The Cuban Vice President in working visit to Las Tunas.

Food production and the sugar harvest marked the first chapter of the Vice-President of the Republic, Salvador Valdés Mesa's stay in Las Tunas. He began his tour of the Antonio Guiteras sugar mill on Thursday.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- Valdés Mesa checked the start of the harvest and the sugar cane recovery, accompanied always by Walter Simón Noris, first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) in the province, and Yelenis Tornet Menéndez, governor.

The Colossus from Puerto Padre is already 31 days behind the scheduled start date. According to its directors, it is going through the second phase of tests, with the tippers, vats, and boilers ready but not the mills. Meanwhile, the electricity turbogenerators that will guarantee energy for the factory and eventually supply the National Electroenergy System (SEN in Spanish) are being adjusted.

The Cuban Vice President in working visit to Las Tunas.

The Cuban vice-president was interested in the capacity of the “Antonio Guiteras” to supply the SEN and reviewed in detail each of the steps of the agro-industrial process, stopping at the availability of the workforce, which, he was assured, is guaranteed.

It will be a short race, but they must be as efficient as possible. Hence, they must make exact use of the human and material resources available, he insisted. He stressed the importance of milling at no less than 80 percent of its potential capacity once the start-up has been completed. He also indicated that the coming months should be taken advantage of, as the dry period will make it possible to make progress in repairing the roads and then, cutting and transporting the cane.

We are working under the concept that the “Guiteras” harvest belongs to everyone, that is why we have placed here the best specialists of the province, explained the first secretary of the Party in the territory.

The experts describe the repairs carried out as excellent and expressed their determination that this time the period for fine-tuning and subsequent stabilization of the mill will be shorter than in previous campaigns.

"I have a great deal of confidence in the sugar planters, in their experience and ability. All this has to be put to the maximum and taken advantage of," Valdés Mesa said. However, he urged the management to maintain constant contact with the workers and to set an example of dedication and discipline.

However, the future of the harvest, he remarked, lies in the cane: “We have not solved this problem, because the quantity available continues to fall from one year to the next. We have insisted on changing the management model and mentality but it is not easy. We have to work differently.”

“This province was once the capital of sugar cane derivatives and it has to be again,” he concluded.

Las Tunas faces the challenge of producing some 45,000 tons of sugar in the 2024-2025 harvest on behalf of the Antonio Guiteras agro-industrial sugar company, the largest quantity foreseen among the 15 sugar mills that will be milling in Cuba, whose total amount is expected to be around 300,000 tons. The Balcón de Oriente must do so with 75 percent of low-quality cane.

ON THE GROUND, THE PROSPECTS

Las Tunas is sowing papa this year.

The Vice-president was informed on the ground at the Gayol production center, very close to the village of Vázquez, about the progress of potato farming returning to the province after several years.

So far, 25 of the 40 hectares planned for the municipalities of Puerto Padre and Jesús Menéndez have been planted.

Valdés Mesa noted the relative delay in the planting; however, the directors of Agriculture in the province assured him that this does not compromise the estimated yields, which, if realized in harvests, would be enough to distribute three pounds of the tuber to each inhabitant of Las Tunas’ territory.

They backed up their assertion with adequate soil moisture, the quality of the available seed, and the availability of the necessary fertilizers and herbicides.

During the dialogue, the statesman emphasized the rational use of existing water and energy for cultivation. In addition, he reported in detail on the functioning of the Municipal Agro-industrial Enterprise, which has just completed its first year of existence. He said it is urgent to make progress in this type of experience that transforms municipal autonomy into action.

He also suggested promoting the use of digital payment platforms as much as possible, starting with the commercial operations of state-owned agricultural companies. In addition, he suggested further promoting the cultivation of grains such as chickpeas, which once distinguished these northern districts, and boosting livestock and other import-substitution crops.

Earlier, Valdés Mesa visited the solar photovoltaic park Nueva Línea, which is being built near the town of Delicias, which has a generating capacity of 21 megawatts.

INSTITUTIONS HAVE TO WORK

The Fishing Company strives to guarrantee more products for the population.

When touring the Fishing Company here, the Vice-President of the Republic inquired about the territory's actions to increase direct sales to the population by expanding the water bodies planted with fry and what is being done to increase the current quantities of fishery products from Las Tunas placed on the international market.

Later, before the local governmental structure in charge of materializing the objectives set to expand the banking restructuring process in pursuit of greater use of electronic payment channels, which must deal with abusive and speculative prices, Valdés Mesa said: “We intend to gather the experiences of what has been done in both areas.”

And, after hearing that in terms of tackling crime, the statistics seem to indicate an improvement, he warned: "The results achieved are insufficient; nor, he said, is the effort to ensure that the administrations that safeguard public property do so adequately. The institutions have to work," he reflected.

Given the updated data on banking penetration in Las Tunas, which indicates gradual advances, he clarified that “the fact that we have access to digital platforms in the commercial network does not guarantee their success, but rather their widespread use. What prevents us in the municipalities from worrying about agricultural producers having and using fiscal accounts?”, he asked. “There is still a lot to be done,” he stressed.

According to the figures released, approximately 200 million pesos are moved through online payments every month in the land of Vicente García. However, transfers between individual bank accounts are five times that amount. According to government analysis, this means that many of the commercial transactions flow through these accounts, resulting in tax evasion.

In his closing remarks, Salvador Valdés Mesa made an aside to stress that non-state economic actors have a social function as well. Therefore, he said: “We must call on them and take them into account in municipal economic strategies. They have to feel that there is a government that cares for them, that takes care of them.”