Urban Gardening Projects in Cuba Create Thousands of Jobs

The most intensive urban agriculture programs practiced anywhere is in Cuba, which initiated an urban garden program in the early 1990s to combat the serious shortage of food in the cities due to the lack of petroleum products to transport food in from the countryside. The gardens sprouted up everywhere through collaborative efforts from residents and local governments — from schools, to community centers, to factories to army posts. Such was the success of the program that more than 50 percent of Havana's fresh produce is grown within city limits. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used in the process, making the entire growing structure organic.

Between 1992 and 1997, the urban gardening program provided the population with fresh vegetables at reasonable cost and a goal to reach the United Nations FAO objective of providing each person with no less than 300 grams of fresh vegetables every day, the figure that was established by the World Health Organization as a nutritional requirement for an individual to sustain their personal health.

Instead of taking synthetic vitamins and minerals, Cuban physicians say, the best thing a person can do from a nutritional point of view is to eat no less than 300 grams, or about three quarters of a pound, of fresh vegetables every day. Organic urban farming today is already reaching this target in several Cuban municipalities, and in others, it is making a substantial contribution to that goal. Organic urban farming makes very efficient use of whatever plot of land is available, is a source of employment for many persons, and provides fresh produce with zero transportation costs, so it is a really environmentally sound approach. Among the most popular crops are tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cabbage, and carrots.

Because of this success, the Ministry of Agriculture sponsored a second urban gardening project in 2001 on some 3,000 hectares of unused land in Cuba's cities that was converted into urban gardens. Estimates are that the program provided thousands of jobs, up to 60,000. In Granma Province alone, which had suffered from problems associated with depopulation, 12,000 jobs were guaranteed by the project.

Public support from national and local policymakers included technical advice, high quality seeds, and a phyto-sanitary service. It also helped local programs with crop rotation, the selection of adequate organic fertilizers, and the production of earthworm soil amendments as the basis of organic fertilizer used in the program.

Cuba's example tells us what can happen when collaboration occurs between key stakeholders in a society with each working for a common goal. It is also a shining example of how quickly change in food security can occur when unused public spaces are mobilized to serve the interests of all. Source: NY News Transfer

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• When 38,000 Cuban workers lost their jobs because of the restructuring of the sugar industry in the national commitment to organic agriculture, some 28,000 were retrained in organic agriculture programs and received a living allowance.

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