Amid the energy crisis affecting Cuba, producers in the municipality of Vertientes, in Camagüey, are using animal traction to transport milk to collection centers.
A report by the Cuban News Channel shows how farmers travel several kilometers daily to deliver products to cooling facilities, in a context marked by logistical constraints and low levels of production.
Leonardo Padilla Díaz, producer at the CCS “Juan Manuel Márquez,” described his routine: “I get up at five in the morning, milk the cows, and then I come to deliver in a cart, which is about one or two kilometers, and sometimes I come by bike, because there is a commitment; I deliver twelve liters daily. When spring begins, I deliver thirty, forty, or fifty liters.”
The difficulties with fuel have forced the search for alternatives to transport milk from the farms to the cooling points. Juan José Mendoza Hernández, president of the CCS Pedro Martínez Brito, explained: “we have had to come up with a range of alternatives, using animal traction, throughout the entire cooperative, in order to deliver it to the cooling centers.”
According to what was stated, the distribution of milk prioritizes certain sectors: “everything there is being provided for children, pregnant women, and the vulnerable; there has been a strong response from the producers.”
However, the collection system itself acknowledges that the expected levels are not being met. Inirsis Millares Socarrás, head of the Los Mangos cooling center, stated: “Different means of transportation bring products to our center in carts, exhausting alternatives; even with the bad roads, this center operates every day.”
He also acknowledged shortcomings in the plans: "Regarding the fuel issue, we are only collecting, not the amount we had planned for our plan, but we have collected and guaranteed part of the milk that is going to Vertientes."
The report also mentions the establishment of collection points and the use of alternative means to transport milk from more remote communities, in a context marked by resource scarcity.
The posting of a video excerpt by CiberCuba Noticias on Facebook generated numerous reactions from users, mostly critical. Several comments questioned the low production reported by the farmers: “4 cows for 12 liters,” “Getting up so early for 12 liters, no way, let the calf have those.”
Others questioned the efficiency of the process: “Do two people really need to empty 5 liters of milk?” while some pointed out issues with the quality of the product: “It’s 50/50, 50% water and the rest is unknown.”
Criticism of the collection and marketing system also arose: "After that work, what happens is that you make a cheese and sell it, then you receive your punishment," "many times they go 4 to 5 months without paying the farmer."
Some comments questioned the destination of the milk: “That’s for hotels; children are only getting ‘a glass’ every other day,” while others were more direct about the situation in the sector: “the state ruined milk production,” “the socialist system brings hunger and misery.”
The use of carts and bicycles also drew criticism, with users describing the situation as “the Stone Age in the way milk is handled and transported.”
The reactions reflect a widespread skepticism about the system's ability to ensure stable access to milk, as well as a growing discomfort with the conditions under which producers operate in Cuba.
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