Search

In Cuba, with a food system highly dependent on imports, transformations are needed in its farming development model; which are mainly based on a more endogenous production and the more efficient use of the locally available resources. Agroecology, as science and practice that promotes food sovereignty, can place those who produce, distribute and consume the farming production at the center of public policies which promote these processes close to the territory and in an ecologically sustainable way, which turns it into a sustainable alternative. This paper presents the current situation of agriculture in the country, its participation in national economy, the role of the cooperative sector and family agriculture in feeding the population; and it also analyzes soil deterioration and sociocultural, climate problems, among others, which suggest the need of alternative agricultural development models and favor the drive of guidelines and decisions around agroecology; reference is made too to the challenges that could support its progressive development. The need of an agroecological transition in Cuba is evident; for which the elements that could support the development of family agriculture in the country on agroecological bases are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the continuation of the one published in Pastos y Forrajes, no. 1, 2016, in which the general bases of a selection of currently internationally available methodologies for the dynamic evaluation of production systems, are offered. This part describes the methodologies Integral Energy Evaluation (EMERGY) and Systems' Trajectory; and also a concrete example is provided of the application of the principles of these methods in the construction of an integral evaluation model of farming systems, called GAMEDE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the most important scientific results related to the management of grazing systems for dairy production in Cuba, during the last 40 years of research. The compilation made allowed to generate a group of principles that rule the management with improved grasses, twining legumes and trees for browsing. The challenges in the conception of milk production systems in Cuba, which constitute the new paradigm: food and energy production on improved grasses in association with fodder, energy, timber and other trees, that cover 80 % of the animals' requirements, were analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work briefly reviews the literature that supports the analysis of the aspects related to the evolution of territorial and agricultural transformations in Cuba. Reference is made to the role of the State in the implementation of strategies to support the development processes in the Cuban countryside, in an international context which sometimes favors, and occasionally limits, the performance of the agricultural structure and the rural areas of the nation. The paper also examines the potentials of the municipality as strategic scenario to promote sustainable alternatives of agricultural production which guarantee --among other aspects-- food security, employment generation and the rational use of natural resources, from the articulation of the agricultural sector with management of the local government. All this occurs in a context of decentralized transformations and in which different types of producers coexist, also organized in a diverse way. The integrated agroproductive and rural development model, with territorial vision, is visualized to be starting and under experimentation, and the flexibility and diversity with which the process occurs will allow to adjust the model and adapt it to the characteristics of the territories and the different stakeholders, according to the national development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pastos y Forrajes is the official journal of the Ministry of Higher Education for the livestock production sector. The objective of this paper is to show how this publication emerged and how it has evolved in correspondence with the transformations of the livestock production sector and information technologies. The structure of its Editorial Board, the topics included, the need for its periodical evaluation are reported as well as the role played in the training of professionals, the dissemination of scientific results and the exchange with other publications. It is concluded that the staff should work to achieve higher excellence indexes, maintain the accreditation granted by the Cuban Academy of Sciences, as well as increase the national and international visibility of the journal through a continuous improvement process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]