Institutionalizing Sustainable Agriculture: Opportunities and Challenges in Cuba

Erin Nelson¹, Steffanie Scott² and Angel Leyva Galán³

Abstract
The mainstreaming of organic production has been heavily criticized for diluting the philosophical ideals of the organic movement and creating an organic model that strongly resembles the conventional agricultural sector.

Cuba however has managed to bring organic production into the mainstream in a very different manner. First of all, Cuba has not engaged in export-oriented organics, but instead has focused on strengthening regional economies by promoting local networks of food production and consumption that are characterized by high levels of biodiversity and minimal use of non-renewable resources. As such, Cuban agriculture defies the industrial model of both conventional and organic production, and proves that organics can be brought into the mainstream as a means of achieving food security and sovereignty. Secondly, the Cuban state (along with other national institutions) has played a key role in the promotion of agroecology.

Indeed, field research in the country demonstrated that much of the impetus for the shift away from conventional production in Cuba has come from ‘above’. The strategy of institutionalizing agroecology has been highly successful in terms of the extent to which agroecological techniques have been adopted across the country; however, the top-down approach also poses a potential problem, as it may alienate some producers.

The opportunities and challenges presented by the institutionalization of sustainable agriculture in Cuba provide a useful platform for discussing how true alternatives to the globalized food system can be achieved, as well as the benefits and risks of strong state involvement in the promotion of organic agriculture.

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Source
Presented at the 2007 Social Sciences Symposium at the Guelph Organic Conference


Author Locations & Affiliations
(1) Organic Agriculture Program, Falls Brook Centre, New Brunswick and Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, Mexico, erinnelson@yahoo.com
(2) Department of Geography, University of Waterloo, sdscott@fesuwaterloo.ca
(3) Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas, Cuba,leyva@inca.edu.cu


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Posted March 2007