Havana, July 11 (RHC)-- The Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, José Ramón Machado Ventura, visited this Friday the productive farms of the cooperative sector in the provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque, where he called for harvesting as much as possible as part of a continuous practice; for planting animal food and for diversifying crops.

"The tranquility is that the agricultural products exist, and once they are planted, they can be harvested," said the official during the tour of agricultural enterprises and areas of the cooperative and farm sector of Mayabeque.

This province plays an important role in the food supply to the Cuban capital, with commitments to deliver 180 tons of agricultural products daily, a figure that has been affected since June by persistent rainfall and saturated soil moisture.  Such conditions have made it impossible to harvest various crops, especially in the southern part of the territory, where the areas of Melena del Sur, Quivicán, Batabanó, Güines and Nueva Paz, designed by the Commander-in-Chief for food security in the capital, are located.

"The supply of Havana requires alternatives because it is a big city.  The provinces of Matanzas, Cienfuegos and Ciego de Ávila have had historic commitments to the city, which must be taken up again, because this responsibility cannot fall solely on Mayabeque and Artemisa," Machado said.

Likewise, he went on to say that Matanzas and Cienfuegos do not have the conditions today to sustain the deliveries, but next year they will have to incorporate themselves into this task that requires larger planting areas to achieve higher volumes.

Previously, Machado Ventura visited production areas in the municipalities of Artemisa, Alquízar and Güira de Melena, in the province of Artemisa.