As Cuba and the United States move closer towards re-establishing diplomatic relations, U.S. companies are increasingly looking for commercial opportunities on the island. The U.S. already exports food to Cuba, next could be pesticides and fertilizers. Yet, Cuba has a large and well-established organic farming sector using only non-chemical products. CCTV correspondent Michael Voss filed this report.
U.S. organic food sales by category, 2005-2014
Note: Data for 2012-2014 are estimates. Sources: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from Nutrition Business Journal.
Highlights:
- There are more than 10 thousand urban organic farms in Cuba, producing around half of all the country’s vegetables, according to the Government’s Urban Agriculture Program.
- Many of the bigger rural farms already use chemical pesticides to control insects and plant diseases.
- Despite the success of the urban farms, Cuba still imports more than half of all the food it needs
CCTV America, April 28, 2015
