Texan Entrepreneurs Come to Cuba
HAVANA TIMES – A Texas business group traveled to Havana on Sunday, interested in exploring the Cuban market for their products, reported the Dallas Morning News.
Among the Texas industries represented are agricultural enterprises, airlines, oil, technology and tourism, said the delegation leader Cynthia Thomas, president of the consulting firm Tri Dimension Strategies, based in Dallas.
“We see the light at the end of the tunnel but do not know how long is the tunnel,” said Dwight Roberts, president and CEO of the US Rice Producers Association.
In 2008 a delegation led by the Texas state agriculture commissioner at that time made a similar 4-day agricultural trade mission to the island. At the time Texas businesses were selling about $ 25 million annually to Cuba in agricultural products.
I didn’t say that Dan. As Griffin do ably explained above, modern agricultural methods allow sufficient food to be produced to feed significant portions of the world. Organic farming by its very nature does not allow for this. I myself enjoy shopping at the local farmers market. The tast and quality of the food is superior to what I can find at the local supermarket. But the production of these organic farms are limited in scale. They only produce so much.
Meanwhile, Cubans would give anything to be able to walk into ANY American supermarket to buy what we offer.
So, how exactly am I wrong Dan?
Organic Farming takes allot of Resources to maintain the ‘Organic’ Label.
For now, just by practicing limited herbicide n pesticide applications and use U.S. Guidelines as the Rule. It will help in the selling and the convincing of US markets in accepting Products . Havana could develop Markets in vegetables as well as Beef, Pork, Poultry…etc. The opportunities are limitless!!!
That is pretty much the operating principle behind Obama’s new Cuba policy.
Organic agriculture has two problems: the food is more expensive and the quantity of food produced per acre is significantly less than with standard modern agriculture. As a result, organic food is enjoyed by affluent Westerners, (yourself included, no doubt) but the poor cannot afford it.
The Green Revolution of the mid 20th century increased the food supply, especially in the developing world, such that an estimated 1 billion people were saved from starvation. The Green Revolution was made possible by the wide-spread use of fertilizers, pesticides and mechanized farming: all the things you condemn with your fetish for organic agriculture.
In other words, you want to return to a mode of agriculture which cannot sustain the current world population. Billions of people in Africa, Asia, and South America will starve to death. Such is the fruit of your utopian delusions.
Wrong as usual,amigo. Quantity and cheapness do not equal quality and safety. That’s why the US has to try to cram our gene altered, glyphosate soaked products down the EU’s throat.
Organic farming alone produces too low a yield to lift Cuba from the pit of food insecurity. Keep in mind that Cuba imports nearly 80% of the food they consume. Cuba’s problem isn’t the style of agriculture that they employ. The problem is Castro central planning.
But you would prefer your friends stay mired in poverty and living under the oppressive heal of the Castro regime. Some friend you are, coming and going from their cage as you please, while your friends suffer.
You like to pretend you hate America. But where do you chose to live?
If you really hated America, you would leave it. You are expressing the typical leftist self-loathing, expressed as a hatred of the big daddy America.
US agriculture, although not perfect, is still the safest in the world, when considering that beyond feeding 320 million Americans, we export food all over the world. Cubas inefficiency is profound, its unable to provide enough food to even feed its own people. Beyond the help that the US could provide, Cuba needs to throw off the yoke of authoritarian central planning if it wishes to improve its agricultural sector.
Organic is all well and good, but until Cuba free’s its agricultural sector, nothing will happen
To me it sounds like you are afraid that the Human Zoo that you have enjoyed visiting risks changing for the better. You will no longer be able to impress your Cuban friends with a suitcase full of trinkets when you arrive.
We are having such huge problems with corporate agriculture in the US. Cuba would be better off developing organic farms in Cuba. US agriculture has already proven itself to be untrustworthy and downright dangerous and cruel.
It is no longer a terrorist threat if you can make a buck there!
Oh I don’t know…access to proper medical care. Food perhaps? The opportunity to travel wherever the h3ll I please. …my personal favorite is being able to read and see ANYTHING I want.
you do realize that by insinuation you are suggesting that food is NOT plentiful in Cuba. I wonder who’s fault that is?
Maybe Cuba needs more Cynthia’s that know how to run a business to grow food there. Or are you suggesting that potatoes email a luxury item in Cuba?
…and by unique do you mean inefficient, or perhaps you mean that they may soon have access to information? Because I can tell you that with the lowest rate of internet connectivity, they were indeed unique in the Western Hemisphere.
Well my der boy you are both right and wrong. I care very much for the people of Cuba, I have some very good friends there. As for the US, what is there to like about it?
Weren’t you against the US embargo, always calling for it to be lifted? And now that Obama has announced his commitment to do that, you are suddenly against lifting the embargo.
Because “lifting the US embargo” means the US does business with Cuba. That was what you wanted, right? The US can’t lift the embargo and then not do business with Cuba. That wouldn’t make any sense.
It’s clear now, you never really cared at all about the Cuban people. You just hate the US.
It looks like Cynthia Thomas attends endless functions where food is plentiful. No doubt the Yanks can’t wait to get their grubby hands on the Island.
Cuba will cease to be the unique Island in the Caribbean, sad really.