Organic Cuba without Using Fossil Fuels
Cuba is where agriculture without fossil fuels has been put to its greatest test, and it has passed with flying colors. The year 1989 ushered in the “Special Period”, a scenario that can hit other countries in the not too distant future unless they prepare for it now.Under the agreements with the Soviet Union before it collapsed, Cuba had been an oil-driven country and 98 per cent of all its petroleum had cone from the Socialist countries. in 1989 Cuba was forced to cut the re-export in half and in 1990 oil exports were cut entirely as only 10 of the 13 tons promised by the new capitalist leadership of Russia was received. In 1991 only 6 of the 13 tons was received and the short fall of oil began to severely affect the Cuban economy.
The capitalist leadership of Russia now put a squeeze on Cuba since Cuba imported from the USSR 66% of its food, 86% of its raw materials, and 80% of its machinery and spare parts. Consequently when support from the USSR was withdrawn, factories closed, food scarcity was widespread. The collapse of the Socialist Bloc and the tightened US embargo that followed exposed the vulnerability of Cuba, and it was plummeted into the worst food crisis in its history.
In 1990 a survival economy policy was put into place as 100,000 tons of wheat that was normally obtained from the Soviet Union through barter arrangements failed to arrive, so the Cuban government had to use scarce hard currency to buy and import grain from Canada.
The success of Cuban urban agriculture has practically solved this problem caused by the collapse of the Socialist countries.
Cuban experience with fossil
fuels is a lesson for other countries.
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