The National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba published the Draft Law on Agricultural and Forestry Land, a document consisting of 118 articles aimed at replacing and unifying the scattered regulations that currently govern the ownership, possession, inheritance, and usufruct of land in Cuba.
The project, signed by the President of the Assembly, Esteban Lazo Hernández, and by Miguel Díaz-Canel, explicitly repeals Decree-Law 125 of 1991 on possession, ownership, and inheritance of land, and Decree-Law 358 of 2018 on the allocation of idle state lands for usufruct, two pillars of the agricultural framework that has been in place for decades.
The text emerges in a context of productive collapse: in 2024, Cuban agricultural production fell by 53% in primary outputs, rice production barely met 11% of national demand, and 33.9% of households reported that at least one person went to bed hungry in the last 30 days.
The State maintains control
Despite the urgency, the project does not introduce a free land market or any form of privatization.
Article 19 establishes that "the socialist land owned by the entire people cannot be transferred in ownership to natural or legal persons and is governed by the principles of inalienability, indefeasibility, and immunity from seizure."
Private property continues to be limited to 67.10 hectares per titleholder, and Article 31 explicitly prohibits private land from being subject to lease, sharecropping, mortgage, or foreclosure.
Furthermore, the State retains a right of first refusal on any onerous transfer: the seller must notify the municipal delegate of Agriculture, who has 30 business days to exercise the right of purchase.
News affecting farmers and families
The project introduces changes that, on paper, expand certain rights for private producers.
For the first time, the "succession agreement" is regulated: landowning farmers will be able to agree, during their lifetime and through a notarized public deed, on who will inherit their land, as long as the designated heir works the land or intends to continue the agricultural activities.
The buying and selling of land between owner farmers is also permitted, with prior administrative authorization and not exceeding the limit of 67.10 hectares.
The usufruct of state lands can be granted for up to 25 years, renewable, and the maximum limit is extended to 268 hectares for livestock, forestry, sugarcane, or rice activities.
Usufructuaries who have been cultivating the land for five or more years may acquire ownership of the house built on the property, up to a maximum of 250 square meters.
The blow to the emigrants
One of the most controversial aspects directly affects thousands of Cuban families with relatives abroad.
The First Transitional Provision establishes that "the land and agricultural assets of peasant owners who have been declared emigrants from the national territory, prior to the entry into force of Law 171 of 2024 'Migration Law', shall be transferred to the State."
Relatives, co-owners, or individuals who work the land will have a preferential right to acquire it, but only in usufruct, not in ownership.
Additionally, owners traveling abroad must grant a power of attorney for management for a maximum of one year; usufructuaries, for only six months. If these time limits are exceeded without a justified reason, the absence is considered abandonment and may result in the loss of the land.
In November 2024, the regime had already taken land from 137 farmers in Ciego de Ávila for alleged violations of current legislation, which suggests how the new regulation might be enforced.
The project was opened for public consultation in March 2025, and parliamentary approval was anticipated by mid-2026. Once published in the Official Gazette, the law will come into effect 90 calendar days later, and the Council of Ministers will have 60 business days to issue its regulations.
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