Cuban Organoponico
Organoponicos are concrete container bed gardens found in urban areas all over Cuba
Overview
Prior to 1990 urban gardens were virtually non-existent in Cuba as they were perceived by many to be a sign of poverty and underdevelopment . For years Cuba had been dependent on trade subsidies and imports from their Soviet allies. With the collapse of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1989, Cuba was plunged into a serious economic crisis known as the Special Period. By 1990, Cuba had lost 85% of its imports including both agricultural inputs and food. Food imports had accounted for 57% of Cuban caloric intake. Before the Special Period, Cuba’s agriculture was based on an intensive monoculture approach that was heavily dependent on agrochemical imports. The demise of the USSR devastated Cuba’s agriculture due to the loss of 80% of its fertiliser and pesticide imports . The lack of agricultural imports forced Cuba to diversify farming practices and to adopt methods of organic agriculture. Most importantly, this crisis exposed Cuba’s heavy dependency on imports and seriously threatened food security. The passing of the “Cuba Democracy Act” in 1992 and the “Helms-Burton Act” in 1996 (by the US Congress) exacerbated the economic crisis. In response to this crisis the Cuban government launched a nation wide urban agriculture movement as an alternative source of food security.
Organoponicos are the most common type of garden found in Cuba since the majority of urban soils is of poor quality.
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Organoponico La Calsada
(Photo: by Kristina Taboulchanas)  |
The establishment of organoponicos in Cienfuegos has been possible because of readily available spaces within the city. In the municipality of Cienfuegos there are approximately 102 organoponicos, 63 are semi-private operations and 39 are managed by state enterprises. Every neighbourhood in the city except one has at least 2 and in some cases as many as 21 organoponicos . In Cienfuegos, organoponicos began appearing in the early 1990s.
Cultivation Methods
Cultivation takes place inside containers or raised beds filled with an organic matter and soil mix. The organic matter is usually transported to the city from rural or peri-urban farms.
Many gardeners combine equal proportions of compost and soil while others mix cachaza, (a waste product from sugar cane production) and soil. The containers are made of cement blocs or discarded construction columns .The cultivation methods are based on the principles of organic agriculture. The success of these gardens is attributed to the use of few external-inputs, the application of agroecology principles and their reliance on locally available resources. Each organoponico has a cantero that is dedicated to the production of worm humus. After harvesting, residual plant materials are added to the worm compost-cantero and transformed into humus. |
Animal manure is another source of material for the worm composts. As a result of the Special Period many horse drawn buggies have replaced automobiles for public transportation leading to manure production within urban areas. Composted manure is added to the canteros as a natural fertiliser.
The organoponicos follow an integrated pest management approach that is based on a wide range of physical, biological and cultural practices. The government controls the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers, which are used occasionally and only in situations when biological and cultural practices have failed.
Various vegetables, condiments and medicinal plants provide the bulk of the produce cultivated in the gardens
Elderly Cuban man working in a small organoponico garden