The Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa assured during a visit to Pinar del Río that the province would be “capable of self-sufficiency” in rice by 2026, a statement made amid the worst productive scenario in recent decades and in a state of almost complete dependence on imports to guarantee the basic food basket.
The statement took place in the context of the Vietnam-Cuba agricultural project being developed in the municipality of Los Palacios, where approximately 871 hectares of rice are currently being planted with the goal of reaching 1,000, reported the Caribbean Channel.
For Valdés Mesa, this progress is sufficient to assert that Pinar del Río is "among the provinces closest" to self-sufficiency, even without waiting for the Development Plan projected for 2030.
However, the vice president's words stand in stark contrast to reality, as it is evident that the national rice production fell by more than 59% in 2023 alone, according to official figures, and in 2024 the island produced only 30% of what was harvested in 2018.
Today, Cuba only produces about 11% of the rice it consumes and spends over 400 million dollars a year to import it, an unsustainable figure for a country lacking foreign currency and mired in a persistent economic crisis.
Despite this situation, Valdés Mesa insisted that Pinar del Río has land, water, and infrastructure. What is missing, he admitted, is what does not exist in Cuba, which is foreign currency. “We can do it. We have the land, we have water, we have infrastructure—what are we missing? Foreign currency,” he said in front of local producers.
This year, during another visit to the same entity in Los Palacios, the official acknowledged the central role of rice in the diet of Cubans and its strong national demand.
"We eat rice in the morning and in the afternoon. The rest of the foods accompany the rice—protein, fruit, and root vegetables." This "revelation" sparked laughter and criticism in a country where the price of the cereal has surpassed 300 pesos per pound and its presence in the basic food basket is increasingly uncertain.
The joint project with Vietnam aims to increase local production through machinery, seeds, fertilizers, and technical advice, although it faces serious obstacles such as fuel shortages, obsolete machinery, energy issues, and land with erosion and low fertility.
During his visit, Valdés Mesa also toured the lobster processing plant in La Coloma, which was partially destroyed by a fire in October. There, he acknowledged the need to raise quality and efficiency standards, another recurring challenge in sectors affected by the crisis.
Meanwhile, the population is facing long lines, delays in the distribution of the regulated quota, and prohibitive prices in the informal market. The promises of self-sufficiency, this time in Pinar del Río for 2026, add to a long history of unmet goals, while the country remains trapped in a food crisis that allows no room for further improvisations.
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