A national review of progress in the use of land granted in usufruct since 2009, led by Party Second Secretary José Ramón Machado Ventura, began January 23, in the province of Mayabeque.
 
Machado Ventura explained that, for the first time, a thorough review will be conducted of how land granted in usufruct is being used, province by province, farm to farm, seven years after new laws were approved to expand agricultural production by awarding idle land to those willing to work it.
 
Prior to the first meeting, Granma spoke with Eddy Soca Baldoquín, general director of the National Center for Land and Tractors, who reported that, following a 2015 update, the country had identified 6,240,263.84 hectares of agricultural land.
 
State entities manage 30.5% of these lands, while cooperatives hold 34.3%, with the rest in the hands of small farmers. The 279,021 farmers who were granted land in usufruct over the last few years are included within the cooperative sector, he reported, and according to the most recent figures, are responsible for 1,403,940 hectares.
 
Machado Ventura pointed out that municipalities must supervise the use of this land, to ensure that producers are meeting their commitment to the state and delivering contracted produce, emphasizing that ultimately the only way to end high prices of food is to produce more.
 
Jesús Rodríguez Palomino, a member of the Antonio Maceo Credit and Services Cooperative in Bauta, raised concerns about the number of intermediaries who earn more than farmers, and called for price controls.
 
Also participating was Minister of Agriculture Gustavo Rodríguez Rollero, who said that more important is better organization of distribution and greater production, adding that prices paid to farmers will continue to encourage cultivation of the land.