Specialists from the Jorge Dimitrov Institute of Agricultural Research (IIAJD) in the province of Granma, have designed a strategy to extend the cultivation of figs in the eastern region of Cuba.
Javier Dieguez Zaldivar, an auxiliary researcher, told the press that the international project to study the fruit, its production, and Cuba's conditions, which had excellent results in the pre-mountain areas, had begun in 2001 with the collaboration of Spain.
Pastora Verdecia, a researcher at the center, said that the agricultural experimental station in Jucaibama, in this territory, had developed a manual that brings together the necessary elements to produce figs on a larger scale.
Dieguez Zaldivar said that the fig tree, which is cultivated mainly in temperate zones, can be produced in tropical climates, as confirmed by the results achieved in the municipalities of Bayamo, Yara, Jiguani, and Manzanillo, where this species has been grown since colonial times.
He also said the fig fruit was similar to the apple, and that it had vitamins A, C, iron, and phosphorus and could be used in the preparation of wines, pastries, jams, juices, and to produce aliñao, a traditional drink.
The IIAJD has developed the crop in the province of Santiago de Cuba, where the fig is ready to be marketed as fruit and raw material, with the support of the governmental institutions and the experimental coffee and cacao seeds production station.
Eduardo Tamayo, the director of the Institute, said that the main problem to market them was that figs were almost unknown among Cubans, and that they needed to have a destination and use to produce them.
He said that the scientific institution was one of the few centers in the country to integrate agricultural, livestock, and environmental services research.
The services of the Center are applied at Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Las Tunas, Holguin, and seven municipalities in the province of Granma.
The institution was founded in 1980 and includes a headquarters, a pasture and forage station, and an agricultural experimentation station, all of which are located in the municipality of Bayamo.
Source: ACN