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Dr. Oscar Agustín de la Caridad Almazán del Olmo, one of Cuba's most prominent scientists in the sugar industry, passed away on Thursday, July 3, at the age of 86. The University of Oriente expressed its sorrow in a post that same night, describing his departure as «an immense void in Cuban science».
Born in 1940, Almazán del Olmo dedicated his professional life to the Cuban Institute for Sugarcane Derivatives Research (ICIDCA), an institution founded in 1963 and focused on the comprehensive use of sugarcane and its derivatives, from alcohols and biofuels to resins and bionutrients.
The University of Oriente described him as "an eminent scientist whose legacy transcends the boundaries of the sugar industry" and emphasized that "his dedication to science and his commitment to the development of the country made him an exemplary professional and a truly exceptional Cuban."
That academic institution had awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa in Technical Sciences through a rectoral resolution in April 2000, upon the proposal of the Álvaro Reynoso Honorary Chair, affiliated with the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Agronomy. This chair is named after the 19th-century Cuban scientist considered the father of scientific agriculture in Cuba, author of the famous "Essay on the Cultivation of Sugar Cane" from 1862.
Beyond his research work, Almazán del Olmo presided over the Association of Sugar Technicians of Cuba (ATAC) for 20 years, an organization founded in 1927 in Niquero and recognized as the oldest non-profit technical-professional association in the country. He was also a Lifetime Honorary Member of both the ATAC and the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists (ISSCT).
Eduardo Lamadrid Martínez, president of the ATAC, confirmed the passing and recalled that the scientist also held the position of deputy head of the Agro-food Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba. "We feel his physical departure, always committed to the sugar sector and to his association, which he supported until the last moment of his life," declared Lamadrid Martínez, as reported by the Cuban News Agency.
Condolences transcended the borders of the island. The Mexican Association of Sugar Technicians (ATAM) expressed its sorrow in a message addressed to the ATAC, calling the loss "irreparable" and extending its condolences to the scientist's family. The death of Dr. Almazán del Olmo occurred at a time of unprecedented collapse for the industry to which he dedicated his career. The 2024-2025 Cuban sugar harvest confirmed the sector's downfall, with production not reaching 150,000 tons, the lowest level in over a century, and with only six mills operating out of the 14 that were planned.
The contrast is striking: in 1959, 156 sugar mills were operating across the country; in the 2023-2024 harvest, only 25 became active, and in the following one, just 15. The shortage of cane, chronic blackouts, lack of fuel, and outdated machinery have pushed the industry to a breaking point that no scientific efforts have been able to reverse under the conditions imposed by six decades of centralized management.
The Cuban sugar crisis, with so few mills operating, has reached the point where the government itself has reduced the sugar quota in the regulated family basket due to the product's scarcity, a painful paradox in a country that was the world's largest exporter of this commodity for decades.
"His passing leaves an immense void in Cuban science, but his work and example will endure," concluded the University of Oriente in its condolence message, words that capture the sentiment of a scientific community bidding farewell to one of its most recognized figures on an international level. Deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
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