Economic Reform and Repeasantization in Post-1990 Cuba

Enríquez, Laura J.

doi:10.1353/lar.2003.0005

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Source: FAOSTAT. 4 Laura Enrı´quez (2003) has called this repeasantization, though as stated below in the text, the transition to becoming peasants has been uneven. sector, 10 percent belonged to CPAs, and 12 percent to CCSs (Machı´n Sosa et al 2010, 24).…”

Section: Agroecology: Why and What?mentioning

confidence: 99%

TheCampesino-to-Campesinoagroecology movement of ANAP in Cuba: social process methodology in the construction of sustainable peasant agriculture and food sovereignty

Rosset

Sosa²,

Jaime³

et al. 2011

Journal of Peasant Studies

358

207

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Agroecology has played a key role in helping Cuba survive the crisis caused by the collapse of the socialist bloc in Europe and the tightening of the US trade embargo. Cuban peasants have been able to boost food production without scarce and expensive imported agricultural chemicals by first substituting more ecological inputs for the no longer available imports, and then by making a transition to more agroecologically integrated and diverse farming systems. This was possible not so much because appropriate alternatives were made available, but rather because of the Campesino-a-Campesino (CAC) social process methodology that the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) used to build a grassroots agroecology movement. This paper was produced in a 'selfstudy' process spearheaded by ANAP and La Via Campesina, the international agrarian movement of which ANAP is a member. In it we document and analyze the history of the Campesino-to-Campesino Agroecology Movement (MACAC), and the significantly increased contribution of peasants to national food production in Cuba that was brought about, at least in part, due to this movement. Our key findings are (i) the spread of agroecology was rapid and successful largely due to the social process methodology and social movement dynamics, (ii) farming practices evolved over time and contributed to significantly increased relative and absolute production by the peasant sector, and (iii) those practices resulted in additional benefits including resilience to climate change.

show abstract

Section: Agroecology: Why and What?mentioning

confidence: 99%

TheCampesino-to-Campesinoagroecology movement of ANAP in Cuba: social process methodology in the construction of sustainable peasant agriculture and food sovereignty

Rosset

Sosa²,

Jaime³

et al. 2011

Journal of Peasant Studies

358

207

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The strategy included a new domestic economic policy, allowing foreign investments, liberalization of the dollar and granting licenses for private work in different sectors 8 . The strategy included a new domestic economic policy, allowing foreign investments, liberalization of the dollar and granting licenses for private work in different sectors 8 .…”

Section: Adaptation Strategies By the Cuban Governmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Small farmers, who privately owned their land, showed high adaptability to the challenges emerging from resource scarcity during the crisis. Many of the new food producers were well educated and some even held university degrees 8 . In certain regions of the country oxen have always been used for animal traction despite high levels of mechanization in the rest of the island.…”

Section: The Role Of Farmers In Mitigating the Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers' experiments in Cuba

Leitgeb

Kummer

Funes-Monzote

et al. 2012

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to the collapse of the socialist systems in 1989, Cuba's government promoted a series of structural changes to deal with resource scarcity and to enhance agricultural productivity. The upcoming crisis triggered adaptation strategies and led to a large-scale transition process towards a more sustainable model of agriculture. Farmers' experiments have been an implicit part of this process. Nowadays, farmers' capacity to experiment is widely accepted among the scientific community. However, detailed descriptions of farmers' approaches to experimentation are scarce. In this study, we examine the topics, resources, sources, motives, methods and outcomes of farmers' experiments in Cuba. The research methods comprised semi-structured interviews with 72 Cuban farmers, field notes, participant observation and a research diary. Key informants and 34 expert interviews added important insights into analysis. The results reveal that farmers' experiments are an integral part of farming in Cuba. Most farmers reported realizing their own experiments on their farms. The use of locally available resources was a crucial element for farmers' experiments. The topics were related to the introduction of new plant species or varieties, plant production, mechanization, fertilization, plant protection and the introduction of new animal species. The farmers' own idea was the most important source for experimenting, followed by ideas offered by colleagues and family members. Increasing production, independence from external resources and improving farm management were the main motives for experimenting. More than half of the farmers started to experiment without detailed written or mental planning, but made some considerations about the experiment before starting. Some planned more in detail and a few farmers devised a written plan, draft or model. Starting on a small scale was a way to minimize risks. The experiments were mainly evaluated by observation and comparison. Only a few farmers took records of their experiments. The most important outcomes were higher production, food selfsufficiency, work easement, improved plant health, increased knowledge, higher working efficiency and better taste of products. Farmers' experiments are a means of learning and they enhance farmers' capacity to adapt to changing conditions.

show abstract

“…1 Laura Enríquez (2003) has called this repeasantization, though as stated below in the text, the transition to becoming peasants has been uneven. 2 In fact, this saying is the subtitle of the book by Machín Sosa et al (2010).…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%