[NYTr] Cuban Farmers Boost Organic Agriculture

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN)
http://ainch.ain.cu/mailman/listinfo/ingles


Cuban Farmers Boost Organic Agriculture

Havana, Oct 1 (acn) Farmers from the Cuban central province of Ciego de 
Avila are promoting the use of biological agents along with 
agro-ecological techniques that fight plagues and safeguard the 
environment.

According to a specialist at the Provincial Department of Vegetal 
Health, Regla Susana Granda Sanchez, this combination has increased the 
production of organic vegetables remarkably in Ciego de Avila in 2007, 
including both the state and the private sectors.

Some of the techniques promoted are the use of a yellow flowering 
species that repels harmful bugs, and the production of botanical 
substances to fight plagues such as the white fly that attacks tomato 
plants.

Likewise, farmers are using earthworm humus and organic waste from the 
sugar cane industry as natural fertilizers, which contribute to 
maintaining the ecological equilibrium and enhance agriculture 
production.

Thirty two provincial enterprises in Ciego de Avila have been awarded 
the Agro-ecological Medal by the Cuban Association of Agriculture and 
Forest Technicians (ACTAF), thanks to their outstanding results in the 
field of organic agriculture.