Related videos:
The Cuban regime revealed the details of the project for the Law of Agricultural and Forestry Land, a regulation aimed at reorganizing the legal framework that governs one of the most important resources for the national economy: land designated for food production.
The future legislation, expected to be approved on July 16, 2026 during the regular session of the National Assembly of People's Power, is part of the package of agricultural reforms recently announced by Miguel Díaz-Canel to attempt to reverse the deep productive crisis affecting Cuban agriculture.
According to Mayra Cruz Legón, legal director of the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG), the project brings together in a single legal framework over 25 legal provisions that for decades have regulated in a scattered manner the ownership, possession, transfer, and use of agricultural and forestry land.
The official assured that the regulation represents a comprehensive update of the agrarian legal framework, although she emphasized that it maintains the principles established by the Agrarian Reform Laws of 1959 and 1963.
"The Law reaffirms as premises the principles and foundations of the Agrarian Reform Laws of 1959 and 1963, demonstrating that it is a law of revolutionary continuity," she affirmed.
More land and longer terms for the usufructuaries
One of the most significant changes is the modification of the rules for the allocation of idle state lands.
The new law will repeal Decree-Law 125 of 1991 and the Decree-Law 358 of 2018, which established usufruct contracts for up to 20 years and limited allocations to 26.84 hectares for individuals.
With the new regulations, usufruct agreements can be extended up to 25 years and the areas granted can reach up to 67.10 hectares, equivalent to five caballerías.
In addition, specific activities related to livestock, forestry production, rice cultivation, or sugarcane may gradually extend up to 268 hectares.
The new regulations also expand the potential beneficiaries of these deliveries to include Cuban citizens, foreigners with permanent residence in the country, and, for the first time, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (Mypimes) linked to agricultural and forestry activities.
SMEs, foreign investment, and new players
One of the most innovative aspects of the project is the explicit recognition of state, private, and mixed micro, small and medium enterprises as agricultural and forestry producers.
The future regulation also incorporates productive poles, local development projects, and modes of foreign investment as legitimate actors within the agricultural system.
According to Cruz Legón, these actors form "the productive base of the agricultural system," upon which the production processes and the provision of agricultural services are organized.
Private micro, small, and medium enterprises (mipymes) will be able to access land under usufruct as long as their projects contribute to municipal development, local food systems, production for territorial consumption, tourism, and exports.
The measure complements the announcements made by Díaz-Canel on June 12, when he promised to ease access to supplies, allow operations in national currency and foreign currency, facilitate participation in the foreign exchange market, and promote partnerships between state producers, cooperatives, private entities, and foreign investors.
These measures are part of a broader program presented by the government to rescue a sector that has been experiencing years of productive decline.
Among the stated objectives are reducing idle land, increasing productivity, and streamlining procedures related to agricultural activities.
More rights regarding housing, inheritances, and purchases
The project also introduces significant changes in terms of legal security for those who live and work the land.
For the first time, usufructuaries will be able to legalize properties built on land granted by the State, provided they can prove at least five years of effective employment and fulfill the obligations arising from their contracts.
The law also permits the buying and selling of land between farmer owners, subject to approval by the Municipal Commission of Agrarian Affairs and within the established maximum limits.
In inheritance matters, it introduces a new figure in this field: the succession agreements, through which the holder can designate an heir during their lifetime by means of a public deed to avoid future conflicts.
Donations will also be expanded and can benefit spouses, de facto partners, relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity, and individuals recognized for socio-affective ties.
The restrictions that remain
Despite the announced relaxations, the new legislation maintains several of the historical limits on land ownership in Cuba.
The lease is still prohibited.
The State retains the right of first refusal on any land transfer and private property remains limited to 67.10 hectares per holder, a cap that has remained virtually unchanged since the Second Agrarian Reform Law of 1963.
The regulation also provides for the creation of a Land Registry and the gradual registration of land in the Central Property Registry, mechanisms that the Government considers essential for strengthening legal security and administrative control over this resource.
The initiative arrives at a particularly delicate moment for Cuban agriculture. In recent years, the national food production has experienced a significant decline.
Rice production decreased from 304,000 tons in 2018 to just 111,000 tons in 2025.
Root vegetables decreased by 44%, egg production fell by 43%, and milk recorded a decline of 37.6%.
Meanwhile, Cuba continues to import between 70% and 80% of the food it consumes, at a cost close to 2 billion dollars annually.
The new legislation is part of the package of agricultural reforms announced by Díaz-Canel, which also includes access to inputs in national currency and foreign exchange, opening up to foreign investment, and greater facilitation for the creation of productive associations.
At the same time, the regime announced the abolition of the Ministry of Agriculture, which will be replaced by a new Ministry of Food that will be responsible for integrating agriculture, the food industry, fishing, and the sugar sector.
Although the government claims that these reforms will advance food sovereignty and increase national production, the changes come in the midst of a crisis marked by shortages of fuel, fertilizers, machinery, and basic supplies—factors that the producers themselves have pointed out for years as some of the main obstacles to restoring the productive capacity of Cuban agriculture.
Filed under: