Cuban farmers sacrifice their first cattle: For us it is a pride

Peasants from Camagüey began to sell their first cattle, after the governmenteliminate the prohibition that weighed on them to dispose of meat and the milk from their animals, a measure that desperately seeks to increase the scarce food production in the country.

Among those benefiting from the provision is Rubén Pérez Benítez, a rancher who works with his family on a farm located at kilometer 15 of the highway to Vertientes, for whom the long-awaited authorization constitutes an incentive for all producers.

"This is a moment that marks a before and after for us, it is a dream come true. It is a pride for the farmers to be able to sacrifice their animal to feed the family," he told the local newspaper.Forward.

"We still have seven animals to sacrifice in the remainder of 2021 and we are going to do it whenever we want, just make the request and in a week at most it will be done. I can assure you that as we achieved it, we can do it all those who propose it and work for it," he stressed.

The authorities of Camagüey estimate that this year more than 600 ranchers could benefit from the new government plan announced on April 13.

However, so far only ten animals have been sold: six belonging to the José Antonio Echeverría Credit and Services Cooperative (CCS), from the main municipality, and another four from the Triángulo Tres Livestock Company, to which the cooperative is attached. .

This low figure could be related to the fact that farmers who want to sacrifice animals from their herd for consumption or marketingThey must first meet a series of requirements.

What is normal in any country in the world, in Cuba it involves a process by which producers are obliged to comply with the meat or milk delivery plan, as well as to guarantee the growth of their animal mass.

According to the information of theCuban News Agency, the owners of the cattle provided a total of 1,200 pounds of meat for sale to the population in the Siete Palmas community, located 10 kilometers from the city of Camagüey. They later sold another three pounds for each of the 358 homes in a constituency and made a donation to 15 vulnerable families.

As if it were a great event, Ariel Santana Santiesteban, first secretary of the Party in the province, as well as the highest authorities of the government and agriculture attended this first sale.

In the coming days, the slaughter of cattle is expected to begin in the municipalities of Najasa and Esmeralda.