A project that is committed to the development of cocoa and the benefit of those who produce it.
Baracoa, the first town founded by the Spanish conquerors in
Cuba has the particularity of being the municipality that produces 85 percent of all the cocoa produced on the Island, a responsibility that currently falls on some 1,243 farmers linked to different forms of production.
Like the coconut tree, the cultivation of cocoa is a livelihood and is part of the culture and identity of many families in the northeastern region of Cuba; and from generation to generation many
Peasants maintain the care of their plantations and the production of the beloved chocolate.
In this sense, it is a priority to promote the cocoa development program, due to its economic importance and the potential of its derivatives as an exportable item, and as an economic support for producers and their families. Aspects that are premises of the young BioCubaCacao project.
This project has defined several actions aimed at improving the working conditions and quality of life of cocoa producers and their families. Some of them are the location of stimulus stores in national currency intended for the purchase of supplies to improve production levels, food, personal hygiene products, household appliances; the implementation of an investment plan that will begin with micro-investments, contribution to the local development of the territory with 1% of the income earned as a result of the production process, among others.
The above was announced in recent days by Matteo Saccani, executive director of the Italian-Cuban company Made in Italy, in direct dialogue with cocoa producers from Baracoa and with authorities of the cocoa sector of the municipality itself, as well as Imías and Maisí . Space in which rural men and women made known their shortcomings and dissatisfactions, since in recent years they have seen the yield of their lands affected due to the lack of fertilizers and inputs (machetes, files, chainsaws, pruning shears…) . However, the new benefits offered by the BioCubaCacao project were well received, which also guarantees a traceability system that allows establishing the identity of the product from the field to the last actor in the cocoa value chain.
Without a doubt, the prospects for the cultivation, development and production of cocoa and its derivatives are broad, a leading product that in recent times is more in demand in several countries around the world, which becomes an excellent opportunity for economic growth for Guantanamo and , of course, of
Cuba.
Text and photos: Oli Barrientos Venereo