long periods without planting and poor management of land, crops and resources.
• The fact that agroforestry activity in the Parque Metropolitano is in the promotion stage.
• The organic techniques used require more labour.
• Produce is not always weighed.

It is certain that the PMH indicator could rise a little more if flower production on multi-crop farms were taken into account. However, the assessment also clearly showed that, as in the study conducted in the Camilo Cienfuegos area, an analysis of greater scope was advisable to validate the information at the municipal level.

If flower production for 2000 is compared to the production quota for 2001 (22,000 dozen), a notable increase of 160 per cent can be seen. The Agroforestry Farm has determined that soil and climate conditions are suitable for this crop. It has therefore decided to increase the flower production area on the multi-crop farms for 2001. At the same time, it has suggested increasing multi-crop farm production by 66.2 per cent (181,818.2

kg), which represents a significant rise in resource efficiency and a much more intensive use of agricultural land.

It must be stated that this increase in the production quota for multi-crop farms does not reflect an analysis of its real potential, but rather a quota established by the Multi-Crop Company.

It is interesting to note that, although the prices at which the Flower Company buys the Agroforestry Farm’s production have been assessed as low, when the Farm complies with the company’s production quota it allows producers to sell excess production directly at the farmers’ market, where flowers sell at a very good price. This is an important economic incentive.

The Agroforestry Farm stores and markets the production quota with the Flower Company and pays the money earned to the Havana Multi-Crop Company.

Tree Farms

Trees planted on PMH land

Source: PMH Agroforestry Farm.

The number of trees planted by tree farms (8,700) represents 43.5 per cent of the total planted in 2000. For 2001, these farms plan to plant 7,200 trees, or 22.5 per cent of the quota. This reduction corresponds to the area occupied by farms. However, it is important to indicate that the farm manager can request an increase in the farm’s area once the total area of the initial farm has been reforested.

The rest of the trees planted are linked to municipal reforestation plans. These trees are planted through volunteer work performed by workers and students of institutions and agencies located on PMH land and its immediate vicinity, such as the José Antonio Echeverría Superior Polytechnic Institute, the Blas Roca Contingent, the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the University of Havana, and others.

Nursery

The nursery was conceived to supply plants (fruit, timber and ornamental trees) to the park for reforestation and possible sale to the public and agencies to make the activity more profitable.

Located near the Almendares River, it has offices, latticework shelters, plant production areas, and other facilities. This nursery is also linked to the Environmental Education Programme, since it can receive visitors for demonstration and education purposes.

Although there are currently four workers at the nursery, at one time there were as many as 12. While this reduction was influenced by the instability of the workforce, the analysis done showed that the nursery’s actual labour requirement is six agricultural workers.

With regard to the above, it is important to indicate that the PMH maintains an employment policy in keeping with the national one, where occasionally providing employment for disadvantaged people living in the area is given priority over the agency’s economic needs (for example, single mothers, ex-convicts and others).

There is no house for the manager at the nursery, but all of the workers live on PMH land.

The nursery ensures that the need for seedlings is met for the reforestation of PMH farms and the reforestation plans of the four municipalities throughout its territory. Excess production is marketed in the public and industrial sectors.

Seedling Production

Source: PMH Agroforestry Farm.

It can be seen that 25 per cent of the total seedling production in 2000 was planted on PMH land. The rest was sold to MINAGRI to meet the needs of the municipal reforestation plans and other state and private agencies that requested it.

Water and Organic Matter Recycling

Water sources for irrigation identified in the PMH are the Mordazo and Santoyo streams, with a high potential for irrigation, and two lakes

located on two of the multi-crop farms. There is also a pluvial drainage canal in the area that is used for this purpose and, very sporadically and only in cases of extreme necessity, water from the population’s supply network is also available.

At present, approximately 63 per cent of the area farmed is irrigated using the sources mentioned above. Analyses of water quality performed recently determined that it is suitable for irrigation. Nevertheless, the Agroforestry Farm has decided that it should continue to search for alternatives that increase the provision of water for irrigation.

The principal sources of organic residues in the PMH are domestic residues and plant biomass produced naturally and as a result of maintaining green spaces. However, its use is insignificant and therefore it is identified as a weakness of the PMH Project. The volumes of wastes are significant and constitute an appreciable future potential. It is enough to state that the generation of domestic wastes has been estimated between 7.2 and 10.8mt/day, of which 70 per cent are organic.

Forms of Marketing and Incentives at the Agroforestry Farm

Multi-crop Farms

As stated above, each of the farms has a production quota. This production quota is valued according to the prices per crop set by the Multi-Crop Company.

Producers are also authorized to sell directly on the same farm and in the Agroforestry Farm’s sales outlet (Calle 51 and 76, Marianao) at market prices, and always at a prices lower than farmers’ markets.

From the sales results, the producer must pay the value of his or her production quota and debts (salaries, supplies) with the Multi-Crop Company.

To date, the farms’ earnings have kept in line with their expenses. Therefore, although they are profitable, they have no profits, nor is there any incentive beyond the workers’ basic salaries.

The farm’s management workers should receive an incentive equivalent to 10 per cent of income generated by the multi-crop farms from the Multi-Crop Company, but these earnings have not been produced to date.

Occasionally the farms, through the Agroforestry Farm, make donations to daycare centres or primary schools.

Nurseries

It is estimated that about 80 per cent of the nursery’s production is reserved for municipal reforestation plans. The MINAGRI Local Office in Havana buys the seedlings at the official prices listed, which are considerably lower than those at the Agricultural Support Stores. For example, the nursery sells a guava seedling to the municipalities at 4.00 Cuban pesos because this is the price paid by the Ministry of Agriculture Local Office. The nursery sells the same seedling to state-owned companies and the private sector at prices ranging from 5.00 to 10.00 Cuban pesos, and at even higher prices to the Agricultural Support Stores (15.00 Cuban pesos).

The same thing happens with timber tree seedlings. The nursery sells a timber tree seedling at 0.36 Cuban pesos to the municipalities, paid by the Ministry of Agriculture Local Office. The same seedling is sold to state-owned and private sector companies at a price ranging from 2.00 to 3.00 Cuban pesos according to the species.

From the total sales income, the Multi-Crop Company allocates 5 per cent as incentives for nursery workers, which in 2000 accounted for approximately 500.00 Cuban pesos a year per worker, equivalent to 42.00 Cuban pesos per month per worker in addition to the basic salary.

Incentives at Tree Farms (not related to sales)

The main expense for tree farms is salaries, as most of their supplies come from donations.

Three years after establishing the farm, a commission made up of representatives of the Multi-Crop Company, the PMH Directorate and the MINAGRI Local Office carries out an inventory of the trees planted in that period and pays the farms for each tree, according to the species and a price list established by MINAGRI. It also pays for maintenance costs. Payment for trees planted is made every three years and maintenance work is paid annually.

If the loss of a plant is detected during the triannual inventory, the money paid to the producer becomes an expense in the new triannual period.

To date, only one farm has completed the first establishment period and its income reached 9,258.00 Cuban pesos. However, the farm’s salary expense for one year was 10,483.00 Cuban pesos (for the farm manager and one agricultural worker, plus vacation time and social security for both), resulting in a deficit of 954.43 Cuban pesos. As a consequence, there

is still no incentive beyond the basic salary for either farm managers or workers.

It has been established that the main problem of reduced income lies in the very low prices paid for planted trees and maintenance work. This does not reconcile at all with this activity’s priority and explains in part the instability of the workforce on these farms.

The farm’s profit in this respect is the reforestation of the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Project’s land.

Producers’ Assessments

In the first year of research, after interviewing 18 producers who worked at the Agroforestry Farm at the time, it was determined that they associated their work with:

Eighteen months later, in interviews with similar objectives, it was discovered that 100 per cent of direct workers interviewed (15) benefited from the produce obtained for family consumption and 80 per cent recognized this as a means of saving money. Only 33.3 per cent considered the salary earned to be an incentive in their work.

On the other hand, 26.6 per cent were aware that their work was involved in contributions to institutions such as schools, daycare centres, hospitals and others. Some 46.7 per cent stated that they took pleasure in their work beyond the material benefits obtained.

It is evident that there is currently an increased interest in agriculture relating to the pleasure taken in the activity and recognition of the material benefits it brings to the family by making food available and saving money. However, in practice, no permanency can yet be seen in the activity, which is influenced by the income problems (salaries, incentives) mentioned above.

The Agroforestry Farm’s Maintenance and Development Perspectives

Since 1999, the PMH Directorate initiated a restructuring process in which it proposed changing its status as a budgeted unit to that of a

company. While having its limitations to attracting external financing this change, yet to be approved, will allow a greater economic independence for the activities currently being established in the area and a greater availability of resources that could be reinvested in the project’s implementation.

This proposed change is, without doubt, the result of a working process in which the income-generating potential of the various activities located in the area were progressively identified. The education of the PMH technicians on the Research Team and the capacity-building they provide had a significant impact on this identification.

Agroforestry stood out as one of the activities with the greatest income-generating potential. The change in status to a company would allow, among other things, the current subordination to two different authorities to be eliminated and enable the PMH to keep the earnings it now gives to the MINAGRI Multi-Crop Company, as well as to set prices for selling produce.

Proposal of the PMH Company’s Agroforestry Economic Unit

The Agroforestry Economic Unit’s (UEAF) main economic objective is to create a green lung in the capital using 80 per cent of its land for reforestation, agricultural development and gardening. To do this, it must:

• Achieve an annual production of 4,435 quintals (qq) (197,500 kg) of starchy root crops, fresh vegetables and grains.
• Maintain an annual production above 80,000 seedlings of timber and fruit trees.

Other Objectives

• Making the farm profitable by increasing production on agroforestry farms.
• Reaching a rational and optimum level of use of land, material, and human and financial resources.
• Boosting productive potential, mainly plantings of varied crops, fruit and timber trees in ecological and landscaping conditions to meet the population’s growing demands.
• Ensuring the achievement of the land’s maximum productive possibilities, taking into account its features and potential and applying intelligence, technological efforts, etc.
• Obtaining high yields.
• Guaranteeing that the agricultural production of its farms reaches the population with the required quality, appearance and freshness.
• Ensuring the planting, care and harvest of the produce that must be supplied all year long.
• Achieving worker incentives through the results obtained on the farms.

Basis for Applying the Payment and Incentives System

• Producers must apply the technology established for each crop.
• Each farm must have the necessary number of producers, depending on its size and type of crop.
• Farms will be represented by the farm manager.
• Each farm will prepare a production quota that takes into account the volumes and supplies determined in direct consultation with the UEAF. Both parties will assess the prices in effect and the amount of products delivered by the farms.
• The UEAF must have a system of incentives and food assistance similar to that of the Havana Multi-Crop Company.
• The UEAF must have a marketing section where all of the farms’ produce will be received and sold and where the farms’ earnings will be determined.
• The UEAF will guarantee compliance with the principles of the state-owned companies’ Farm System.
• The UEAF will establish a control system for each farm’s economic and productive results.

Features of the Payment and Incentives System

For farm workers. This consists of a payment on time of $225.00 per month for workers, $265.00 for the farm manager and a periodic incentive deriving from the income earned from the sale of produce.

Of the amount to be distributed, 50 per cent will go to worker incentives and the remaining 50 per cent to the UEAF. Expenses (including salary, vacation, social security, supplies and loan repayment) will be deducted from the 50 per cent going to workers.

For UEAF workers. Each manager, official, technician or worker will be paid for his or her position in the form of payment established in current legislation and will participate in distributing up to 10 per cent of earnings according to the results of his or her work.

The earnings of all of the farms are considered UEAF earnings for the cafeteria and other items.

It has been determined that, apart from these changes, PMH management and Agroforestry Farm producers and workers should benefit as well. It is necessary to seek greater connection with the remaining producers located in the area, especially those of the Nguyen Van Troi CCS.

Nguyen Van Trói Credit and Service Cooperative

The Nguyen Van Trói Credit and Service Cooperative (CCS) is an association of field workers and farmers who use the land they cultivate free of charge. The cooperative has 57 members, 28 (49 per cent) of whom are landholders (field workers and farmers) residing in the PMH area. Nine (15.7 per cent) of the members are women and, among them, four (7 per cent) are landholders (producers).

The cooperative has a Board of Directors comprising seven members, three of whom are women, and its own charter governing its operations. The Producers’ Assembly is the highest decision-making body comprising 100 per cent of the cooperative’s members. The average age of the members is 49 and their involvement in the cooperative is stable.

This CCS is an autonomous, self-managing association of producers and is currently profitable. It includes 28 farms varying in size between 1 and 8 ha. Of the total number of farms, only 3 (10.7 per cent) are private property.

The remaining areas are considered a collective hectare that is farmed intensively to generate income entirely for the cooperative’s operation. This area has an irrigation system and is mainly used for growing fresh vegetables.

Summary

Source: Nguyen Van Trói CCS.
Note: The figures for the areas are in hectares.

It is important to mention that the rest of the cooperative’s members (29) are involved in production, but not permanently, and therefore are not considered producers.

Established Crops and Allocation of Production

The CCS had proposed a production quota of 24,000 qq for the year 2000, which was met by 109 per cent. Total production at the end of this year was 26,300 qq (1,195,454.5 kg).⁷

The allocation of this production was:

On comparing the results achieved in the year 2000 by the field workers of the city of Havana, the Nguyen Van Trói CCS and the PMH multi-crop farms, the following can be seen:

The yields achieved by the Nguyen Van Troi CCS were above the city of Havana’s average. However, the production per producer equals 56.3 per cent of the same, which may be in part because it employs more workers per ha.

Production of the main crops established in the Nguyen Van Troi CCS’s areas is as follows:

Comparison of flower production yields

Source: Nguyen Van Trói CCS.

Note: The area for growing flowers in the CCS is 7 ha.

A marked difference is seen between the yields achieved in flower production on the PMH multi-crop farms and in the Nguyen Van Troi CCS. This difference is due to the greater experience of the CCS producers and the fact that they plant high-yield varieties such as asters.

Among the fresh vegetables, lettuce, okra, eggplant, different varieties of tomato, cabbage, beet, turnip, carrot and parsley predominate. Among tubers and roots, sweet potato, yucca, plantain and squash are notable. Among fruits, guava, lemon and coconut are dominant. Maize predominates in grain cultivation.

In the year 2000, the CCS sold 5,700 l of cow’s milk for the first time to the dairy industry. For 2001 it has a sales quota of 10,000 l of milk. Some 21 per cent of producers supply milk to the industry and the rest have cows (generally one per producer) for their own milk consumption. The average yield achieved by producers supplying the industry is estimated at 5 l per cow milked.

Livestock production has a prominent place in the CCS’s agricultural production, although it is not always considered in assessment indicators, in part because most of it is used for family consumption. However, its existence supports and complements plant production, which is reflected in the preparation of organic fertilizers such as compost and/or worm humus on the farms, supplying 20 to 60 per cent of their fertilization needs. However, they still receive a certain amount of agrochemicals from MINAGRI, such as fertilizers and pesticides, mostly for flower cultivation.

Source: Nguyen Van Trói CCS.

The CCS also produces ham which is sold mostly in the farmers’ market and is the only form of local small industry carried out in the PMH area.

In recent times there has been an effort to rescue traditional fruit trees. Approximately 2,300 guava, coconut, custard apple, soursop, cashew, sweetsop, avocado and mango trees have been planted in CCS areas. One producer is also rescuing mung bean production.

Water sources used for irrigation are one spring, five microreservoirs and three wells located on farms. The irrigated area is 13.4 ha in size, representing 37 per cent of the cultivated area. Water from the Almendares River is not used as it is not considered to have the required quality for irrigation. Water from the population’s water supply network is practically never used due to established restrictions. It is evident that there is a lack of available water, resulting in part of the production being dry-farmed.

The Credit and Service Cooperative’s (CCS) Maintenance and Development Perspectives on the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Project

It should be noted that of the CCS’s 28 landholders, 10.7 per cent are landowners (field workers who have owned the land since before 1959) and 89.3 per cent are farmers authorized to use the land (provided by MINAGRI) free of charge who have been doing so for more than 26 years. This stability indicates a level of permanence for the producers and the acknowledgement of institutions involved in the city’s agricultural activity.

The assessment carried out by the CCS Board demonstrated its interest in forming part of the PMH project in order to express its views.

If we take into account the 24 ha occupied by the PMH’s multi-crop farms and the CCS’s 42.9 ha, the total is 66.9 ha. The PMH has proposed keeping 60 ha reserved for urban agriculture in the future, and therefore the figures do not currently present great contradictions. However, there is the intention to increase the number of the PMH Agroforestry Farm’s multi-crop farms, indicating that, in some measure, part of the CCS’s area will have to be used in the future for tree planting.

This situation must be resolved progressively, to the extent that relations between the Agroforestry Farm and the CCS transcend the framework of independent relations and the integration the activity demands is achieved.

Dispersed Producers in the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana

The 28 dispersed producers identified throughout the PMH territory more closely resemble the type of producer found on plots in the city. Although there are more of them than PMH Agroforestry Farm producers, they occupy small areas between 70 and 1,000 m². They are not organized in any way, and therefore information about them has been limited.

These producers plant a limited number of crops for their own consumption, mainly rice, plantains and taro. They sporadically plant tomatoes and lettuce for sale.

Of the information obtained about these producers, the most significant is that:

• They generally work in small groups of two to four people.
• Approximately 40 per cent have outside employment.
• More than 50 per cent are over 60 years old.
• Most report having always planted in the same place and others have moved through various areas of the park.
• All of them belong to low-income families.
• They do not know how much they produce, but state that in some cases they satisfy between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of the household’s need for rice and plantains.
• They farm during the dry season and at the start of the season some burn areas for farming.
• Most farm for three to six years.
• Out of all the producers, six grazed sheep and/or goats and three of them planted crops as well. The number of herds fluctuates between four and 16, including the young animals. None of these producers participate in the regular workforce.

These producers demonstrate a low exploitation of the areas they have been spontaneously occupying and their results are typical of subsistence agriculture, which shows a lack of care for them. However, they are a group that is interested in agricultural production and therefore constitute a potential that may be integrated through training and guidance on the PMH’s environmental and economic demands, and at the same time will be more prepared to satisfy their own needs.

CHAPTER VI CONTINUES...

Document(s) 13 of 13