By Roberto Morejón
Tractors and inputs donated by the Government of Mexico and the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation have arrived in some of Cuba's most fertile areas for the promotion of agriculture, as part of the solidarity towards Cuba.
In the young provinces of Mayabeque and Artemisa, projects related to the food program 'Sowing Life', which the government headed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is promoting in his country to create jobs and reduce inequalities, are gaining momentum.
Lopez Obrador's highly praised initiative has the laudable purpose of increasing land cultivation and achieving food self-sufficiency.
The program, proposed by Mexico to Central American countries and Cuba, gained momentum this year with respect to the Caribbean archipelago, although the idea had been in the works since before and was preceded by the registration of the farmers to be assisted.
Mexico's purpose, with Cuba's support, is to benefit some 5,000 farmers in the western provinces of Mayabeque and Artemisa.
It should be taken into account that in those territories they work not only for the consumption of the locals but also for Havana, the capital city, with almost two million inhabitants.
The contribution is effective because, in addition to the support in kind, including tools, it includes technical advice on good procedures and constitutes a secure source of employment.
Cuba, with a depressed agricultural production, is facing the effects of the U.S. blockade, illustrated by the lack of machinery and inputs, in addition to the reduction of the labor force in the fields, due to the exodus to the cities.
With a law to strengthen food sovereignty, the Cuban State insists that the economy is the determining front for the country's development and agriculture is included as a pillar.
Mexico, with a foreign policy and principles focused on collaboration with Latin America and the Caribbean, considers that its own development is not possible alone, but hand in hand with sister nations.
This is a message reiterated by President López Obrador in his public speeches.
For Cubans, the 'Sowing Life' program represents an action that deserves gratitude, especially when it contrasts with the behavior of the Northern power that, in its vision of the Caribbean archipelago, only conceives of tightening the screws of the encirclement.
