Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

Amérique Latine - Caraïbes / Latin America - Caribbean : T. Lescot et al.
Les productions bananières à Cuba
Thierry Lescot 1 , José Manuel Alvarez 2
et Orlando Rodriguez M. 3
Abstract – Banana production in Cuba
Annual banana production in Cuba is estimated to be 463,000 tonnes, consisting of
222,000 t of ABB, 200,000 t of « dessert » bananas and 32,000 t of plantains. Production is
entirely for domestic consumption and characterised by centralised decisions (Ministry of
Agriculture 5-Year Plan), the weight of the state, a strong varietal policy, biotechnology
and agricultural research in general and the centralisation of supply.
Indeed, production in 1945 was characterised by the dominance of plantain (False Horn
cv. « Macho » 63.2 %) but a varietal reconversion plan was set up in the late 1980s to
replace most plantains by a Cuban-bred variety of the « Bluggoe » type (ABB, cv. « Burro
CEMSA 3/4 ») which is more productive and hardier. Finally, from 1991 onwards, Cuba
concentrated strongly on the introduction and diffusion of FHIA tetraploid hybrids
because of the impact of black Sigatoka, which had reached the island in 1990.
Production is to a considerable part in the hands of the state, which provides substantial
aid for the agricultural co-operatives (UBPC, CPA). Independent farmers alone continue,
to a certain degree, the production of plantains (in Holguín province).
The energy crisis from which the country has suffered since the collapse of the USSR has
led to a search for alternative solutions : enriched organic fertiliser (Azotobacter),
biological control, etc. In biotechnology, Cuba has an annual production potential of 50
million tissue culture plants and is tending towards multiplication by somatic
embryogenesis.
Although on-farm consumption and barter are still considerable, the distribution of most
production is centralised (‘Acopio’). Free markets have appeared only recently.
Résumé
La production cubaine annuelle de bananes est estimée à 463000 tonnes, dont 222000 t
d’ABB, 200000 t de bananes « dessert » et 32 000 t de bananes plantain. Entièrement destinée
à la consommation interne, cette production est caractérisée par la centralisation
des décisions (plan quinquennal du ministère de l’Agriculture), l’importance de l’Etat,
l’importante politique variétale, le poids des biotechnologies et de la recherche agricole
en générale et la centralisation de l’offre.
1 CIRAD-FLHOR/IICA, Apartado 711, Santo Domingo, République Dominicaine
2 Ministerio de Agricultura, La Habana, Cuba
3 ETIAH, Holguín, Cuba.
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