The UN and Canada cooperate with Cuba on a project to improve fruit production

Cuba is going to launch the march a project to encourage the production of fruits in two provinces of the country, valued at six million dollars, with the cooperation of the Program of Nations United for Development (UNDP) and the Canadian Embassy in Cuba.

Havana, Nov 12 (EFE) .- Cuba is going to put the march on a project to encourage the production of fruits in two provinces of the country, valued at six million dollars, with the cooperation of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Canadian Embassy in Cuba.

This program, which will be developed under the control of the Ministry of Agriculture, has as its main objective to achieve increases of between 10 and 30 percent of the productions of guava, mango and pump fruit, according to information in the official press.

The program will take out in the provinces of Artemisa, in the western part of the island, very close to Havana; On the island, Soledad Bauzá, considered that the project is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the 2030 National Development Plan, from the introduction into the production of new fruit trees technological bases, patterns of use of productive factors and models of management and organization of production.

Among the expected results are the training of personnel to diagnose, project and strategically manage the fruit trees, with a chain approach, understanding the market and analyzing opportunities, in order to achieve returns sustainable to the investment.

An increase in the capacities of cooperatives to produce and market fresh and processed fruits is also foreseen, in order to achieve benefits economic aspects that have an impact on the improvement of the standard of living in rural communities, especially among young people and women.

The director of international affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture, Moraima Céspedes said that the project will benefit 80 companies in five municipalities in the provinces of Artemisa and Santiago de Cuba, where producers of experience are grouped, willing to give added value to the fruit trees.

As part of the economic reforms of Raúl Castro, one of the objectives of the Cuban Government is to encourage local food production, since the island spends about 2.5 billion dollars a year to import food.