Rice Project cultivates the seeds of Vietnam-Cuba Friendship
WVR - Images of vast rice fields in the harvest season, in Los Palacios district, Pinar del Rio province, contributes to making the picture of friendship between the two peoples of Vietnam and Cuba more vivid and clear.
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| General Secretary and President To Lam and First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz Canel Bermudez witnessed the signing ceremony of a cooperation document between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the Ministry of Agriculture of Cuba, September 2024. (Source: VNA) |
Looking at the yellow rice fields, it is hard to imagine that when General Secretary and President To Lam visited here, there were only empty plots of land.
The continuous efforts to turn “every inch of land into an inch of gold” over the past six months of the Rice cultivation cooperation project in Los Palacios, Pinar del Rio has become a vivid demonstration of the Vietnam-Cuba friendship, concretizing the instructions of General Secretary and President To Lam after his historic visit to Cuba in September 2024.
Promises come true
Cuba, with a population of more than 11 million people, consumes about 700,000 tons of rice per year. However, in the period 2009-2022, Cuba's rice growing area only averaged about 135,000 hectares per year, with an output of about 290,000 tons of rice, meeting less than 50% of domestic rice demand.
Based on the Agricultural Cooperation Agreement between the two Ministries of Agriculture signed under the witness of General Secretary and President To Lam and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz Canel in September 2024, Vietnam's Agri VMA Company has implemented three pilot models: Self-cultivation of 1,000 hectares; cooperation with Cuban partners to cultivate and supervise, provide technical support; sell input materials to Cuban farmers for self-cultivation and provide technical support during the cultivation process.
After more than three months of implementation, the first 16 hectares of CT16 rice variety planted out of a total of 1,000 hectares have yielded results beyond expectations with an average yield of 7.2-10 tons of rice/ha (three times higher than the previous yield). Holding the golden ripe rice grains in their hands, Vietnamese agricultural engineers and Cuban farmers could not help but be moved and happy because the agreements signed on paper have now taken shape, and Vietnam's promise to boost rice production and gradually ensure food security in Cuba has been realized.
Unable to hide his joy, Mr. Dago Roberto expressed: “I am one of the Cuban farmers chosen to implement the cooperation model with Vietnam. With your rice variety, I was really surprised when it came to harvest. Cuban farmers will look at and admire this result. Thanks for Vietnam's support and technical assistance.”
In fact, the project implementation journey encountered many difficulties because Cuba has a large area of agricultural land, but the soil conditions in some areas are not suitable. In particular, the consequences of the embargo made it very difficult and costly to import agricultural machinery and materials into Cuba. In addition, the lack of energy and fuel sources had a significant impact on ensuring adequate and timely maintenance of input factors during the project implementation process.
The project had a great advantage thanks to the support from high-ranking leaders of the two countries. General Secretary To Lam and President Diaz Canel laid a solid political foundation, creating a favorable legal corridor for bilateral agricultural cooperation.
In addition, the determination and enthusiasm of the staff and experts of Agri VMA, as well as the close attention and regular support of Cuban ministries and agencies, have created direct momentum for the project. Above all, the special solidarity and traditional friendship between the people of the two countries have helped the project gain absolute trust from the Cuban people, overcoming all differences in language and farming culture.
During the implementation process, President Diaz Canel directed the Ministry of Agriculture and related ministries to create favorable conditions, and worked with Vietnamese enterprises many times and directly visited the project. This is the first time Cuba has allocated land for cultivation to a foreign enterprise. At the same time, Cuba has implemented commitments to resolve recommendations from Vietnamese enterprises after the historic visit of General Secretary and President To Lam.
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| Research and Expansion of Investment Project in Rice Production in Cuba: Ambassador Le Quang Long and Vietnamese Company AgriVMA members. (Photo: WVR) |
To promote the progress of this key cooperation project, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Quang Long said that the Embassy has held quarterly meetings with Agri VMA and Vietnamese enterprises, sought information, received recommendations from enterprises and worked with ministries and branches of Cuba to remove difficulties in the project implementation process.
This success not only demonstrates the efforts of Vietnamese enterprises in realizing high-level commitments; overcoming all challenges of poor soil, lack of machinery, agricultural materials and fuel, but also symbolizes the special spirit of solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba in the new period. Such companionship and solidarity in overcoming difficulties demonstrates the determination of both sides in implementing high-level agreements and turning agriculture into a "pillar" in the Cuban Socio-Economic Development Strategy to 2030.
Beginning of the future
The first harvest has proven that Cuba is fully capable of producing rice on its own, contributing to improving food security thanks to Vietnamese technology and know-how, opening up a new direction for sustainable "enterprise - farmer" cooperation. This is the premise for the two sides to replicate this cooperation model in 2025, aiming to expand it to all localities of Cuba in the long term.
Engineer Pham Ngoc Tu, Head of the Vietnamese expert team, said: "The productivity of this area previously only reached 3-4 tons of rice per hectare, but now the productivity has reached 7.2-10 tons of rice per hectare. This is an achievement that demonstrates to our Cuban friends the efficiency and the proper way to care for rice plants. Our expert team has taught Cuban farmers how to apply fertilizers, cultivate and care for rice plants so that this model can be replicated more widely."
Chairman of Agri VMA Company Nguyen Van Quang said that the 1,000 hectares of rice grown by the company are expected to yield over 10 tons of rice/ha when harvested next May. According to the plan, Agri VMA will continue to cooperate with Cuban businesses and farmers in 2025 with three models: Agri VMA will cultivate 2,000 hectares by itself; cooperate with Cuban businesses to cultivate 1,000 hectares and sell agricultural materials to Cuban farmers so that they can cultivate 3,000 hectares by themselves. The entire cultivated area of 6,000 hectares will continue to be deployed in Pinar Del Rio province, using the CT16 hybrid rice variety. Sharing the same belief in the upcoming golden seasons, President of the Agricultural Group under the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture Oslando Linares Morell affirmed: “With the success of this cooperation model, we will continue to replicate it in the coming time and move towards expanding to the entire province of Pinar del Rio”.
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| Vietnamese and Cuban people are happy with the results of agricultural cooperation. (Source: VNA) |
Ambassador Le Quang Long appreciated the efforts and capacity of Vietnamese enterprises in promoting and implementing new initiatives and models to improve productivity and quality of cultivation, contributing to the plan for self-sufficiency in production and ensuring food security in Cuba.The interest of Vietnamese enterprises in learning about and investing in the Cuban market, particularly in the agricultural sector, also highlights the role and responsibility of these enterprises in contributing to the development of the special, traditional, brotherly, and friendly relationship between Vietnam and Cuba. This is especially significant given the difficult socio-economic period that Cuba is currently experiencing.
According to Ambassador Le Quang Long, the initial success of Agri VMA Company is of great significance, opening up new opportunities for cooperation in agriculture between Vietnam and Cuba. However, this cooperation model needs continued support and favorable conditions from the governments of both countries, particularly in terms of mechanisms, so that it can be replicated in other regions of Cuba. The Ambassador also expressed his hope that, in the near future, more Vietnamese enterprises will show interest and participate in implementing this cooperation model in Cuba.
President Fidel Castro was the first and only foreign leader to visit the liberated area of Quang Tri on September 16, 1973, and the Vietnamese people will always remember his words: 'For Vietnam, Cuba is willing to sacrifice its blood!'
Until now, the two brothers, half a world apart, continue to stand shoulder to shoulder, supporting each other in the work of building the country and developing the economy and society.
Throughout the past and the future, that loyal and steadfast friendship across the Pacific Ocean has been continuously cultivated by generations of leaders and people of the two countries. From the Los Palacios field, the “seed of friendship” is sprouting strongly, promising a future of mutual development and prosperity for the two peoples of Vietnam and Cuba.
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