At the height demanded by the current Cuban context, the Santo Domingo Integral Swine Center, located in the municipality of Puerto Padre and belonging to the Tecnoazúcar Las Tunas Base Business Unit, is on the way to revert each of its investments in maximum use of its potentialities. 

Puerto Padre, Las Tunas - Their collective knows the priority they have at the moment and they do not give up in their work with the firm purpose of contributing to the production of food from the substitution of imports, all this, recovering the investment of the property in favor of the quality of its management, while its contribution strengthens the food self-sufficiency of the sugar sector.

In a dialogue with 26Digital, Anisleydis Partido, a quality specialist in Tecnoazucar, confirms the center's projections, since "once the Quality Management System was implemented in the UEB processes, this swine center made a diagnosis, according to the pig breeding and biosafety manual and its results we have been working on the non-conformities for its immediate solutions.

"In that sense, the investment plan has been shaped towards those difficulties and work is being carried out to build a speed bump for the disinfection of vehicles when they enter the center, the oxidation ponds are being built, work is being done on the foundations of the septic tanks, the transportation roads and the quarantine facility is already in the completion stage," explained the specialist.

This enclave, one of the largest at the national level within the Azcuba sector, has 32 workers and having a total pig mass of four thousand 445 animals, they destine their productions to the national balance and the rest to the self-consumption of the sector.

With an over compliance in the plans, affirms Ricardo Cruz Suárez, director of the center, "the monthly delivery plan is about 19 tons and for this year it is foreseen to almost double the figures of the previous year and to reach about 400 tons of total production meat, thanks to several strategies that include the increase of the reproducers, the completion of the specialists, technician and veterinarians, besides technological systems in the maternity and the pre-fattening, which increases the productive flow."

The more than 400 sows and the 26 sires they have contribute approximately 6,400 piglets each year, which "reach the pre-fatting with 7 kilos, the fattening with 21, and so on until reaching the average weight for commercialization which is about 85 kilos. In this center the complete cycle of production is present," notified Leandro Hechavarría Pupo, a veterinary technician.

In addition to the industry feed, they receive in this unit they elaborate nutrients as alternative food with the use of cassava, honey and fish residues in order to contribute to more complete feeding. The veterinary technician says, "In this respect, the aquaculture development in the different oxidation lagoons of the entity is within the perspectives, which will also close the cycle since the fish will be used for the pigs' own feeding."

However, all these innovations alone do not guarantee the maximum development of the pigs in "Santo Domingo", the interest and the abnegation of those who work there is very important.

Such is the case of Roxana Peña Mederos, veterinarian of the Maternity Area, who thinks that "the attention of the breeders is vital for the development of the piglets, the health of the animals is not only guaranteed by the medicines we put them here, but also by our care and vigilance that accompanied by much dedication make the survival of the little animals possible.

Celiano Romero, a worker of the center, joins this criterion and states that the area must always remain in good condition and clean so that the offspring are kept free of disease. Our work is constant, that is why we have good results, which accompany the efforts of the entity when making the investments".

There is still much to be done in terms of improvement, but the workers of this unit take great care every day and feel as their own the need of the country to increase food production ratifying its value.