Cuba Cooperative Working Group

Description

"The NCBA CLUSA Cuba Cooperative Working Group (CCWG) was formed in early 2014 to explore opportunities for engaging with Cuba on cooperative development in various sectors of the country’s economy. NCBA CLUSA has a 60-year history of supporting cooperative development in more than 100 countries around the world, and is actively expanding its work in Latin America and the Caribbean, both as an implementer of development projects and as leader in the cooperative movement in the Americas.

The CCWG was formed in collaboration with Eric Leenson of SOL² Economics, which has been engaging with cooperative leaders in Cuba, Canada, and Latin America around the topic of socially responsible enterprise in Cuba." (https://eleenson.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/cuba-trip-report.pdf)

Discussion

"To better understand the role cooperatives have played throughout the various periods of economic experimentation in Cuba, the CCWG met with a number of co-ops and experts on the history and role of cooperatives in Cuba.

There have been various phases and types of cooperatives developed in the more than 50 years since the Cuban revolution;

Most recently, Cuba has supported the development of non-agricultural co-ops. Cuba currently spends about $1 billion annually subsidizing basic food stuffs. Agriculture since the revolution had been part of the tightly controlled food production and marketing system that ensured all Cubans had access to basic food stuffs. Until recent years, as much as 82% of arable land was owned by the State. The co-ops manage almost 70% of farmed land. In recent years, tight state marketing control has loosened somewhat, providing an opening for the formation of more co-ops and private enterprises, and allowing co-ops and private farmers to market some foodstuffs at non-regulated prices in private markets without state control.

Although the revolution has sought to provide enough food for all Cubans, productivity in the farming sector has been poor, with much land unused or underused.

Currently, Cuba is only producing about 30% of food consumed and importing about $2 billion worth of food annually to meet basic dietary needs. With better agriculture policy and production, it is estimated that Cuba has the capacity to reduce food imports by 70%.

With the goals of increasing production, reducing the size and complexity of state enterprises, and reducing imports, the government has continued to focus on legislation to expand cooperatives in both the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors."

More Information

• CUBA COOPERATIVE WORKING GROUP, trip report at https://eleenson.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/cuba-trip-report.pdf