A BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE: AGROECOLOGY AS A RESPONSE TO

SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS IN CUBA

By Erin Tace Nelson.
A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo.
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2006

Abstract
Over the past century global agriculture has come to be characterized by high levels of
industrial inputs, as well as increasing consolidation of land ownership and a focus on
export-oriented monocrop production. In spite of its dominance, this conventional model of
food production has faced growing criticism for being environmentally, socially, and
economically unsustainable, and alternatives such as organic agriculture are becoming
increasingly popular. The rapid growth of these alternative modes of production raises
questions regarding how sustainable food systems should be defined, how they might best
be implemented, and how they can contribute to the overall goals of sustainable
development.
Cuba is a recognized leader in the adoption of sustainable agriculture. This research
examines the Cuban experience in an effort to determine how Cubans who work in the
agricultural sector perceive and define agricultural sustainability, who the major actors have
been in the shift away from conventional techniques, and what the future challenges and
opportunities for agroecology in the country might be. In order to address these questions
interviews were conducted with Cubans involved in the agricultural sector at the level of
research, education, and extension, as well as with Cuban farmers. In addition, participant
observation was carried out during a number of farm visits and while attending agricultural
extension workshops.
The results of this study demonstrate that agroecology in Cuba is based on a wide range
of techniques, including polyculture, mixed farming, animal traction, organic input use, and
a focus on local food networks. For many farmers, the use of agroecological techniques
does not reflect a conscious choice on their part. Rather, their production decisions tend to
be driven by a combination of resource shortages and strong state influence at the farm
level. Indeed, the shift towards agroecology in Cuba has largely been driven by national
level actors, including the state, NGOs, and research institutes.
As such, many farmers lack a sense of personal commitment to agroecology, and this
may pose challenges for its present and future success. A further challenge is presented by a
lack of resources for agroecological development and extension. The opportunity for price
premiums in the niche organic market could provide positive economic incentives for
Cuban agroecology; however, this would imply shifting back to an export driven
agricultural economy, and the degree to which this is desirable or truly sustainable is
questionable.

Research Objectives:

To assess the extent to which Cuban producers practice organic techniques and
define their own production as organic.
To explore the motivations of Cuban producers for using non-conventional
production methods.
To determine the degree of commitment that Cuban producers have to the practice
of alternative agricultural methods.
To identify the role that government and non-governmental organisations have
played in the transition away from conventional production in Cuba, as well as the
motivations of these actors.
To determine factors that either facilitate or constrain the development of alternative
food production systems.

Research Design
As is consistent with the overall research framework, this thesis is based on a qualitative
case study approach. The qualitative case study seeks to achieve in-depth understanding of
the reality of a specific location or group of people, as well as to uncover the layers of
meaning that may underlie a particular phenomenon in a particular context (Neuman,
2000). It is also a flexible way to design research, as it allows for the gradual focusing of
the research goals and objectives throughout the research process (Neuman, 2000). As such,
there is greater opportunity for researcher reflexivity and for the inclusion of research
participants in the development of the research strategy.
The qualitative case study was also an appropriate research strategy because
achievement of the research objectives could not have been accomplished through the
quantification of specific variables, but rather required the kind of subtle understanding of
the relativity of actors accounts of their social worlds, and the relation between
sociological descriptions and actors conceptions of their actions (Halfpenny, 1979, cited
in Neuman, 2000: 145) that the qualitative case study approach encourages. As well, as
noted in the literature on sustainable agriculture, context is an important variable in
determining the characteristics of an organic sector (see for example Duram, 2000; Vos,
2000; Kaltoft, 2001; Rigby and Caceres, 2001). Thus, the qualitative case study approach,
which specifically emphasizes the necessity of understanding context in order to understand
the meaning of any phenomenon, was a useful way to design the research.

Key Informants:
This study was based largely on data collected from a series of in-depth, semi-structured
interviews.
The first set of interviews was conducted with key informants, including several
producers and a variety of people involved in the Cuban agricultural sector. Contact with
most of these informants was made during the aforementioned three week field course.
Additional participants were found using a snowball strategy, which Neuman (2000) notes
is common during field research. These interviews were primarily conducted during the
first field season, although several key informants were also interviewed during the second
research trip.
The second set of semi-structured interviews for this thesis was conducted with twelve
Cuban producers and their families from the municipality of San Jose de Las Lajas in the
province of Havana. (Data from these interviews is cited in the text using roman numerals.)
Between two and six visits were made to each family over a period of six weeks, and the
interviews took place in various locations, including peoples homes, fields, and points of
sale. The length of the visits varied from one hour to an entire day.
The interviews were informal, and often several family members would be present, thus
comments from producers were often augmented by friends or relatives who were present
during the visits. I was introduced to the majority of the research participants by the person
who acted as my advisor during my stay at INCA (Instituto Nacional de Ciencias
Agricolas). As someone with formal or informal authority to control access to a site
(Neuman, 2000: 352), he was able to act as my gatekeeper, allowing me to visit sites and
people that would normally be off limits to foreigners in Cuba.