the world of organic agriculture - Organic Eprints

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The World of Organic Agriculture 2006
structure. The National Institute of Agrarian Research INIA, is carrying a research in organic
meat.
16.8 Success Stories
Alberto Pipo Lernoud and Marcela Piovano
16.8.1 Cuba: Urban Agriculture in Cuba
Cuba is perhaps the best example of the possibility of feeding large populations with organic
products at low cost. Due to the crisis in the Soviet Block in the 1980s, Cuba was unable to buy
agrochemical inputs for its highly centralized, input dependent agriculture.
By 1990, Cuba had lost 85 percent of its imports. So the new policy was to lower the need of
inputs and oil and turn the farms into self-reliant units, recycling fertility and controlling pests
with organic methods. Almost fifteen years later, Cuba is probably the biggest producer of organic
vegetables in the world, and most of it is done in small urban plots with a highly diversified
output and a massive network of simple laboratories that develop highly sophisticated biological
pest control products at very low prices.
Due to the poor quality of the soil, all urban agriculture is done in closed raised beds or containers,
filled with organic matter and soil mix, usually brought from outside the city.
Many gardeners combine compost and soil, and others mix cachaza, the waste product from
sugar cane. The cultivation methods are based on the principles of organic agriculture. Each
organoponico has an area that is dedicated to the production of worm humus. As horses and
animal power in general have had an impressive resurgence in Cuba due to the limited access to
oil, there is lots of manure available.
In the municipality of Cienfuegos there are approximately 102 organoponicos (urban plots with
vegetables), 63 are semi-private and 39 are managed by state enterprises. Cienfuegos, which
is considered the “capital of urban agriculture in Cuba” produces almost 100 grams of fresh
vegetable per capita per day.
16.8.2 Bioferia in Lima, Perú
The Bioferia in Miraflores, a neighborhood in Lima, Perú, started on December the 4th 1999.
It was organized with the help of the municipality. Since then, it is carried every Saturday in
Reducto Park from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. It spans for almost a block (100 meters) in the quietest edge
of the Park.
70 percent of the fair participants are “productores del campo” (farmers), representing more than
300 farmers from Piura, Cajamarca, Huañaco, Pasco, Junin; Huancavelco, Ico, Arequipa, Cusco,
Madre de Dios and Lima. There are more than 350 food products, including fruits, vegetables,
breads, jams, coffee, milk products from cows & goats, chicken, eggs, seeds, etc. All producers
and processors are certified. Every producer must fill a document that states the offered products
& prices.