"If the sale is well organized, the plantain can reach a greater number of families, even in areas close to their residences to avoid exits from homes and continue the confrontation with the COVID-19."
Las Tunas, Cuba.- This was expressed by Manuel Pérez Gallego, president of the Provincial Defense Council in Las Tunas, who conducted the most recent meeting of that body, dedicated mostly to analyzing the production and marketing of different agricultural products.
In the meeting, it was explained that in previous days about 350 quintals of plantain from the municipality of “Jesús Menéndez” were sold, and the arrival of some 500 from the province of Ciego de Ávila was expected, as part of the strategy designed to favor the distribution in the provincial capital.
Through this plan, shipments of food, vegetables and fruits are expected to arrive several times a week to contribute to feeding residents in the most populated city of Las Tunas.
Pérez Gallego indicated to the authorities of the sector that when the trucks arrive they must go to the Collection Company, where they will be given their final destination, based on the indications of the Municipal Defense Council; so that, at one date or another, the products are distributed to the different popular councils.
Another of the topics analyzed at the meeting was the delivery of beef to the industry, which is met in the weight of live animals by the livestock farms of the territory. However, the entity's needs are not met due to the low yield of the already boned product.
This is due to the severe effects caused by the drought, not only due to the limited availability of water but also due to the lack of natural pastures and the scant attention given to the cultivation of forage plants that would guarantee the nutrition of the herds in the months where traditionally it doesn't rain.
Pérez Gallego insisted on the priority that should be given to the sowing of food by ranchers, both from the state and private sectors, and recalled that it takes three or four months to recover. He also directed extreme measures to avoid acts of theft and slaughter of cattle.
The main managers of the agricultural sector in Las Tunas explained that these days the plans for the delivery of meat by the Swine Company are adjusted, according to national indications, and that the productive results of the Poultry Company are favorable until the end of April.
As for the Small Cattle Base Business Unit, it was known that they are progressing, despite the damage caused by the drought and the occurrence of numerous infections with the Oestrus ovis or nose worm, which causes the animal to become impoverished until its death.
It was also reported that there are products from Urban, Suburban and Family Agriculture and that, as planned, with the arrival of the rainy season, they are boosting the spring planting campaign. Currently, some 2,700 hectares are ready for the planting of viands, grains and vegetables and in all cases the necessary seed is available.
