Knowledge, innovation and development, linked to government management, reflect advances in the Food Sovereignty and Nutrition Education Program by achieving higher performance in rice, citrus, fruit and meat productions; a sugarcane recovery and diversification of the sugar industry.

"Progress is supported by the introduction of varieties of fruit trees, grains and viands; the efficient use of new irrigation technologies, the comprehensive fight against pests and diseases in crops, the micropropagation of species of interest, genetic improvement and obtaining seeds.

“In the same way, the results of the scientific projects are aimed at increasing pig production and small livestock, obtaining alternative animal feed and the use of agro-industrial waste for these purposes. In the sugar sector, important actions are planned, linked to the sugarcane breeding program and the obtaining of new varieties, as well as the control of pests and diseases and the comprehensive care of sugarcane soils ”, highlighted the MSc. Miguel Salazar Rodríguez, Subdelegate for Science, Technology and Innovation of the Territorial Delegation CITMA in Ciego de Ávila.

Groups of experts, including specialists from the territorial delegations of MINAG and CITMA, producers, academics from the University Máximo Gómez Báez and researchers from the scientific centers of Ciego de Ávila's province; they are integrated into 23 prioritized programs that will make possible to achieve food sovereignty.

Contributions to the technology of pineapple production, taking into account the delivery and advice for the cultivation of 101 242 in vitro seedlings, of the genotypes MD-2, Perola, Champaka and Cayena Lisa, are some of the novelties of Ciego de Ávila's science, particularly from the Center for Plant Biotechnology in soils of the D'Ceballos Agroindustrial Company.

The MD-2 pineapple fruits, for exportable purposes, were benefited because of protective treatments to reduce the incidence of sunburn, as a result of formulas conceived in the laboratories of the scientific center itself. More than 218 tons were sold in other countries, which generated incomes of more than 78 million dollars as they reached the required quality indicators.

“In general, a group of prioritized companies increased the portfolio of new and improved products that contributed to the territory's trade balance, import substitution and sales abroad. Of 33 exportable products, 19 of them incorporated science, technology and innovation, and represented a gain of $105 billion into the country.

At the end of the last year, actions have also been developed in other relevant crops of la Tarea Vida, such as sorghum, sugar cane, beans and corn. Seven varieties of the corn were acquired, and one of them was multiplied as a result of deliveries to the municipalities of Primero de Enero, Baraguá and Venezuela.

Several factors are integrated to strengthen the local development and achieve goals for the year 2030 through the reformulation of the productive pole of the province of Ciego de Ávila. In the municipalities, the technical advisory councils are constituted or reorganized under the direction of los Intendentes, bodies in which the governance of local productive systems is based with the application of science and innovation.

The systematic checks to evaluate the progress of the programs, the training of the productive bases, the socialization of the best experiences in the application of science, and the orientations and details to direct the management processes of local governments, constitute other tasks that are aimed at promoting the Food Sovereignty and Nutrition Education Program.

“The Program… includes nutrition indicators, that are established with the advice of specialists from the Provincial Health Directorate and the municipalities. In Florencia, even dabate groups are held on the subject and, in the main territory, actions are planned to evaluate a food proposal ”, stated Salazar Rodríguez.