The organization is promoting a transition to renewable energy sources to reduce “dependence” on hydrocarbons.
14ymedio / EFE, São Paulo, March 3, 2026 – The impact of the fuel crisis in Cuba is already being felt in its agricultural sector and the effect is “serious,” warned EFE in an interview with the regional representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), René Orellana.
The head of the FAO for Latin America and the Caribbean stated that the lack of fuel, caused by actions taken by the government of the U.S. president Donald Trump, “is limiting” farmers’ use of machinery to carry out the harvest.
“Several crops are at risk of not being harvested properly,” he warned. As a consequence of this situation, Orellana said that the Island’s population “will not be able to access those foods.”
“Several crops are at risk of not being harvested properly.”
In this context, the FAO and other UN agencies are promoting a transition to renewable energy sources to reduce “dependence” on hydrocarbons, the agency official explained.
Among the options being promoted are the installation of new irrigation systems, as well as small-scale photovoltaic and hydroelectric plants.
“They are accessible energy sources that we must work on to support small family production,” Orellana said.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a blockade on oil shipments to Cuba, extreme fuel rationing measures have restricted the transport of agricultural products to markets.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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