May 12, 1997

CUBA'S NEW INDEPENDENT FARMERS: A Mission Statement

Prior to the Revolution, Cuban peasants were mired by backwards conditions and social marginalization, the ownership of the land by a few, and general underdevelopment. We placed our faith, hope and energies in a political process in which, once and for all, we would put an end to social injustice.

So it was that, forgetting the dangers inherent in violent revolutionary processes, we encountered the so-called "rebel" movement which on January 1, 1959 usurped power.

A sense of great hope filled our simple peasants' hearts, seeing the seizure of others' property as the solution to our own predicament. Something like "taking from the rich to give to the poor".

But our dreams were quickly crushed. The socialist model of collectivized agricultural and fishing industries, controlled by the State, forcibly seized control of all our lands, our products, and even our very lives.

Our response to this was one of two: Join the massive exodus from the countryside to urban areas, or stay behind and conform to the new order, feeling complete apathy towards our work. Under the new system, many under-paid laborers and farmers pretended to work, and the State pretended to pay them. Others managed to carve out some autonomy in the system and produce farm products at a subsistence level, secretly selling small amounts of food in the new underground economy in order to survive.

These two responses were in effect a form of passive resistance, a way of making do while we waited for a real solution to our problems, for new agricultural policies which would truly respond to our needs.

Thirty-eight years have now passed. Today we are witnesses to the massive level of impoverishment to which the entire nation has fallen. Our families are at risk of malnutrition and disease, and our life energy is consumed by unnecessary struggles and sacrifice.

Therefore, we farmers, being of legal age and in full physical health, wish to bring together our own resources and personal initiative to seek ways in which we can help ourselves and our families, and perhaps even the nation, to meet our most basic needs.

Towards this end, we subscribe to the National Salvation Program outlined by the Cuban Orthodox Renovation Party:

[a] Freedom of association, and of non-association, according to the individual's interests;

[b] Freedom to work the land, in terms of method, quantity and quality;

[c] Free Farmers' Markets ­ Agricultural and fishing products will be sold as is most practical in terms of place, time and clientele. The State will be a client on equal footing with average citizens.

[d] The marketing of farmers' products, including coffee, cacao, sugar cane, etc., will not be restricted by the State;

[e] A portion of farmers' goods will be sold to foreign markets and the tourist industry in order to raise the funds necessary to purchase the equipment and fuel needed for our labor;

[f] Farmers will be free to raise all type of animals, including cattle, with which to guarantee our family's diet and engage in commerce according to market conditions and sanitary regulations.

[g] Farmers will be free to negotiate with any and all domestic and foreign institutions interested in financing these projects, limited only by our own capabilities and national financial regulations.

[h] We will organize and struggle to demand that the Government suspend all those measures and regulations which harm the peasantry, crushing our productivity and plunging us deeper into poverty.

In order to bring about all of the above, we come together under the principles and rights of an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) to establish this agricultural/fishing cooperative which we have named "Transicion".

The Transicion Cooperative is currently comprised of 20 members, or 80 family members, who have channeled 54 hectares of arable land ­ 10.5 hectares of grazing land, 13.5 hectares of coffee fields, 7 hectares of fruit groves and 23 hectares currently unused.

Development Projects

Livestock: Construction of cow stalls for milking and shade. Electrification, digging of wells and watering holes. Build access roads. Subdivision of lots for grazing.

Hogs: Construction of stalls for reproduction and feeding.

Poultry: Construction of aviaries for reproduction, feeding and egg production. Installation of incubators.

Coffee: Seeding and re-seeding of the most productive varieties. Planting / pruning of shade trees. Bean processing plant.

Misc. crops: Planting of viands, vegetables and cereals.

Fisheries: Reproduction of various species for human consumption and for animal feed.

Basic needs: Construction of new family housing. Obtain clothing and work shoes. Guarantee daily dietary needs of workers and their families.

Materials and Equipment: Installation of irrigation systems. Multipurpose tractor and cargo truck. Construction materials. Plowing equipment. Chainsaws for cutting/trimming trees. Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Gasoline and lubricating oils.

Financing for animal feed, sanitation and veterinary attention as well as seeds.

Signed on behalf of the Transition Cooperative

Jorge Bejar Baltazar

President