When other nations are forced to rethink their agricultural and food security strategies in light of the post-peak oil debate, they only have one living example to draw from: that of Cuba in the 1990s. Based on the first and, up till now, only systematic and empirical study to come out of Cuba on this topic, this book examines how the nation successfully headed off its own food crisis after the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc in the early 1990s. It identifies the policies and practices required for such an achievement under conditions of petroleum-scarcity, and in doing so it challenges the more common, free market development approach as encouraged in other food-insecure countries and regions. Paradoxically, the book debunks the myth that Cuba turned to a widespread organic approach to agriculture, a myth that is perpetuated by the majority of visitors to the country, who only encounter urban gardens. In rural regions, to which the author had authorized access, high-input and integrated agriculture was the intention, although practice was hampered by the fluctuations in availability of agrochemicals and fuel. Cuban institutions and individuals were confronted with a series of challenges to going down the organic route, and these challenges are identified as those that other countries will also have to face as they attempt to develop more sustainable, organic farming systems. The book counters the rhetoric of international policy on achieving sustainable agriculture and food security for developing countries in the context of dwindling global supplies of fossil fuels, and provides useful learning material for the current fledgling attempts at energy descent plans and the mainstreaming of eco-living in industrialized nations.
Author(s): Julia Wright
Publisher: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 281
Contents......Page 6
List of Figures, Tables and Boxes......Page 8
Preface and Acknowledgements......Page 12
List of Acronyms and Glossary......Page 14
Petroleum-based food systems and food security......Page 18
Cuba: the global example of a post-petroleum food system?......Page 19
A snapshot of the Cuban experience in the 1990s......Page 23
Notes......Page 24
References......Page 25
The inevitable decline in fossil fuels and transition to alternatives......Page 28
Petroleum-dependent agriculture and food systems......Page 29
Using the peak-oil challenge as a driving force for change......Page 31
Transition and change to a post-petroleum farming and food system......Page 39
Notes......Page 46
References......Page 49
Research perspectives......Page 60
Places and people in the field......Page 61
Red threads affecting the research process......Page 62
References......Page 65
The agro-geography of Cuba......Page 66
The food production system up to 1989......Page 69
The critical years: 1989 to 1994......Page 85
Notes......Page 90
References......Page 91
Life after the crisis......Page 98
The rise of urban agriculture: the vanguard for a localized organic farming system?......Page 99
References......Page 108
Food availability......Page 110
Food accessibility......Page 122
Food adequacy......Page 140
Notes......Page 146
References......Page 147
State efforts to increase agricultural efficiency in the 1990s......Page 152
Farmers’ coping strategies......Page 159
References......Page 182
Wider influences on change......Page 186
The policy dilemma: increased yields or longer-term sustainability?......Page 187
Factors forcing institutional change......Page 189
Institutional and individual coping strategies......Page 190
Maintaining state planning, encouraging local management......Page 191
Dealing with the dealing out of resources......Page 195
Attempts at changing the top-down research and extension approach......Page 199
Learning about more appropriate farming systems......Page 204
The belated development of certified organic agriculture......Page 206
The concurrent growth of the biotechnology industry......Page 209
The emerging components of a new type of agricultural system......Page 210
References......Page 211
Driving forces behind current levels of agricultural sustainability......Page 214
The agricultural sector in transition......Page 215
Interpretations of organic agriculture and its potential for mainstreaming......Page 216
Opportunities for scaling-up organic production......Page 223
Developing ecological knowledge systems......Page 225
Increasing the availability of, and access to, appropriate resources and technology......Page 232
Ensuring conducive socio-political factors......Page 234
Potential driving forces for the scaling-up of organic agriculture......Page 237
Notes......Page 238
References......Page 239
Cuba’s successes and challenges in meeting its food security goals......Page 242
Trends into the decade of the 2000s......Page 247
Beyond agribusiness: why Cuba isn’t farming organically......Page 252
Implications of the Cuban experience for global agriculture and food security......Page 256
References......Page 257
Appendix A......Page 260
Appendix B......Page 262
Index......Page 268
