LOS PALACIOS, Pinar del Río.- “All obstacles must be removed.” Thus, leaving no room for nuances that might justify bureaucracy, the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, expressed this Thursday morning, almost at the end of his visit to the Los Palacios Agro-industrial Grain Company, a setting from which he was able to observe the integration of that entity with the Vietnamese company Agri-VMA, in a vital task such as rice production.
Moments before the Head of State arrived at the Agro-industrial Grain Company, located in the westernmost province of the Island, its general director, Michel Ballate Camejo, explained to journalists that the company from the Asian country has at its disposal one thousand hectares of land in usufruct, and applies production models jointly with its counterpart from the Caribbean country.
The executive explained that Agri-VMA “has been working here for about three seasons now”, and boasts yields far superior “to what we have today on average as a country”.
"How many hectares have you planted here?" we asked Michel Ballate. He then spoke of more than 800 hectares planted thanks to the joint project, adding that they expect to reach about 1,700 hectares, and that they plan to harvest about 14,000 tons of rice.
“Today we are harvesting rice,” the Cuban company executive stated, “at nine tons per hectare, a yield that we haven’t seen in the country for many years.”
-What advantages has this alliance with the Vietnamese brought them?
-First, obtaining the necessary inputs. Rice is a very expensive grain, requiring a robust technological package; and they have it. The other factor is the wisdom of these friends: they have many years of experience in cultivation; and that's why the Cuban experience, which is very extensive agriculture, is combined with their intensive experience, and the results we see today are achieved.
Ballate spoke of high yields and very good quality rice. He explained that a joint venture is planned. It's a type of collaboration, he said, that will extend to other parts of the island: "The trend is to grow."
The expert producer, dedicated to that world for three decades, shared his conviction that there is an "expeditious way for us rice farmers to give the answer that our people need."
Regarding the Pinar del Río scenario, Michel Ballate Camejo explained that they are seeking to acquire a land fund "of around 4,000 hectares, which will allow us to guarantee the basic food basket, and generate a certain amount of rice to be able to sell it on the market in foreign currency and make the production model self-sustaining."
This endeavor, as the company's CEO reflected, is not separate from the difficulties the country is experiencing. He said this because "the energy problem is very serious"; and that is why they are "working on installing a biomass furnace, which would save 2,050 liters of diesel per day."
They are not, he commented, undertaking ideal processes: “rice is being dried on roads, on tracks; that is, with the sun, but we have the imperative need to modify our industries that today, in truth, are lagging behind the results of agriculture.”
Ballate acknowledged that “Vietnamese businesspeople are very willing to continue investing despite the pressure currently being exerted on foreign businesses not to invest in Cuba. They have maintained an unwavering position, they haven't hesitated for a second, and they have provided the necessary resources and continue working.”
In the area visited this Thursday by President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez - who was accompanied by the member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Roberto Morales Ojeda; the Minister of Agriculture, Ydael Pérez Brito; and the authorities of the territory - work is done 13, 14 hours a day.
These days of heavy rain have complicated everything for the past week. But there is a good purpose, as Ballate explained to reporters: “To keep the company going; and to work together with the Vietnamese to save all that high-quality rice in the fields.”
Standing amidst fields where various types of machinery were operating, President Díaz-Canel spoke with representatives of the Vietnamese company Agri-VMA—including its president, Nguyen Van Quang. At one point during the exchange, he highlighted the ideas emerging from the dialogue among the island's producers and executives: “They are proposing to use this as a workshop to train our producers. And I believe that all the experience we are accumulating here can be transferred to other places.”
There, the dignitary emphasized the importance of planting as much land as possible – “how much land there is still to be planted,” he said – and highlighted the value of continuing to connect more producers to agricultural areas. Towards the end of the tour, from a warehouse where he spoke with farmers and asked them about their earnings, he praised the significance of the shared experience:
“This is productive prosperity: we substitute imports; we achieve production levels we weren't having before, employment, income for the family, well-being… This is already associated with prosperity.”
Not long ago, the meeting was held in Havana by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, with Comrade Nguyen Van Quang, President of Agri-VMA.
Then, they had both discussed the success of the joint experience in Los Palacios; about how the Asian entity is developing in areas of the Agro-industrial Grain Company, in Pinar del Río territory, a collaboration that inspires hope, especially because of the facts.
On that day of the meeting, the dignitary thanked Nguyen Van Quang for support that demonstrates "that in a short time Cuba will be able to become self-sufficient in rice." It was also the moment when the visiting friend thanked President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez for the welcome and commented that his arrival in Cuba was in line with his country's leadership's decision to continue supporting sister nation Cuba.