Farmers from Ciego de Avila are preparing the land to advance potato sowing and harvest crops in January, as part of an emerging program following the damage caused by Hurricane Irma.
The idea is to begin the tuber plantations on October 15 and conclude them on November 20, said the engineer Orlando Pérez, provincial delegate of agriculture, to ACN.
Around 852 hectares should be encouraged for that period, with the objective of producing about 20 thousand tons of food among the various La Cuba crops companies, Arnaldo Ramírez and El Mambí, as well as the agricultural production cooperatives (CPA) Paquito González, Revolution de Octubre and 26 de Julio.
At the beginning of the planting, national seed stored in refrigerators will be used, and then imports, which will have a higher supply compared to the previous season, Perez said.
The CPA Paquito González, one of the best in Cuba for its efficiency and productivity, intends to surpass last year's 120 hectares, when yields reached 25 tons per hectare, said its president, engineer José Alberto González.
Technicians in mechanization prepare the 86 central pivot machines that will irrigate the fields with sprinklers, as the equipment had to be disassembled and secured due to Irma's fury. Now they are mounted again, with the hoses and other accessories that were conveniently sheltered.
During the previous crop production, the water irrigation efficiency with this type of machinery was above 90 percent effective, which was an adequate use of the water resource, explained Emilio Varela, a specialist in machinery.
Although the winds and rain associated with Hurricane Irma significantly damaged Ciego de Ávila's agricultural plantations, especially the banana plantations, the benefits of rainfall will begin to bear fruit in a short time.
Source: ACN