----- Original Message ----- From: Fab Rodriguez To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2000 7:04 AM Subject: [M-L L] NGO's praises Cuba's program for sustainable development Non-governmental Organization to the United Nations Food Program praises Cuba for sustainable development Food First Announces Our 5th Sustainable Agriculture Delegation to Cuba February 20th to 29th, 2000 Cuba is currently engaged in one of the most ambitious and intensive transformations from chemically dependant to organic, sustainable agriculture ever attempted. Join Food First as one of the growing number of international farmers and agricultural professionals to study and support this valuable undertaking.  Visit cooperative & individual farms, organics, biological control production centers, worm composting facilities, and research extension agencies.  Learn about the policy changes and technological innovations that have facilitated the transition to organic systems. Why Should We Care About Agriculture in Cuba? One of the biggest problems faced by proponents of organic agriculture is the firmly established agri-industry, which claims that organic, small-scale, sustainable methods of food production are simply not economically viable. The popular perception is that toxic chemicals, the demise of the family farm, and the consolidation of the control over our food system into a few, powerful, transnational corporations are all necessary if we are to feed the world''s ever-expanding population. Cuba is proving that preconceptions a myth. It is the first nation to attempt to convert its entire system of food production to sustainable methods. This conversion does not mean a simple substitution of organic inputs for chemical ones; Cuba has changed the very structure of its agricultural system. The formerly monolithic state farms have been slowly parceled out to cooperatives and individual farmers, thereby increasing their efficiency and allowing the farmers greater food security. In the cities, unused land has been made available to its citizens for cultivation, creating a vast system of organic urban gardens. The more than 8,000 gardens in Havana alone produced 541,000 tons of food in 1998 and accounted for as much as 30% of the nutritional needs of certain areas. Cuba has become a leader in the world of organic agriculture. Its research and development and its extension agencies have advanced organic methods in the urban and rural sectors. The National Institute for Basic Research in Tropical Agriculture (INIFAT) has research stations across the country that specialize in the specific challenges of their area. They construct and maintain nurseries and assist farmers with technical questions through their extension programs. The Plant Protection Research Institute has created more than 200 Centers for the Reproduction of Entomophages and Entomophathogen (CREEs) that research and produce biological controls. The CREEs are located throughout the country, supplying farmers and gardeners with new and useful biological products. The international community could learn a great deal by aiding and studying this system. With continued commitment and international support, the Cuban organic movement can become a new way to think about food production. With so much hunger and food insecurity in the U.S. and across the world, and the persistent social and environmental degradation caused by our current ""modernized"" system of agriculture, it is time for us to seriously consider our alternatives. Cuba presents us with a case where alternatives are practiced, and where they are succeeding in increasing food security and environmental safety. Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food First ______________________________________________________ eGroups.com Home: http://www.egroups.com/group/marxist-leninist-list www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
