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The Cuban government announced a "re-edition" of the so-called Cordón de La Habana, a strip of land on the outskirts of the capital where dictator Fidel Castro developed a failed experiment in the late 1960s to plant certain crops in order to provide the city with self-supply, which ultimately ended in a resounding failure.
The official broadcaster COCO reported that the Havana municipalities of La Lisa, Boyeros, Marianao, and Arroyo Naranjo have been selected for a program by the Agroindustrial Development Agency aimed at promoting crops in soils deemed highly productive.
This is a pilot experience aimed at strengthening inter-municipality for managing local growth in the agro-industrial sector, in areas where—acknowledged by the report itself—there are high-quality lands that remain uncultivated today.
The initiative, according to the state media, aims to tackle the current food crisis, which it attributes to the intensified U.S. embargo, and is part of the efforts to ensure "resilience" in the face of what it describes as a threat to subdue the people through hunger.
According to the information, local governments would have access to scientific tools applied to agriculture and would concentrate available resources to cultivate the land.
The official discourse insists on productive linkages, food sovereignty, and strengthening local food systems; however, it avoids explaining why those lands have been abandoned for decades.
The celebratory tone of the note contrasts with the reality of the current Cuban countryside, where agricultural production is facing a structural crisis marked by state controls, chronic shortages of supplies, marketing issues, and a collection system that has historically discouraged farmers' initiatives.
A heavy burden from the past
The Cordón de La Habana was launched in 1968 as an ambitious plan to encircle the capital with crops, mainly Caturra coffee, as well as fruit trees and other products. The aim was to transform the peri-urban area into a green belt capable of self-sustaining the city.
Directly driven by Fidel Castro, the project mobilized thousands of workers. It is estimated that around 25,000 participated daily, which necessitated the closure of workplaces and educational centers. Millions of pesos were allocated in salaries, not counting the costs for transportation, interrupted services, and machinery used.
Millions of coffee seedlings were planted (there was even talk of producing enough for export), 14 million pigeon pea plants, along with 531 kilometers of windbreaks made with eucalyptus and casuarinas.
The result was very different. The coffee did not thrive, the crops did not adjust properly (citrus and fruit trees were planted in low-lying areas near the sea), and production did not reach the promised levels.
In the long run, the project became a symbol of economic voluntarism and poor technical planning. Decades later, Cuba allocates more than 204.9 million dollars to the import of food and agricultural products.
Between memory and current reality
The announcement today of the "productive rescue" of that same scheme raises questions about the repetition of strategies that have failed to achieve their objectives in the past.
The broadcaster itself acknowledges that there are high-quality lands that remain unproductive, a situation that highlights the government's inability to utilize available lands in a context of strong reliance on food imports.
While the official discourse speaks of sovereignty and autonomy, the markets are facing a persistent shortage of basic goods.
Agricultural production is constrained by a web of regulations, controlled prices, and centralized distribution mechanisms that have created disincentives for years.
The announcement of a new push for the La Habana Belt comes amid a deep food crisis.
The question that lingers is whether redoing an experiment that was initially a failure, without structural changes in the agricultural model, can reverse a reality characterized by uncultivated fields, low productivity, and a population increasingly dependent on imports for food.
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