The benefits that are announced for rice producers and the deployed extensionist work have achieved a very positive impact in Contramaestre municipality, where areas dedicated to this crop are increasing exponentially. An located in America District is an example. There, a dozen producers have accessed land to develop the Popular Rice Program.
“I am planting a rice hectare called Reforma, which has good productivity, good performance, and with the possibility of having two or three hectares to continue planting another variety, to see the result when it yields more.”
“In this area, the use of animal traction and the implementation of agroecological alternatives predominates. We have changed the tractor, and now we are planting seedlings, and I think it will give us greater yield than the Boleo.”
The purpose of those linked to this initiative is to increase the areas in a sustained way.
“So what we want is to increase more areas to be able to plant enough rice for the population. We want to increase the number of areas. Reforma, all kinds of rice, we want to plant them all here, as a collective of rice farmers here in America Sugar Mill.”
A feature of the Popular Rice Program in Contramaestre is the active and majority participation of young people.
“Here we have, as you can see, in preparation, 1.5 hectares that we are preparing to plant soon.”
The dynamic of rice planting in Contramaestre is also characterized by the experimentation of new varieties.
“The width of these leaves, comparing them with this other one, regardless of their age and difference, you can see that the result is very significant, the result of growth and development. So what we want is to start the part of blooming and fruiting, to evaluate the number of grains per spigot, the number of new stems that this plantation has, and then weigh the thousand grains of each, to see which has more weight, and evaluate from each area what yield is achieved. The potential yield of this rice can reach up to 7.4 tons per hectare.“The potential yield of this rice can reach up to 7.4 tons per hectare.
The goal is to generalize those varieties of better adaptation and yield.”
“They have the goal of testing other varieties of high productive potential, such as one of the Vietnamese that we have here, which is the UM8017, which in the province of Granma has had results up to 10 tons per hectare, compared to this one, which reaches 8, 7, 5 tons. They differ in the potential yield, but we have to evaluate their behavior in this area, and determine which area is more favorable in terms of yield and adaptation to the climate.”
In these soils dedicated to sugar cane cultivation, and recovered by these farmers, there are also examples of advanced producers such as Larissa Brizuela, one of the most experienced and committed extensionists in the program.
“We are doing everything with our own strength and sacrifice. Everything is done by hand. Everything we are doing, as you can see, is rudimentary. What we are doing is with our hearts.”
In these conditions, Larissa has managed to condition, sow and harvest 8 hectares of rice. In its marketing scheme, the population has priority. For us, the commitment of honor of us producers, mainly mine, is to bring all this production to the people.
The Popular Rice Program in the province of Santiago de Cuba advances, and does so in a sustained way, with the enthusiastic participation of the best producers. It is about ensuring crops, multiplying production volumes, providing sovereignty and food and nutritional security.
