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Ask John Dear John, Is it true that Cuba has gone organic? Are there any tours to help someone go there and see for themselves?
Bruce
Dear Bruce, Yes it is true. In fact, Cuba has developed one of the most efficient organic agriculture systems in the world, and organic farmers from other countries, including the United States, are now visiting the island nation to learn its methods. In the process, Cuba has disproven the myth that organic farming on a grand scale is impractical. Peter Rosset of the Institute for Food and Development Policy says this is “the largest conversion from conventional agriculture to organic or semi-organic farming that the world has ever known.” Cuba went organic by default, initially. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. embargo prevented the country from importing the chemicals upon which conventional farming depends. The country also could not obtain the machinery to support high-tech corporate farming. Organic farming became the key to feeding the nation’s growing populations. Instead of an agricultural system centered on monocultures growing sugar and tobacco with chemicals for export, the land is now used to grow food organically for people. Rather than relying on dangerous agrochemical, Cuba uses compost and worms to fertilize the soil. Today, there are 173 “vermicompost” centers across Cuba, producing 93,000 tons of natural compost a year. Even city-dwellers are part of the answer. Havana, home to 20% of the island’s population, is now flowering in small organic vegetable gardens, covering 30% of the city’s arable land. When it first became apparent that Cuba no longer had the means to acquire pesticides and herbicides, there were many who forecast widespread hunger for this island nation. But what has happened is that both the quality and quantity of crop yields have actually increased. Plus, this has taken place at a lower cost than before, and eliminated the harm agrochemicals do to the health of people and the environment. In 2000, a group of Iowa farmers and professors traveled to Cuba to investigate these developments in the island’s agricultural systems. “In many ways, they’re ahead of us,” concluded Richard Wrage, of Boone County Iowa Extension Office. Lorna Michael Butler, Chair of Iowa State’s sustainable agriculture department added that, “more students should study Cuba’s growing system.” Global Exchange, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, has taken over 5,000 people to Cuba in the last 10 years. Global Exchange is the second largest provider of travel services to Cuba in the United States, and their trips have spawned many activists and organizations now working to end the U.S. embargo of Cuba. In 2003, they are organizing and conducting 25 different tours to Cuba. These educational tours explore the many faces of Cuba, and focus on diverse themes including “Alternative & Traditional Medicine,” and “Sustainable Agriculture.” They provide a wonderful opportunity to learn about our island neighbor and the warmth of the Cuban people, while experiencing their dramatic history and culture as it is reflected in their daily lives. For further information on the Global Exchange tours, visit http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/auto/byCountry.html#Cuba Thanks for asking, John 
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