Holguín boosts project to increase coffee and cocoa cultivation

The province of Holguín implements the Cooperative Agroforestry Development Project (PRODECAFE), aimed mainly at increasing the cultivation of coffee and cocoa in strategic areas of the eastern Cuban region.

The project will be carried out in rural areas of the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguín, with the co-sponsorship of entities such as the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agroforestry Business Group and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (FIDA) of the United Nations Organization as a financial institution.

In Holguín, the project will be extended to areas with the largest coffee plantations located in the municipalities of Cueto, Mayarí, Frank País, Sagua de Tánamo and Moa, while 22 Credit and Service Cooperatives (CCS) will benefit from its implementation.

Manuel Duany Garzón, a member of the project in the province, told ACN that among other objectives PRODECAFE aims to increase the production and productivity of coffee, cocoa and other agricultural items to achieve sustainable development and improve the living standard of rural families in these localities, as well as to stimulate the inclusion of women in agroforestry activities.

According to Garzón, agricultural implements and means of transportation will be delivered to the cooperatives, in addition to the motorization of equipment and the installation of irrigation systems, taking into account the agreements for the protection of environment based on the use of devices and renewable energy sources.

The first phase of implementation of this project began at the beginning of February, with training seminars aimed at the agroforestry entities of the selected Holguín territories, which have also been extended to the rest of the eastern provinces involved in increasing the cultivation of coffee and cocoa in Cuba.