The beginnings of the Urban Agriculture in Cuba
During the first half of the 19 century the urban agriculture was aimed to the small scale production of vegetables by few people, as well as to the breeding of domestic animals in yards and small farms, mainly used for the family and neighbourhood food supply.
In 1989, 57% of proteins, more than 50% of the calories consumed by the population as well as the 97% of animal food came to the country as imported products from the countries of the socialist block. At the beginnings of the 90’s with the fall of socialism and the cut of imports supplies, the Cuban economy suffered a drastic descent of the food’s production.
The economic difficulties of the 90’s such as: the drastic reduction of foods imports that came from the socialist block, the low quality of some horticultural productions, the absence of traditional species, as well as the high productive potentialities in cities, stimulated the quick growth of the urban agriculture in Cuba. In that way start to organize many productions in small areas, with the resources located in each town in order to provide the direct sale in the same production place. The simple methods and low cost of this unit’s management, and the increase of the efficiency while this technology was perfected, allow a high development of this process that quickly became into a true productive and popular movement with ecological bases.