Journal of Cleaner Production xxx (2013) 1e8

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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Review

Historical changes in the process of agricultural development in Cuba

Isela Ponce Palma a, c, Jos Nahed Toral b, *, Manuel Roberto Parra Vzquez b,
Norge Fonseca Fuentes c, Francisco Guevara Hernndez d
a

The College of the Southern Border, Mexico (ECOSUR), Mexico

The College of the Southern Border, Mexico (ECOSUR), Carretera Panamericana y Periferico Sur s/n, 29290 San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
c
IIA Jorge Dimitrov, Cuba (IIAJD), Cuba
d
Autonomous University of Chiapas, Mexico (UNACH), Mexico
b

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 26 June 2013
Received in revised form
21 October 2013
Accepted 27 November 2013
Available online xxx

The objective of this review is to demonstrate the non-linear properties of the Cuban process of agricultural development by characterizing and analyzing recent historical changes in this process, using the
theoretical and methodological approach of adaptive renovation cycles. These changes are summed up in
four stages: i) The stage of growth, which followed the period of the latifundio (large extensions of land
devoted to monoculture or livestock), involved a series of structural changes oriented toward diversifying
production and guaranteeing food self-sufciency; during this stage, the nations agricultural production
was organized into State businesses, State farms, and small farmers cooperatives. ii) During the stage of
agricultural maturity, Cuba adopted the dominant global tendency of increasing productivity through
mechanization, based on use of high levels of agrochemicals; this was accompanied by environmental
costs, and depended on high priced exports of sugarcane, coffee, tobacco, and citrus, and low priced
imports of processed foods to meet the populations dietary needs, through a commercial agreement
with the socialist nations of Eastern Europe. iii) The stage of collapse occurred due to the late 1990s
economic crisis which resulted in loss of access to markets of machinery, fuels, and other inputs; ensuing
problems included soil erosion, groundwater contamination, and deforestation. iv) During the renovation
stage, agriculture was reoriented toward cleaner production based on agroecology, organic practices,
innovation, and collective learning. At the national level, the Farmer to Farmer Agroecology Movement
was developed on rural family farms. Furthermore, the urban agriculture movement sprung up on
small urban and peri-urban plots. Currently, regardless of the type of land ownership, agriculture in Cuba
is oriented toward agroecology and cleaner production.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Agriculture and adaptive renovation cycles
Complex systems
Cleaner production
Technical and economic changes

1. Introduction
According to Hollings theory of adaptive renovation cycles
(1986), systems in general ow through irregular cycles of growth,
collapse, and renovation. Several studies demonstrate the importance of analyzing production systems according to this theory to
explain changes which have occurred in various regions (Tom,
1998; Gutirrez, 2001). In studying regions and ecosystems, responses of ecosystems, institutions, and societies are modeled according to their potential, resilience, and level of connectivity
(connections among systems which depend on the same elements); their phases of growth, conservation, collapse, and

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: josent57@hotmail.com, jnahed@ecosur.mx (J.N. Toral).

renovation are also simulated (Calvente, 2007). Here, this theory is

used to analyze Cuban agriculture.
For an agricultural system to be capable of changing opportunely and functioning in the long-run, resources and social
processes involved should be adapted to internal and external
changes (Conway, 1994; Masera et al., 1999; Nahed, 2008).
Achieving long term sustainable agricultural development and
environmental protection while minimizing health risks requires
maximizing efcient resource use, adopting cleaner technologies, and generally improving product and process design
(IFOAM, 2009; Hansen et al., 2001). This approach emphasizes
the value chain, which includes production, transformation,
marketing, distribution, and consumption (Hobbs et al., 2000;
Lundy, 2003).
In Cuba, agricultural systems have undergone profound
changes, rst due to adoption of an agricultural modernization
model initially based on the principles of the Green Revolution, and

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.078

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I.P. Palma et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production xxx (2013) 1e8

since the 1990s due to economic pressures limiting development

(Daz, 1998). Changes occurring from 1959 to 1990 may be
described as part of the phases of growth, maturity, and collapse.
After 1990, as a result of a combination of human resources and
experience in innovation, and learning, a new cycle e renovation e
was organized, giving way to a sustainable model of agricultural
development based on use of local resources and improvement and
promotion of cleaner technologies congruent with natural resource
conservation.
In Cuba, close to 60% of land is suitable for agriculture. Nonetheless, only 25% of the population lives in rural areas and approximately 11% work in agriculture (ONE, 2008). During the past 50
years, the Cuban government has invested in signicant transformations in agricultural infrastructure, has expanded irrigation by
taking advantage of the countrys abundant water deposits, and has
established electrication projects (Daz, 1998). Furthermore, a
network of scientic institutions in Cuba promotes changes and
introduces technological innovations in agriculture, as well as new
crop varieties and animal breeds. Nevertheless, such innovations
have not always been used efciently due to labor scarcity, high
input costs, and lack of maintenance of agricultural infrastructure.
Based on the previous information, the objective of this study
was to demonstrate non-linear properties of the process of Cuban
agricultural development, taking into account recent historical
changes using the theoretical and methodological approach of
adaptive renovation cycles (Holling, 1986).
2. Stages in the adaptive renovation cycle of Cuban
agriculture
The explanation by Calvente (2007) regarding the conceptual
model of adaptive renovation cycles emphasizes the existence,
through a non-linear process, of a principal stage and a later secondary stage to analyze the sustainable development of any complex system. The principal stage of exploitation and conservation
corresponds to the stages of growth of Cuban agriculture from the
latifundio to maturity. The secondary stage of liberation, collapse
and reorganization of the cycle corresponds to the stage of collapse
and renovation of Cuban agriculture, which was key to reorienting
transformation toward cleaner production. This cycle elucidates the
non-linear dynamics of the adaptive renovation cycle. Mechanisms
which allow for adaptive renovation are dynamic, and include
resilience and the capacity for reorganization, transformation, and
innovation of complex systems. The purpose of these mechanisms
is the continuation of the systems evolution and the initiation of
the next growth stage, which in this case is characterized by the
search for sustainability (Holling, 1986).
In the context of Cuban agriculture, small subsystems developed
over time which were transformed into large latifundios, later
giving way to large State businesses and farms that depended on
large quantities of external inputs in order to function. This agricultural system eventually collapsed, giving way to a transition
toward a new paradigm based on the organic agriculture model.
Cuban agricultures current orientation toward innovation and
learning by a variety of social actors in complex adaptive systems,
as posed by Holling (1986), has favored cleaner production of
agricultural products. Non-linear properties of a system are manifested in variations which variables undergo over time, and are
related to the four stages of Adaptive Renovation Cycles (growth,
maturity, collapse, and renovation. Holling and Gunderson (2002)
propose that these stages do not occur in an isolated manner, but
rather that they are integrated and discontinuous in time.
In summary, complex dynamic systems such as Cuban agriculture possess non-linear properties given that they face changes and
disequilibrium as a result of innovations among their components;

Table 1
Summary of the characteristics of the stages of the adaptive renovation cycle in
Cuban agriculture.
Stages

Characteristics

1. From the latifundio to

growth of Cuban agriculture

Agriculture was organized according to

the latifundio system in the colonial stage,
proceeding to the formation of large State
businesses and farms, as well as small
independent farms, starting from 1959.
Agriculture reaches maturity based on
the Green Revolution model of
agricultural modernization through use
of external inputs.
The economic crisis was the disturbance
leading to the demise of the system,
highlighting the dependence of Cuban
agriculture on the socialist market.
The systems potential was released,
giving way to creativity and innovation.
An important national movement in
search of sustainable agricultural systems
arose in Cuba.
Agriculture was renovated by applying the
sustainable model based on agroecology,
which has allowed for cleaner food
production. This led to the formation
of the urban agriculture movement and
the National Association of Small Farmers
agroecology movement.

2. Maturity of Cuban agriculture

3. The collapse of Cuban

agriculture

4. Renovation of Cuban
agriculture

5. Cleaner production in
Cuban agriculture

this disequilibrium leads to a search for harmony and sustainability

Calvente (2007). Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of changes
during the adaptive renovation cycle of Cuban agriculture.

3. From the latifundio to growth of Cuban agriculture

In 1513, with the founding of the rst villas, Diego Velazquez
(Spaniard directing the conquest and colonization of Cuba) was in
charge of distributing natives and land. Land of the indigenous
peoples, unjustly handed over to the Spaniards, was converted into
haciendas and cropland (Fonseca, 2009). As the Spaniards did not
nd the gold they desired in Cuba e given that the island did not
possess such deposits e raising cattle, pigs, and horses became the
principal economic activity (Guerra and Loyola, 2012; Leyva, 2011).
With the course of development traced, the latifundio was established with monocultures of coffee, tobacco, and livestock, and
during the 19th century, the dominant agricultural system in Cuba
was the slave plantation1 (Guerra and Loyola, 2012).
From 1902 to 1958, the Cauto Valley was a nationally
renowned livestock raising region (Martnez, 2011). The latifundio produced milk and meat with local inputs on large extensions
of land, and landowners sold their products locally and internationally (Alarcn, 2012).
The dominance of sugar producing companies from 1902 to
1927 gave rise to the formation of a bourgeoisie that raised and
exported livestock and other crops and rented land to poor peasants. During the rst 25 years of the Cuban Republic, which initiated in 1902, over one third of the nations land was in the hands of
approximately 250 large landowners; the rest, converted into haciendas, was owned by the nascent oligarchy (the wealthy class
which emerged from the large landholders). Forty ve percent of
these farms were devoted to sugar production, and the rest to other
crops and livestock (Leyva, 2011).

1
A socioeconomic system which produced tropical agricultural products for the
global market with use of slave labor imported from Africa (Guerra and Loyola,
2012).

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I.P. Palma et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production xxx (2013) 1e8

Cuban agriculture began to expand territorially in 1959, with the

triumph of the Revolution. This new cycle was initiated with the
rst Agrarian Reform law, which granted land to peasants who had
previously rented land, and reduced large private landholdings to a
maximum of 400 ha (Guzmn et al., 1996; Nova, 2006). This law
was intended as an initial structural change with the fundamental
purpose of making use of natural and human resources; diversifying agricultural production; and eliminating monocultures, the
latifundio, and other forms of land tenancy. With the Second
Agrarian Reform Law in 1963, the large latifundio was abolished,
and the maximum allowable landholding was reduced to 67 ha.
Seventy percent of land expropriated was transferred to the State to
form State agricultural businesses and farms, without consideration of soil contamination and degradation (Valds, 2003).
The 1960s gave way to rapid industrialization of the large
State agricultural and food processing businesses, based on
intensive methods using high levels of external inputs which
entered the country at very low prices from Eastern Europe and
the Soviet Union through the Council of Mutual Economic
Assistance (CAME, for its acronym in Spanish). During this period,
farms had access to modern technology, energy, and capital for
development. Nevertheless, this came with a high environmental
cost (Machn et al., 2011).
According to Nova (2011), in 1963 agriculture was organized
into: i) State farms and agricultural businesses, ii) small independent producers grouped into Credit and Service Cooperatives (CCS,
for its acronym in Spanish), and iii) Agricultural Production Cooperatives (CPA, for its acronym in Spanish) made up of peasants
who merged their land to work collectively.
By transforming agriculture, the nation hoped to satisfy the
populations growing food needs; generate cash by exporting sugar,
coffee, tobacco, and citrus; obtain raw materials for the meat and
dairy processing industries; and reduce rural poverty and
marginalization by providing rural communities with electricity,
education, and healthcare (Garca, 2005).
During the rst part of this stage of growth, the national agricultural system transitioned toward capital accumulation, diversication of plant and animal varieties, and increased ow of
information among agricultural subsystems. The system became
more complex, with greater connectivity among agricultural subsystems nationwide. Farmers simultaneously adopted a variety of
strategies, including: acquisition of knowledge and putting it into
practice, strengthening of human resource capacities to confront
problematic situations, identication of disciplines and knowledge
which should be integrated in order to increase stability, and promotion of competitiveness.

monoculture so that the government could fulll commitments of

exporting raw materials to CAME member countries. This came
with a high environmental cost and a high level of dependency on
imports of processed foods from Eastern European countries
(Espinosa, 1992); from 1959 to 1989 food imports grew tenfold.
During this peak period of agriculture, the population increased
nutrient consumption due to food imports. Improvements in agriculture were sustained for 30 years. During the 1980s, approximately 81.7% of exports were shipped to CAME member countries
and 83.8% of imports were received from these nations (PrezMarn and Baos Muoz, 1991). This economic agreement
allowed Cuba to purchase and sell products on the socialist market
at favorable prices. High dependency on food imports despite
agricultural development was due to the fact that Cuban agriculture was oriented toward production of raw materials for export.
Due to these conditions, the country imported 55% of its calories,
50% of proteins, and over 90% of fats, as well as fertilizers, herbicides, and concentrated livestock feed (Figueras, 1994).
The characteristics of Cuban agriculture during the modernization period were: i) intensive fertilizer use, comparable to that of
European countries; ii) a high tractor density, comparable to that of
developed countries (one per 50 ha during the 1970s); iii) a 50%
reduction in use of labor, reaching 5 ha per agricultural worker in
the late 1980s; and iv) doubling of irrigated agricultural land from
1960 to 1985 (Funes-Monzote, 2009).
During this stage, it became evident that the Green Revolution
agricultural model increased production levels and rural well-being
(Garca, 2005), but it also created the conditions for a collapse of
the system due to promotion of business production through high use
of external inputs, which in the long-run proved to be inefcient and
harmful to agricultural development. Environmental problems
included: deforestation, reduced carbon storage, and increased
emissions of nitrous oxide (due to nitrogen fertilizer use and inappropriate manure management) and of methane (enteric, due to an
increase in the animal population and inappropriate manure management) (Rodrguez,1999, 2002; Garca et al., 2009; Ros et al., 2011),
biodiversity loss, groundwater contamination, erosion, and soil salinization and compaction (Wright, 2006). Holling (1986) poses that
the growth stage can never be indenitely prolonged, due to the fact
that increasing connectivity and decreasing efciency diminish system feedback; that is, they reduce resilience, and therefore the capacity to confront external disturbances. Also, increasing system
connectivity leaves the entire system more vulnerable to external
disturbance (economic crisis).

4. Maturity of Cuban agriculture

The economic crisis which followed the fall of the Socialist Bloc
and the disappearance of the Soviet Union was the disturbance
which provoked the collapse of Cubas agricultural system. The
nations economic dependence on the socialist market provoked
serious consequences in terms of food security, and the high level of
connectivity among agricultural subsystems led all subsystems to
be negatively affected. While many rural inequalities in Cuba prior
to 1959 had been resolved with conventional agriculture, this
model made the population highly vulnerable due to excessive
application of agrochemicals and other inputs produced abroad,
implementation of the large-scale monoculture model, concentration of farmers in cities and rural villages, and exportation of a
small number of crops as raw materials. Rosset (1997) suggests that
in conventional agriculture, the lack of diversication and crop
rotation diminishes system self-regulation, making the system
highly vulnerable, as was the case in Cuba. This vulnerability was
brought into light at the beginning of the 1990s, when favorably
priced imports and nancial resources disappeared with the

Cuban agriculture reached maturity in the 1980s, when the large

State businesses, characteristic of the agricultural modernization
model, achieved 2% annual increases in labor productivity (Herrera,
2013) and an annual net income per worker of 2286 USD. Subsystems became increasingly specialized and efcient per unit of
energy and nutrient consumption, although they consumed large
amounts of both, which were readily available due to Cubas relations with the Eastern European socialist nations through CAME.
During this stage, Cuba adopted the global tendency to increase
productivity through large-scale mechanization of agricultural
processes and use of high levels of agrochemicals.
Although the goal was to achieve diversied agriculture, the
agricultural economy was highly dependent on exportation of a few
agricultural products (sugar, citrus, coffee) produced on 50% of the
countrys agricultural land using imported oil, machinery, and
chemical inputs. The Ministry of Agriculture fomented large-scale

5. The collapse of Cuban agriculture

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disintegration of Eastern European and Soviet socialism. At this

point, when Cuban agriculture was considered to be a successful
system, it experienced the greatest crisis of its history; its high
vulnerability and reduced resilience brought it to collapse.
Cubas agricultural collapse had begun to show its rst signs in
the mid-1980s (Wright, 2006; Arias, 2009). Despite the fact that the
government, specically the Ministry of Agriculture, provided the
sector with high-quality, low cost infrastructure, capital, fertilizers,
and other inputs, soil productivity had begun to decline. As a
consequence, new agricultural development efforts were initiated
(Herrera, 2013) in the form of a national food production program
(Funes-Monzote, 2009), but this program never took hold due to
the economic collapse which paralyzed all economic spheres of the
country.
After this collapse e particularly after 1990 e the Cuban government began to reorganize its agricultural system. The country
made various attempts to establish a new agricultural model in
order to begin recovery. The government began to distribute land in
usufruct for cultivation of tobacco and other key international
export crops (Arias and Leyva, 2012) in an attempt to partially offset
losses caused by the fall of the socialist market which had yielded
benets for thirty years. In 1993, through the State farms, the Basic
Units of Production Cooperatives (UBPC, for its acronym in Spanish)
were created; land was distributed in usufruct to the workers of
these farms, who were also provided with tools and equipment on
credit, to be paid within ten years.
6. Renovation of Cuban agriculture
Complex adaptive systems are capable of modifying their
structure and functioning in response to external changes, whether
environmental, economic, or social in nature (Cumming et al.,
2012). In a certain sense, the collapse of Cuban agriculture liberated the systems potential to give way to creativity and innovation,
which forced new re-combinations and interactions to take place
among its elements (human resources, organizations, institutions,
crops, and animal breeds). As connectivity of the agricultural system diminished, increased reorganization and resilience led the
system to sudden prosperity (Calvente, 2007), as has occurred in
other regions of the world (Allen and Holling, 2010). In Cuba, a
signicant national movement arose which sought to create sustainable agricultural systems (Funes-Monzote et al., 2002; FunesMonzote, 2001a) e the Farmer to Farmer Agroecology Movement
(MACAC, for its acronym in Spanish), promoted by the National
Association of Small-scale Agriculturalists (ANAP, for its acronym in
Spanish) (Machn et al., 2011). This movement emphasized public
participation, innovation processes, local and regional resources,
and rural families local knowledge and life strategies. In this
manner, Cuban agriculture as a complex adaptive system was able
to move toward improvement and greater resilience of agroecosystems and human well-being. An alternative agricultural
production model guided by organic agriculture and agroecology
practices and methods, along with the need to substitute external
chemical inputs for biological inputs due to the economic crisis, was
responsible for the move toward sustainable agriculture in Cuba
(Funes-Monzote, 2006; Funes-Monzote, 2001b). In this new agricultural model, small farmers played, and continue to play, an
important role with their traditional knowledge based on use of
local resources, maintenance of biodiversity, and a closed climatesoil-plant-animal cycle. These strategies prevent contamination
and allow for producing healthy food (IFOAM, 2009).
Renovation of agriculture as a grassroots process spreading to
higher governmental levels was put to the test in rural areas.
Guided by this agricultural model, producers have adopted innovative techniques such as use of organic fertilizers, cover crops, and

worm composting. Furthermore, they have participated in grain

and fodder diversity fairs. This has allowed them to adapt their
agricultural systems to the limited availability of resources and
inputs. Furthermore, environmental protection and agrodiversity
has been emphasized, as shown by the impact evaluation of the
Local Agricultural Innovation Program (PIAL, for its acronym in
Spanish) (Guevara-Hernndez et al., 2011; Ortiz et al., 2012).
Renovation of agriculture allowed for establishing agricultural
subsystems in cities and villages, with considerable social and
economic benets. This has made available fresh local vegetables
within and on the outskirts of urban areas, and has provided
greater income to producers and their families. In a national
movement known as Urban Agriculture, small plots began to be
cultivated in backyards and between urban structures, which was
previously unimaginable. This improved food security by providing
high quality, healthy food safe for humans and the environment.
In order to develop this new agricultural model, producers have
received support from: i) research centers, ii) a nationally supported group of advisors on urban agriculture, and iii) public policy
and non-governmental organizations which have nanced development projects in Cuba (Funes-Monzote, 2009).
The success of this model partially lies in the fact that small
farmers generate solutions to their problems as they arise, as
Chambers et al. (1998) have pointed out for other regions of the
world. During this renovation stage, documentation of local innovation processes has been critical, as well as multidisciplinary
research which has sought strategies appropriate to each location,
and an eventual opening of the agrarian economy toward a broader
market (Guevara-Hernndez et al., 2011; Ortiz et al., 2012).
Renovation of agriculture has emphasized natural resource
management according to agroecological principles. These include
nutrient and energy recycling, substitution of external inputs,
improvement of soil organic matter and biological activity, plant
and animal biodiversity, integration of crops with livestock, and
optimization of interactions among agriculture, livestock, and the
entire system. Social participation has also been essential, facilitating diversication, decentralization, and food self-sufciency. In
this manner, Cuban agriculture transitioned from a centralized
model with high levels of external inputs and production for export
markets to a decentralized model with low external inputs oriented
toward local markets. Table 2 highlights the principal components
of past and current agricultural technology.
Despite agroecological renovation, dependence on food imports
increasingly threatens Cubas food sovereignty. Therefore, since
2008, Cuba has prioritized food production for domestic consumption (Castro, 2008), and has begun to distribute idle land in
usufruct to interested families (Decree 259).
The agricultural, social, and economic science communities
have participated in this dynamic process, taking into account
lessons learned in the process. This has provided an opportunity to
apply methodologies which respond to the challenges of sustainable development and allow researchers to take into account the
communities, their life strategies, use and management of resources and capital, environmental protection, and healthy food
production.
7. Cleaner production in Cuban agriculture
Renovation of agriculture through application of the sustainability model based on agroecology has allowed for cleaner food
production. Cuban agriculture complies with the general principles
of cleaner production in that: i) it takes into account technological,
environmental, economic, and social aspects of production, and ii)
it is sustainable with respect to natural resource management and
conservation as it seeks to meet the dietary needs of present

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I.P. Palma et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production xxx (2013) 1e8

Table 2
Past and current agricultural technologies in Cuba.
Component addressed Past technology

Current technology
(sustainable)

Type of agriculture

Specialized, principally in
monoculture and
cattle raising.

Soil fertility
Soil preparation
Insect pests

Chemical fertilizer.
Agricultural machinery.
Imported pesticides.

Seed sources
Animal feeding

Government seed system.

Use of imported feed
concentrates and
fertilized grasses.

Animal genetics

Carried out by large

specialized businesses
and research centers.

Animal breeds

Holstein (H), Zebu (C),

crosses
of HeC (F1: 3/4 H e
C y H e 3/4 C),
Siboney of Cuba
(5/8 H-3/8 C)
and Creole Biotype.
Chemical tick baths.
Conventional anti-internal
parasite medicines.
Antibiotics for treatment
of infectious
diseases such as pneumonia.
Vaccines to prevent
illnesses such as
brucellosis and carbuncle.

Integration of agriculture
and cattle raising
through agroecological
principles.
Organic fertilizer.
Animal tillage.
Biopesticides and natural
enemies.
Farmers seed system.
Selection of grass species
adapted to stressful
conditions.
Use of legumes in
association with crops
and protein banks.
Small producers select
and conserve animal
breeds (ex: creole goat)
in their communities.
Creole Biotype, Zebu, and
their crosses adapted to
the environment and
existing management
strategies.

Animal health

Biological tick control

and vaccines to prevent
illnesses such as
brucellosis and carbuncle.
Use of natural products
to control internal and
external parasites.
Restricted use of
antibiotics to treat
infections illnesses such
as pneumonia.

generations without affecting the capacity of future generations to

satisfy their needs. The Urban Agriculture Program, an initiative of
the new paradigm based on agroecological principles, follows the
guidelines of cleaner production, avoiding agrochemical use and
environmental contamination (Herrera-Sorzano, 2009). From 2001
to 2005, the Participatory Plant Breeding Program promoted
biodiversity and stimulated peasant participation in research and
innovation in the national seed production system. Through this
initiative, 50% of the area dedicated to sugarcane monoculture has
been converted to diversied agricultural production (Montes,
2004; Vargas et al., 2011). Environmental issues, sustainable
development, and sustainable agriculture have been regulated
through the Environmental Protection and Rational Resource Use
Law (Law 81/1997), the Forestry Law (1998), and the Biological
Security Law 190 (1999) (Arias and Leyva, 2012).
Following the principles of cleaner production, organic agriculture, and systems integration (Funes-Monzote, 2001b, 2009) Cuba
has: i) minimized agrochemical use, ii) reduced pest and disease
resistance, iii) increased biodiversity by recovering many species
which disappeared during agricultural modernization, iv) prevented further extinctions, and v) provided cleaner local products to
consumers. Gonzalez-Garca (2012) reports that 223 times less
pesticide residue was found on organic grains, fruits, and vegetables
than on conventional products analyzed, suggesting that a signicant change toward cleaner production is underway in Cuba.
Renovation of Cuban agriculture is still in process and it has
become clear that further promotion, training, and organization is
necessary so that the agricultural system may enter a stage of

growth. Holling and Gunderson (2002) pose that socio-ecological

systems are open to large-scale changes only in critical moments,
as responses to crisis which bring to light weaknesses in the
operating paradigm. In this sense, Cuban agriculture requires actions which transform the current state toward cleaner production
through development of promotion techniques, training, and
sharing knowledge.
Continuous producer innovation and experimentation has been
encouraged by research centers and to a lesser extent by development institutions. The latter have played a fundamental role in
establishing principles and regulations for healthy food and cleaner
production, as well as in identifying quality of products according
to consumer demand. There is a need for research centers and
government institutions to undergo profound changes in order to
improve food safety regulation.
The Farmer to Farmer Agroecology Movement has led a process
of social learning (Fig. 1) to bring about changes necessary for
cleaner production in Cuba. This movement, which began in 1997,
was promoted by ANAPs peasant members to transform their
farms into agroecological systems with the collaboration of the
government, research centers, peasant families, and members of La
Via Campesina, an international movement which coordinates
approximately 150 peasant organizations in 69 countries to defend
sustainable family farming. Agroecological techniques abound, but
such practices need to be further spread among peasant families.
The Farmer to Farmer method places the peasant family at the
center of the agroecosystem, as a protagonist of their destiny. The
Farmer to Farmer method awakened an agroecological vision of
Cuban peasants based on their problem solving creativity. It emphasizes a preventive, holistic environmental strategy regarding
agricultural processes in order to raise awareness among producers
regarding the importance of reducing environmental and human
health risks. Traditional practices were recovered, and clean agroecological technologies were implemented, including animal
tillage, substitution of external inputs, and biological pest control.
Furthermore, many who abandoned farming during the stage of
agricultural modernization returned to the land. The CAC method
was transformed into a movement of ANAP peasant members
throughout the country, nanced by farmers own resources along
with the support of international agencies such as OXFAM, Bread
for the World, and the Catholic Committee Against Hunger (Machn
et al., 2011).
Despite progress toward cleaner production in Cuban agriculture, there is a need for an evaluation, and for dening probable and
desirable scenarios which allow for well-planned strategies of
intervention to transcend remaining obstacles. No organic farming
law currently exists in Cuba; there is a need for such a law so that
agricultural products may be certied organic (Funes-Monzote,
2001b; RodrguezeCastelln, 2003). Such certication, also
known as green seal, eco-label, or ecological seal, allows for
differentiating ecological products from conventional ones and
rewarding producers environmental efforts (Abarca and
Seplveda, 2001). It is important to carry out diagnostic studies
as a planning tool, according to the process proposed by Muoz
(2002): i) description: analysis of the regional systems current
structure and functioning, ii) evaluation: assessment of the situation according to dened criteria, iii) evolution: identication of the
factors explaining the course followed by the State up to the present, iv) explanation: exploration of the factors which have led to
the current scenario, as well as system tendencies, and v) prognosis: estimation of the probable future scenario and visualization
of prospective system characteristics.
In this manner, future scenarios may be designed (Gmeze
Limn and Gmez-Ramos, 2008) and put into practice through
learning processes such as those followed by MACAC (Fig. 1). These

Please cite this article in press as: Palma, I.P., et al., Historical changes in the process of agricultural development in Cuba, Journal of Cleaner
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I.P. Palma et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production xxx (2013) 1e8

Fig. 1. Social learning process (The Agroecology Movement Campesino to Campesino (MACAC) of ANAP in Cuba), based on Machn et al. (2011).

scenarios allow for radical changes in guiding policies and economics which determine what is produced, how, where, and for
whom. Altieri (2009) explains that Cuba is the most advanced
nation in the world in the transition from industrial agriculture to
agroecology and food systems which do not depend on petroleum,
expensive technologies, and high levels of external inputs. This is
due to the fact that close to 60% of Cubas arable land is in the hands
of peasant families or cooperatives which use diversied systems,
biological inputs, and animal tillage, and depend on few external
inputs. Thus, they better promote cleaner production by using less
of scarce resources. The Basic Units of Production Cooperatives,
which control 42% of arable land, together with producers with
land in usufruct, represent great potential to unleash a mass agroecological conversion.
8. Relationship of Cuban agriculture to the Triple Bottom Line
(TBL)
On a global level in the past six decades, a wide range of international discussions and initiatives regarding the environment and
ecological equilibrium have contributed to the concept of sustainable development; these include the 1972 Stockholm Summit, the
1992 Rio Declaration, and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
This has given rise to the concept of corporate social responsibility, which refers to companies voluntary action to address
social and environmental concerns in their commercial operations
and relations with stakeholders, including the business sector
(clients, employees, shareholders, suppliers), government administrators, the nancial sector, civic organizations, political parties,
the media, political and nancial analysts, researchers, and the
general public) (Ramrez, 2006). The socially responsible business
contributes to achieving the objective of awakening greater consciousness regarding global social and environmental problems. An
underlying assumption, and potential consequence of this process,
is that a business may only survive in the long term if it proves to be
economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and socially
responsible. These three aspects constitute the conceptual framework of the concept called the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), proposed
by Elkington in 1997 (Bercovics, 2010). The TBL constitutes a current challenge for businesses (Brown et al., 2006). New demands by

society toward businesses include (Ramrez, 2006): i) demands by

shareholders to obtain short term nancial results with minimal
risk (economic demands); ii) greater job security, more jobs with
acceptable working conditions, freedom of information, and
employee participation in business decisions (social demands); and
ii) controlling environmental effects of economic activity, economizing raw materials, and minimizing waste (environmental
demands).
According to Iglesias et al. (2000), the development of Cuban
agricultural businesses received strong governmental support from
the early 1960s to the 1980s. Nevertheless, this development followed a productivist approach, in which the ecological basis of
sustainable development was ignored, and agroecosystems were
rather considered to be an inert medium upon which technology
and the labor force act. In this way, the dynamic nature of agricultural systems was disregarded. As a result, currently 14% of
Cubas 6.7 million ha of existing agricultural land is affected by
salinization and sodicity and 29% by erosion, while 37% is characterized by poor drainage, 41% by low fertility, and 64% by insufcient organic matter.
With the aim of reducing agricultural production costs, in the
early 1980s large quantities of biofertilizers were produced and
centers for reproduction of biological crop pest and disease control
agents (mushrooms, bacteria, nematodes, and benign insects) were
developed throughout the country. This provided the basis for the
transition from conventional productivist agriculture toward sustainable agriculture (Funes-Monzote, 2006).
Throughout the country, producers and institutions became
committed to developing a model of agriculture respectful of the
environment and society which also allows for improving producers standard of living. One example of such efforts is the Local
Agricultural Innovation Program, put into practice in cooperatives
in eight provinces. This initiative addresses climate change while
also aiming to improve environmental health and the quality of life
of farmers and society in general (Ros et al., 2011).
This review demonstrates that conditions are ripe for Cuban
cooperatives and agricultural businesses to meet the requirements
of the TBL e which concords with the Cuban governments priorities, and that this would inherently lead to cleaner agricultural
production in Cuba.

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I.P. Palma et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production xxx (2013) 1e8

In this context, with respect to social welfare, in Cuba child labor

is not permitted, education is obligatory, work days are limited to
8 h, free universal healthcare and social security exist, and wages
for all economic sectors now depend on work realized. With
respect to the environment, the Cuban government prioritizes wise
resource use and adequate waste management.
9. Changes in agriculture and aspects of the Cuban economy
Historical changes in Cuban agriculture are related to the shift
from an agricultural based economy (1960e1989) to a servicebased economy (Funes-Monzote, 2009). Currently, tourism and
export of services such as health, agriculture, education, and sports
drive the nations economy. For example, tourism grew from 0.2
million to 2 million US dollars from 1994 to 2004. The scarce data
available shows that Cuban exports fell 79% from 1989 to 1993 e
from $5.4 million to $1.193 million US dollars (Prez-Lpez, 2008).
In 1996, the value of exports had risen to $1.800 million US dollars,
only to drop at the end of the 1990s (Prez-Lpez, 2000), and again
rise in 2009 to $2.260 million and in 2010 to $2.424 million US
dollars (ONE, 2011). From 1960 to 1989, agriculture was responsible
for 7e8% of the GDP, while currently it provides only 4%. Meanwhile, export of services is currently responsible for 74.2% of the
GDP. (Nova, 2008).
Agricultural exports from 1960 to 1989 consisted of citrus, coffee, and sugar to the Eastern European socialist countries, while
exports from 1990 to 2013 have included fruit juices, tobacco,
coffee, liquors, honey, sugar, and services, principally to Spain,
France, Italy, Holland, Canada, Venezuela, Mexico, and the former
Dutch Antilles. By continent, 42% of foreign trade takes place with
Europe, followed by 40% with The Americas (Prez-Lpez, 2008).
For domestic consumption, the principal crops produced by the
State sector are rice and bananas, and by the private sector vegetables, roots, and tubers. The private sector has also emphasized
production of tobacco for export.
Recently, the Cuban government has begun to transform the
economic sector, focusing on substituting imports of milk and meat
with internal production of these foods (ONE, 2012). The Cuban
government considers this policy along with rural reform to be
Cubas national security strategies (Rebelde, 2010).
10. Conclusions
This article describes changes in Cuban agriculture according to
the theory of adaptive renovation cycles. The transition though
phases of growth, maturity, collapse, and renovation has made way
for different forms of land tenancy, and cleaner, more sustainable
production. This has been based on innovation, social learning, and
collective construction of knowledge guided by agroecological
practices and the organic production model. Producers and their
families have played an important role in this process.
Renovation of agriculture has allowed for incorporating the urban agriculture model into the farming system as a new way of
establishing agricultural subsystems in cities and towns, with signicant environmental, social, and economic benets. These
include local availability of high quality fresh vegetables within or
on the outskirts of cities and increased income for producers and
their families.
The renovation phase of Cuban agriculture has involved
participation of producers and their families in overcoming the
challenges of developing cleaner production through a sustainable
model based on agroecology, organic production, and social
learning. In this context, through citizen participation and application of agroecology principles, farmers became protagonists
responsible for the paradigm shift which resulted in the

agroecology revolution. This process has been led by the Farmer to

Farmer Agroecology Movement of the National Association of
Smallscale Farmers (ANAP) of Cuba, whose current impact
nationwide may lead to development of public policy establishing
regulations, procedures, and certication of cleaner production.
Cuba has advanced in agroecological production, but continuation of this progress requires changes in guiding agricultural and
economic policies which determine what, how, where, and for
whom food is produced. This stage of the process may be initiated
through diagnostic studies and design of future scenarios. The
current characteristics of Cuban agricultural businesses and cooperatives show that a reorientation toward cleaner production has
taken place. Nevertheless, Cuban agriculture should be strengthened to more greatly approximate TBL. This is due to the fact that
this proposal concords with the principals of the Cuban government, as demonstrated by historic changes from a form of agriculture based on high levels of external inputs and chemical
contaminants to a responsible form of agriculture based on agroecology and use of locally produced organic inputs, as well as the
existence of cooperatives and socially responsible businesses
committed to caring for the environment and social welfare.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the National Council for Science and
Technology of Mexico for nancial support through a scholarship to
Isela Ponce Palma during her doctoral studies at The College of the
Southern Border (ECOSUR for its acronym in Spanish), Mexico, as
well as the Jorge Dimitrov Agricultural Research Institute of Cuba
for general support and the facilities necessary to carry out this
study. Thanks also to Ann Greenberg, our translator.
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