The Council of Ministers of Cuba approved the , a regulation that amends the current rules regarding the conservation and sustainable management of soils and the use of fertilizers, with the declared goal of promoting the agricultural recovery of the country.
The regulation, signed by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz on August 19, 2026, was published this Wednesday in the alongside 18 other regulations related to the agricultural sector.
Decree 172 updates Decree 52 from September 1, 2021, which is the regulation of Decree-Law 50 "On the conservation, improvement, and sustainable management of soils and the use of fertilizers."
This update is part of a regulatory chain that began on July 22, 2026, when the Council of State issued Decree-Law 126 to amend Decree-Law 50, as part of the 176 economic and social transformations ratified by the National Assembly in June 2026.
The Second Final Provision of that Decree-Law 126 explicitly ordered the updating of the regulations, which led to the publication of Decree 172.
The regulation modifies eleven articles of Decree 52: articles 3, 5, 32, 45, 46, 49, 52, 62, 64, 65, and 66.
It also repeals several sections: section 2 of article 33, section 3 of article 45, section 2 of article 47, section 2 of article 52, and articles 53 and 54 in their entirety.
Among the most significant changes is the redefinition of the functions of the National Soil and Fertilizer System, which is directed by the Director of Soils and Fertilizers at the Ministry of Agriculture.
The modified Article 5 establishes that the Directorate must "plan the financial resources for its self-management," while Article 32 assigns it the responsibility of executing the national balance of mineral fertilizers, organic fertilizers, organo-minerals, biologicals, correcting agents, stimulants, and amendants, regarding those acquired by the State or received through donations to the state sector.
Chapter IX of Decree 52 is also given a new title: "Change of land use, compensation, and its protection."
In that chapter, the amended article 45 states that any change in land use requires authorization from the provincial delegates of Agriculture or, as applicable, from the special municipality Isla de la Juventud.
One of the most significant provisions is Article 49, which establishes that the change of use of privately owned land "may be initiated ex officio even if the owner expresses disagreement, through expropriation enforced by the competent court."
Gaceta No. 75 constitutes the broadest agricultural regulatory package published in Cuba in 2026: its 19 regulations cover land, soils, water, mechanization, seeds, zoogenetic resources, and agricultural marketing, and include Law 185 on land ownership and use and Decree 175 that regulates it.
The regime presents these reforms as a response to a severe agricultural crisis that the government itself acknowledges, in a context where Cuba imports about 80% of the food it consumes.
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