In a turn towards agribusiness in private hands, the Cuban government is considering to legally grant land in usufruct to foreign companies and individuals with permanent residence in the country.
The Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG) announced this step in a press conference this Tuesday, which is contained in the bill on property, possession and use of land.
According to the authorities, the regulation seeks the “increase of agricultural production” and the “recognition of all economic actors,” at a time when agricultural production is going through a deep crisis on the island.
The 60-page text will enter a discussion phase until May 1 and will be presented to the National Assembly of People’s Power for approval in December.
Legal void in the face of an already established practice
Cuba had already given lands in usufruct to foreign companies, although under a “legal void,” Mayra Cruz, Legal Director of MINAG, clarified to the press. She explained that “the fundamental change is given by the recognition” of these actors in the legal proposal.
“The current decree law on the handing over of lands in usufruct does not speak about foreign legal entities in any way. How has the delivery of lands to these subjects been resolved legally? Based on the Constitution…, but there is a void in the agrarian legislation on this subject,” said the official.
Last January, the Cuban state press highlighted that a Vietnamese company had become the first foreign firm to receive land to harvest in Cuba since 1959.
The company, according to what was reported at the time, obtained 308 hectares to plant rice on a farm south of Pinar del Río province.
“We know of many cases of foreigners who live in the country and who are interested in accessing this possibility of having land in usufruct and have had to request it from their wives, a child, a Cuban relative… This proposal is incorporating the possibility that, as happens with other assets, such as cars, houses…they can acquire it in their name,” Cruz stressed.
As a whole the pandemic, the tightening of U.S. sanctions and errors in national economic policy have led to aggravating the structural problems of the Cuban economy, which has been unbalanced for decades.
Imbalances in investments
As of September 2024, investments in business services, real estate and rental activities (which include the construction of hotels) were 4.6 times greater than the sum of investments in agriculture, education and health, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) collated by EFE.
Cuban experts such as Ricardo Torres and Miguel Alejandro Hayes have questioned the strategy of investing so much in tourism when sectors such as agriculture and health face serious challenges.
Low hotel occupancy and dependence on food imports are some of the problems facing the country, which must import around 80% of the food it consumes, which has led to chronic shortages and pressure on the economy.
Despite criticism from analysts and the population itself, the Cuban government continues to bet on tourism and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz recently reiterated the government’s purpose of turning tourism into the “true locomotive” of the Cuban economy.
“Tourism continues to decline in Cuba with a 25% reduction in the number of visitors in January 2025 compared to the previous year,” Cuban economist Pedro Monreal noted on his social media, after the drop experienced by the sector in the first month of the year was disclosed.
“It is the third worst result since 2003 for a month of January, with only the months of January 2021 and 2022 being worse,” explained the expert.
Currently, the island is suffering from shortages of food, medicine, fuel and cash, as well as runaway inflation, prolonged daily power cuts and increasing dollarization that is generating economic and social tensions.
Under these conditions, Cuba is experiencing an unprecedented migratory exodus.
EFE/OnCuba
