Along with cattle theft, the situation is putting the food supply in the province in jeopardy
14ymedio, Havana, 24 June 2024 — The guajiros of Cienfuegos are desperate; the state company Acopio has owed them a total of five million pesos for months and, without money, they cannot reinvest in planting for the next harvest. This problem, together with others, such as livestock theft, puts the food supply in the province even more at risk, if possible.
All of this was recognized by the authorities during the recent visit to Cienfuegos of Cuba’s Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, and other senior government officials. During the session, where the farmers complained about the lack of payments by Acopio, they came to the conclusion that they were facing “pending challenges.”
In the past 14ymedio has highlighted the crisis that producers in other provinces are going through
Non-payments to suppliers, a series of unamortized loans in the bank and the lack of budget to guarantee operations by the state company dedicated to the marketing of agricultural products are nothing new. There is periodic news of the million peso debts that Acopio has with the farmers. In the past 14ymedio has highlighted the crisis that producers in other provinces are going through, such as those in Las Tunas.
Other problems that have emerged from the meeting in Cienfuegos, which was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, are the delays in the construction of houses for the most needy, the management of raw materials for the manufacture of corn starch, the lack of vehicles to distribute milk and other dairy products, as well as the exodus suffered by the workforce of the port.
During his speech at the meeting, Marrero Cruz accepted that there is a problem of corruption between government officials and the private sector through MSMEs. In that sense, he pointed out that, in the port, 21 million pesos have been paid in construction contracts where the costs were inflated.
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