Land Use in Cuba: New Opportunities in Agriculture

Cuba is a mid-size Caribbean nation occupying the totality of the region’s largest island. With a total territory of almost 111.000 square kilometers, Cuba is somewhat smaller than Pennsylvania. Geographically, rolling hills and a long coastline dominate the island, which also has some mountainous formations towards the southeast. Similarly, Cuba has a total population of more than 11 million citizens living on the island as well as a large diaspora throughout the Caribbean region. The national capital, Havana, is the largest city with a population of some 2.1 million citizens and more than 75% of the population lives in a city or urban setting. Currently, the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) is of approximately US$120 billion and the country has experienced positive economic growth upwards of 1.0% throughout recent years. Furthermore, the country has a large and well-developed tourism industry. The Cuban national economy is divided into 4% agriculture, 24% manufacturing, and 72% services. However, the agriculture industry utilizes almost 61% of the national territory, while another 27% is forested. Likewise, the Cuban agricultural industry employs 18% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs about 10% and services employ another 72%. Cuba’s location within the Caribbean is strategic because of its numerous ports as well as its proximity to both the United States and Mexico.

In terms of natural resources, Cuba has cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, and arable land. Within the manufacturing industry, Cuba focuses on petroleum refining, mining, pharmaceuticals, sugar & tobacco processing, construction, steel, cement, and agricultural machinery. Meanwhile, the island nation’s agricultural industry has as main products sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans, and livestock. In recent years, Cuba and the US have started a political and economic rapprochement that could lead to increased trade and investment opportunities in the future. Similarly, Cuba is a member of economic and political cooperation organisms, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI). This article explores the status of agriculture and land distribution in Cuba.

Land Use in Cuba: New Opportunities in Agriculture

In terms of trade, Cuba’s main partners are Canada, Venezuela, China, and Spain. Likewise, throughout recent years, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin in the country has been of 30 grams daily. Meanwhile, cereals, roots, and tubers represent about 44% of the food energy intake in Cuba. Simultaneously, land use in the country has evolved throughout the last half century, particularly due to Cuba’s political and economic transformations. In 1961, permanent pastures and meadows in Cuba covered 1.9 million hectares, while arable land totaled another 1.5 million hectares, and permanent crops accounted for approximately 200.000 hectares. In 2014, permanent pastures and meadows in the country accounted for 2.8 million hectares, while arable land represented more than 3 million hectares, and permanent crops accounted for approximately 430.000 hectares. Finally, in 2014, the agricultural industry in Cuba devoted over 360.000 hectares of land to cereals production and yielded more than 1 million metric tons.

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