00:00In Cuba, tematic Axis 7 of the 176 transformations authorize corporatives to export directly.
00:08In Viñales, at the only farm in the country with export lines for special type of tobacco,
00:15one producer continues to export through Cuba tobacco.
00:18Our correspondent, Evelyn Leyva, has the details.
00:22Axis 7 of the 176 transformations focuses on policy, and its first priority is land.
00:28It maintains state ownership on behalf of the people, while opening up land-use rights to all types of operators,
00:34state, owned, private, mixed and individual, for an indefinite period and over areas of varying sizes,
00:39depending on the project each applicant submits.
00:42Its main priority areas include agriculture, livestock, forestry, tobacco production, ecotourism and agritourism.
00:48The pillar also seeks to strengthen cooperatives by granting them the authority to import fuel,
00:53export directly and open foreign currency accounts.
00:55It also introduces prices that reflect market conditions, access to inputs and an agricultural development fund
01:01that extends to the municipal level.
01:02But experts warn that without increased production, none of these measures will work.
01:06Without a significant increase in production and services, any package of measures is likely to fail.
01:17You cannot distribute what you do not have.
01:22What has not been produced in agriculture, where all participants can play a role,
01:27there is also an important opportunity for a vital resource like land to be put to productive use.
01:34For this new opening to work, Axis 7 requires a law establishing clear rules, the Agricultural and Forestry Land Law.
01:40It defines who can be granted land, how it can be allocated and under what conditions.
01:45It allows both Cuban and foreign nationals to obtain land-use rights for production or salt sufficiency.
01:50It also authorizes agricultural production cooperatives to allocate idle land, subject to approval by the General Assembly.
01:57For individuals, land-use rights are granted for 25 years, with the possibility of renewal,
02:02on the condition that they work the land personally and directly.
02:09This represents a very significant relaxation of the rules.
02:12It is a set of regulations that transforms land management while complementing it with other areas,
02:17such as animal genetics, plant genetics, veterinary services, salt management, machinery, irrigation, drainage, financial matters, and much more.
02:26There is a high degree of integration in the way land, cooperatives, input markets, access to financing,
02:32and marketing complement one another.
02:34There is no doubt that this transformation, which are being implemented very quickly and are far-reaching,
02:39will allow all participants to take part in food production on an equal footing
02:44and make a significant contribution to the country's food sovereignty.
02:47Gianni Medina Fernandez owns El Palenque Farm, the only shade-grown tobacco farm in Viñales,
02:54producing a specialty tobacco for export.
02:56Measure 59 opens the door for cooperatives to export independently,
03:00while also maintaining existing partnership and production linkage arrangements.
03:06We are all tobacco producers working under the use of fruit system.
03:13In our first year, we harvested 132 quintiles.
03:16This year, we have surpassed our own record with an estimated harvest of 500 quintiles of tobacco.
03:22Cuba tobacco brought in some water pumps, their own solar panels.
03:25We have one pump with 44 panels.
03:28Everything you plant is already sold because of the quality of the tobacco.
03:31We wish we could plant as much as possible.
03:35Of the 176 transformations, Axis 7 is the one focused on the countryside.
03:40It opens up access to land, expands the power of cooperatives,
03:43recognizes the role of the market, and creates incentives.
03:46The land law provides the framework through contracts, limits, and time frames.
03:50Evelyn Levy, Javier Campanería, Telesur, La Habana, y Pinar del Río, Cuba.
