Cuban peasants to cultivate in Venezuela and take 50 percent of the crop

[Judi Lynn]

CARACAS, Friday February 20, 2009
Cuban peasants to cultivate in Venezuela and take 50 percent of the crop

Cuban authorities are examining "political reliability" of the peasants leaving for Venezuela

Economy
The government of Cuba will send farmers and skilled peasants to Venezuela to develop the Orinoco plains and cultivate tubers and grains that will be shared in a 50/50 split by Cuba and Venezuela, said an official of the Ministry of Agriculture of Cuba (Minagri), as reported by the expatriate website Cubaencuentro.

According to the report, the managers of the state agriculture agencies in the province of Villa Clara, Cuba, are selecting from early February a group of peasants to work in Venezuela, said Jorge Luis Artiles Montiel, a member of the Cuban opposition party Partido Solidaridad Democrática (PSD).

The applications are received by a joint commission of representatives of Minagri and the Department of State Security, of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, in order to check the degree of political reliability of the candidates and allow them to travel.

Among the farmers who will be sent to Venezuela are peasants, tractor drivers, turbine operators, agriculture mechanics and other skilled labor working for several state agriculture companies, as well as members of the agricultural cooperatives of the province of Villa Clara.

http://english.eluniversal.com/2009/02/20/en_eco_esp_cuban-peasants-to-cu_20A2232929.shtml
Anti-Chavez newspaper

[silverweb]

1. That's brilliant.

Cuban farmers learned so much during the "Special Times" when they had to do so much with so little.

They've developed wonderful organic farming expertise and are the perfect choice to help Venezuelans develop their farming lands.

I only hope they receive adequate protection from anti-Chavez goons.

[Bacchus39]

2. don't worry, only the politically reliable will be laboring at the work camps

"The applications are received by a joint commission of representatives of Minagri and the Department of State Security, of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, in order to check the degree of political reliability of the candidates and allow them to travel."

[Judi Lynn]

3. As interpreted by a conspicuous pro-coup, anti-Chavez paper. You bet. n/t

[silverweb]

4. I'll bet I know who that "ignored" commenter is...

I don't even have to unignore him and peek to be 99% sure. :D

I'll bet, too, that he just made some snide comment not even directly relevant to what I said and not positively contributory in any way.

[Judi Lynn]

6. I'm sure you're right. You're not missing anything, of course!

I'm sorry I can't tell you. I glanced, but can't remember. I tend to pay almost no attention, as well. BIG waste of time to do otherwise.

[Bacchus39]

11. you posted it!!! n/t

s

[Judi Lynn]

13. I posted the useful information I wanted to share with other posters on the organiponicos

becoming a bigger item in Venezuela, as they step up their program, bringing in specialists to help Venezuelans get their valuable program developed.

That's what I posted.

[Bacchus39]

15. and I highlighted this "useful" information

"The applications are received by a joint commission of representatives of Minagri and the Department of State Security, of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, in order to check the degree of political reliability of the candidates and allow them to travel."


we certainly don't want any subversive farmers at the labor camps.

[Mika]

12. That is a good idea.

Seriously. For a program like this it makes plain sense to have only the most committed and dedicated people doing this. Why would any organization/group send people out on a project who hate the idea of the project? That's what republicans do to destroy government.

As mentioned upthread, the Cubans really got their act together during the special period, and are a model for many nations who are engaging in more efficient agriculture, because of all of the economic and peak oil factors. It just makes sense.

Who better to teach this social project than the most dedicated socialist teachers. Venezuela has a good partner in this endeavor. Who better for Cuba to do this with than Venezuela?

Viva the Axis of Good!

[Judi Lynn]

5. They developed raised bed gardening, and mastered its secrets.

I believe at one time they had Israeli advisors, at the beginning. Not totally informed on that, as it was long ago.

They are knowns as "organiponicos," (organic gardening) and the Cubans have developed unbelievable methods they've been sharing with others. There's a ton of information available for any search.

Here's what it looks like in Caracas, near a hotel:



More photos:
Urban Gardens of Caracas, Venezuela - Swords Into Ploughshares
http://www.cityfarmer.org/caracas.html

Video:
http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_xYXJl7D1zw

Feeding Ourselves: Organic Urban Gardens in Caracas, Venezuela
Written by April M. Howard
Thursday, 10 August 2006



In the middle of the modern, concrete city of Caracas, Venezuela, Noralí Verenzuela is standing in a garden dressed in jeans and work boots. She is the director of the Organopónico Bolivar I, the first urban, organic garden to show its green face in the heart of the city of Caracas, Venezuela.

One afternoon while international crowds swarmed the city for the World Social Forum, I visited the "organoponic" garden to talk with Verenzuela about the garden’s place in the city and Venezuelan politics. To Verenzuela, the garden represents a shift in the ways that Venezuelans get their food. "People are waking up," she told the press. "We've been dependent on McDonald's and Wendy's for so long. Now people are learning to eat what we can produce ourselves."<[1>]

Busy commuters might miss the corner of green between busy sidewalks at the Bellas Artes metro stop and the shiny skyscrapers of the Caracas Hilton. Still, if you pass by several times, your eye might wander toward the color of plants in the otherwise concrete city. At the edge of the garden, a squat concrete shed has a window onto the sidewalk. Inside, shelves display bunches of lettuce and carrots for sale to the public at much cheaper prices than found in the grocery stores.

This 1.2-acre plot tucked into what was an empty lot is part of a plan led by the government of President Hugo Chavez to shift the Venezuelan economy toward what it calls "endogenous development." Defined by its roots, the word "endogenous" means "inwardly creating," which is what the leaders of the Bolivarian Revolution would like to make the economy of Venezuela.

More:
http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/869/

http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com.nyud.net:8090/images/2008/06/04/image4154687g.jpg http://static.guim.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/sys-images/Environment/Pix/pictures/2008/04/04/Organoponico460.jpg

Cuba

[silverweb]

7. Yes! So beautiful...

I've read articles and seen videos about this, too.

Wasn't there also a feature film about how Cuba's universities and farmers developed this process after the USSR fell apart?

I remember trying to find it on line, but learning that I had to buy a DVD or something... trying to remember now....



I would love to visit Cuba some day. My terrible Spanish needs lots and lots of work first, though! :D

[Judi Lynn]

8. British DU'er dipsydoodle - once "edwardlindy" ) posted info. on the DVD.

Here's his last thread, with the info. on the DVD, which he has mentioned before, here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x6189

[silverweb]

9. Thank you!

I have to get to work now, but will read this later on this evening.

:hi:

[Vogon_Glory]

10. I'm Reminded of a Soviet-Era Joke

This little experiment reminds me of a Soviet era joke--about a Five Year plan where the grain is sown in the Ukraine and it is harvested in Iowa (The US State of Iowa, for the benefit of foreign DU readers).

Looks to me like somebody in Cuba is curious to see how Cuban agriculture might work in a post-state socialist system but wants to control what is said about the results if the experiment either fails--or if it works all too well.

:evilgrin:

[Mika]

14. Interesting perspective.

Negative. Fearful.


On the other hand, I have a different view. Seeing as how Cuba has been successful in their own agricultural undertakings, even being recognized as developing a sustainable model while feeding all of the Cuban people. I just makes sense that Cuba's government would select and train people who are committed to the success of the project. Most any business would interview and select those who would best be suited to risk the expense and time for their training, housing, etc, etc, and the project itself.

[Vogon_Glory]

16. Successful. Yeah, Sure...

Successful?

Yeah, suuuuure......

:rofl:

Cuba has been so 'successful' at feeding itself that it has been buying food from abroad for years. Now THERE'S clear 'proof' for agricultural self-sufficiency.

Hah! Hah! Hah! Ho! Ho! Ho! Hee! Hee! Hee!

My comment concerning the upcoming experiment in Venezuela has much more to do with my cynicism towards authoritarian governments and institutions. I don't believe that authoritarian-minded governments or institutions like discussing or admitting to their failures any more than their followers like it when the disaffected and the sceptics dare to speak or write heresy where other folks can see it.

Furthermore, since I don't believe the more starry-eyed Marxist-Leninist fables about 'new socialist men" and 'new socialist women,' I shouldn't wonder if at least some of the Cubans who will travel to Venezuela won't come home with considerably more of a 'capitalist-roader' mindset concerning profit and the right to sell one's labor and to receive proper compensation for it than they had before they left Cuba.

:dem: