Growers in Cuba are increasingly adopting ecological farming methods as the US trade embargo continues to restrict the country's access to chemical fertilizers. Without these fertilizers and pesticides, growers still try to grow many different crops, sometimes via eco-farming.
Cuban official data show that the US embargo has cost the Cuban economy a total of 154.2 billion US dollars since 1962 when it was first imposed. Still, Cuba is undergoing a gradual economic recovery amid tightened US economic sanctions.
According to Cuba's National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), there are some 1,500 eco-farms in the country's 15 provinces and the Isle of Youth. The Cuban government continues to implement a package of 63 measures approved in April 2021 to spur national food production.
Katia Hidalgo, a senior expert at Cuba's Institute of Animal Science, said eco-farming contributes significantly to the sustainability of Cuban agriculture. By eco-farming, farmers are not only less dependent on imported fertilizers but also "more aware of the necessity to live in harmony with nature," she stated.
Source: english.news.cn