A workshop on manual transplanting rice technology was recently held in the Santiago municipality of Contramaestre. The purpose of the event was to exchange and train farmers in this part of eastern Cuba who are betting on rice cultivation.
The demonstration plot of producer Yumaika Pérez Guerrero, a farmer associated with the Miguel Betancourt Credit and Service Cooperative (CCS) was the site selected for the meeting.
Grain producers from various Contramaestrian agricultural structures participated in the meeting. Some of them with vast experience in planting and caring for this crop, as well as others who are just starting out and are motivated by rice cultivation due to the conditions of their farms.
The presence of rice producer Lariza Brizuela, one of the main promoters of this movement in the Contramaestrian territory was essential in the exchange because the farmer was able to talk about different topics to be taken into account for rice planting.
The workshop was organized by Juan Miguel Pérez García, representative of the system of grain extension producers in the province of Santiago de Cuba. Engineer who shared and showed the work done in the demonstration plot of Yumaika Perez, who obtained in an extension of 40 meters long by ten meters wide a production of 13 bags of paddy rice.
This is variable, it depends on the amount of grains that the plot has, the filling of the grains, and there are some that are emptied for different reasons. In this case, this plot was not fertilized to the desired level, but it is a virgin area with very good yields. This plot has a great objective, first to demonstrate that these soils found in the CCS Miguel Betancourt have potential for rice cultivation, and secondly, that a family is able to supply itself with the rice it needs for family consumption and contributes to territorial self-sufficiency. The surplus that she collects here (referring to the producer Yumaika), she sells it to the cooperative and the cooperative markets it at its point of sale to the rest of the producers.
In this way, the agricultural extension system in grain production in the municipality of Contramaestre works intentionally to carry out agricultural education, extension and training programs to ensure that information on new technologies, plant varieties and cultural practices reaches the farmers and those who need it most.
It also seeks to introduce new scientific and technical knowledge in rural areas in order to generate changes and improve the quality of life of farmers and their families.
With this workshop, the agricultural extension system works directly with the producers, knows the production conditions, and provides support to each of them according to individual conditions. It also finds alternative solutions to make them more efficient with their own resources and creates links between producers and other actors in the production process, so that each one can take advantage of the existing experiences in their environment and enable the training demanded by the producer.
