Oxfam Canada
September 11, 2000
By Cathy Hotslander

"We plant Neem trees on the northeast side of the fields, taking advantage of the prevailing winds. During transpiration, they give off a natural insecticide as the wind blows over the fields, acting as a biological control method."

These are the words of Anibal Zayas, Chief of Production for Metropolitan Park's Farm #5 in Havana, Cuba. This farm, in the heart of Havana, is one of nine urban organic farms there that form the backbone of the Metropolitan Park Project.

The project, begun in 1990 by the Cuban government, was a direct response to a perilous economic and food security crisis that threatened the island nation. When the Soviet Union collapsed, so did financial and technical support for Cuba's agriculture industry. This crisis forced Cubans to farm organically virtually overnight.

With an eye on ecological sensitivity and sustainability, Cuba's urban farms produce crops not only for subsistence but as part of a national social and economic policy. Some 1800 hectares are under cultivation in Havana alone, employing some 18,000 farmers. Kitchen wastes are composted for fertilizer, water use is streamlined and the produce is sold to city-dwellers at 20 per cent below rural market prices to ensure consumption. Local schools, hospitals and businesses buy any excess.

Cuba's goal is to provide every citizen with at least 300 grams of vegetables per day as recommended by the UN. Last year the total urban production per capita was 215 grams. This year, the goal is 300.

Support for this project comes from a variety of sources, including Cuban non-governmental organizations, research institutions and international agencies such as Oxfam Canada, the Evergreen Founda-tion and the Canadian Urban Institute.

Dr. Nelso Companioni, the founder of an urban agricultural founda-tion in Cuba, aids farmers and supports organic agriculture. "Agriculture is an extraordinary social problem, because the most important task is to support the nutrition of the people," he explains. "We are doing this through urban agriculture. This doesn't solve all the problems, but it does make an important contribution."