Pinar del Río. – After the passage of Tropical Storm Eta, with a veritable flood on the 11 municipalities of Pinar del Río, the farmers of this province resume one of the most complex tobacco campaigns in history.
Specialists say that “almost” means starting from scratch, with a marked delay in some places that there will be no way to recover. In fact, the initial planting plan has had to be reduced by more than 3,500 hectares. Of some 19,700 planned at the beginning, the aim is now to reach 16,170. This is a figure that continues to be high and will require a gigantic effort, taking into account the effects and the delay.
With the authority given to him by the 47 years that he has been dedicated to tobacco activity, Virginio Morales, a specialist at Grupo Empresarial Tabacuba, affirms that it is not the first time that a campaign has suffered the ravages of a hydrometeorological phenomenon, but it has never happened before in this magnitude. “Like this one, we haven’t had any, because the events have been consecutive,” he says.
Indeed, the impact of Eta in November meant it raining in the wet in a province that, in October, had registered twice the historical average of rainfall for that month, due to the proximity of Hurricane Delta, and in August had suffered the same , because of tropical storm Laura.
Faced with this situation, the effects of Eta were not only felt in a good part of what had been planted, but in tens of thousands of seedbeds, which would support the plantings in the following weeks. Juan José Cordero, for example, a producer from the Consolación del Sur municipality, explains that the seedbeds that he had irrigated on his farm, along with 12 other farmers, were considerably affected.
“They were the ones that would guarantee us the positions of November and December,” argues Juan José, adding that “now the campaign should have high levels of sowing in January, something that is climatologically complicated, because the harvest lasts until at least April , when the pests are stronger and the climate is usually adverse.
In the rest of the municipality, the situation is similar. Joel Hernández, director of the Comprehensive and Tobacco Company of the territory, explains that from some 4,000 hectares originally planned, the plan has been reduced to 3,400. Only half can be planted before the end of the year. The rest will remain for the months of January and February, Joel specifies.
This is due to the 12,000 seedbeds that were ruined with Eta and the other 16,000 that suffered partial damage. Among the actions currently being promoted, the official highlights “the accelerated irrigation” of new flowerbeds. “The producers have not lost motivation and are working hard,” he says.
This is the case throughout a province that accounts for around 70% of the country’s production, including all the raw material (with the exception of the layer) that is used in export twisting.
Thousands of men and women turn to Las Vegas today, to prepare land and promote crops, in the effort to save the campaign. “Although the weather has not been with us, it is still possible to obtain a good harvest,” says Felix Yosbel Camejo, another of those who had to demolish what he had sown and start over.
Yosvany Arencibia, administrator of the ubpc Julián Alemán, is also optimistic. Despite the fact that the Eta rains totally damaged the 11 hectares of Virginia tobacco that they had planted, thanks to the initiatives to protect the seedlings, he affirms that it has been possible to replace what was lost in a short time and to begin to reverse the delay in the schedule.
“The innovations that we adopt in the cooperative, together with the company, have allowed us to have positions to recover as soon as possible,” says the manager.
Specifically, it refers to the decision to protect a part of the trays with the small plants in the dining room, warehouses and offices, and especially in a group of rustic tunnels, built by themselves, capable of withstanding heavy rains and high winds. about 60 kilometers per hour.
However, Doctor of Science Nelson Rodríguez, director of the San Juan y Martínez Tobacco Experimental Station, warns that, in a general sense, the situation is tense, because the blow of nature has been very severe.
«Other times we had similar effects, but the difference is in the stage in which they happened. November is the optimal month for sowing, and it was hardly possible to take advantage of it, ”the specialist details, adding that tobacco is a sensitive crop, which depends on many factors, including the date it is planted.
“As we move away from the optimal period, quality suffers,” he says. Two numbers are enough to illustrate the lag in the campaign. Of the more than 7,000 hectares that should have been planted at the end of November, only 1,289 could be reached.
Even so, in the Vueltabajo vegas most of the producers do not give up. With the machinery organized to work 16 hours a day, and also appealing to the 16,000 yoke of oxen existing in the province, they continue to put effort into an activity that, in the last year, contributed 297 million dollars to the Cuban economy .
– .
