State farmers and the cooperative-farmers sector have planted more than 600 hectares of potatoes in the province of Ciego de Avila and will continue to plant this tuber in the coming days to complete the goal of planting 755 hectares for the current winter season.
The work is being carried out by workers from the companies La Cuba, Arnaldo Ramirez, El Mambi, and Cubasoy, belonging to the municipalities of Baragua, Primero de Enero, Ciego de Ávila, and Venezuela, respectively.
The agricultural production cooperatives Paquito Gonzalez, Revolucion de Octubre, and 26 de Julio, which are also located in the municipality of Baragua, which according to specialists have the best lands in the country for various crops, such as tubers, bananas, grains and vegetables, are also planting this tuber.
Ciego de Avila is expected to begin harvesting the tuber in March, 90 days after the tuber was planted. The plantations have nearly fifty central pivot machines in operation, with operators and technicians specialized in adjusting these equipment for the different irrigation systems, said Raul Monguia, Rodriguez, who is responsible for the planting and development of the crops.
Carlos Blanco Sánchez, who has been the general director of La Cuba, a company that grows various crops, for more than 20 years said potato cultivation was the island’s most important crop, among roots and tubers, which explains why a thousand hectares are planted with this product each year.
He added that Cuba’s challenge was to increase the production and quality of its potatoes, which is one of the country’s main foods, and that scientists and producers had to work to achieve this.
It’s also essential to have phytogenetic resources, conduct genetic improvement, prepare soils correctly, irrigate when necessary, and obtain and use seeds, among other important issues, Blanco said.
“In this battle for food production, we all have the duty to train ourselves; no matter how old you are or how many years you’ve been in the fields, you always need to learn something to combat viral, fungal, and bacterial diseases that affect potatoes, as well as epidemiology, and seed management,” said the director of La Cuba.