Rob Sequin | Havana Journal

State run newspaper Granma reported that Cuba will close at least one hundred “inefficient” government run farms and move approximately 40,000 government workers to other jobs.

Agriculture Minister Ulises Rosales made the announcement at a meeting of the National Association of Small Farmers in Santa Clara Villa Clara.

He claimed that the farms are unsustainable in the current economy.

Cuba imports about eighty percent of the food consumed by its eleven million people at an annual cost of several billion dollars.

The government run newspaper stated that the farms cannot be maintained due to the lack of financial liquidity “brought on by the international financial crisis, the drop in foreign trade, the continuing U.S. economic embargo” and other factors.

Cuba reported an increase in 2009 of beans, potatoes and onions but decreased in bananas and corns compared to 2008.

—————————————- Havana Journal Comments—————————————-

Closing 100 farms? Seriously? Cuba’s Communist government can’t even get farming right in Cuba after 50 years. Shameful really.

Relocating 40,000 workers? Yeah right. The government is going to pay to train farmers to do what, be doctors? Good luck.

Cuba imports 80% of its food? 80%! EIGHTY PERCENT? You put a seed in the ground and it grows. Humans have been farming for something like a million years. Only Castro’s Communism could screw that up. Now that they are closing more farms, are they trying to get the number up to 100%?

The Embargo? Please.

If Castro let people grow their own food on their own land and were allowed to sell the food, Cuba would be doing just fine but the Castro have to have their hand in, or should I say hand ON everything just keep to the Cuban people poor and hungry.

Nice job Fidel and Raul. The Revolution is a great success.