A local development project could return, within a few years and more systematically, the taste of fresh or processed pork to the inhabitants of the municipality of Morón, where the Government, the Biofood Research Center (CIBA by its Spanish initials) and territorial producers, are integrated to achieve food sovereignty and materialize the five kilograms per capita of meat, monthly.

The Master in Agricultural Sciences, Nury Pérez Valdés, associate researcher at CIBA, pointed out that science responds to the need to increase pig production, based on the facilities offered by Decree No. 33/2021 for the strategic management of local development.

It is an initiative that will integrate economic, social, cultural, environmental and political components to take advantage of local resources and possibilities in order to improve the quality of life of the population and contribute to development.

The project, called Production and commercialization of dark coat pigs in the municipality of Morón, joins the efforts made by the scientific institution, in the last three years, to rescue the Cuban Creole pig breeding, based on experiences that demonstrate the economic sustainability, ability to adapt to natural conditions, resistance to diseases and climate change, and the possibility of obtaining higher quality meats.

The denomination of dark coat responds to the interest in obtaining descendants of Creole pigs and breeds such as Duroc (popularly known as red pig), this last one characterized by rusticity, with virtues for the use of their meats in the industry due to the increase in the infiltrated fat when they are crossed with other breeds, with superior performance to other lineages, and ideal to complement different types of pigs.

“The aim is to achieve F1 (pigs resulting from racial crossbreeding) with the ability to adapt to current conditions, mainly to rearing in open spaces to take advantage of natural food and crop waste. However, it will be necessary to promote the planting of food and use water mirrors, where they exist, for the rearing of fish that contribute to the nutrition of the animals.

"It is added to this the establishment of contracts with the Pesquera Industrial and Acopio companies, for the acquisition of residues from productions and viands not suitable for the consumption of the population, respectively, that allow to sustain the breeding", Pérez Valdés explained.

She once heard a pig producer say that feed had to be produced without looking for the ship. "And that zero hour arrived," Nury said, "along with the possibility of rescuing the young of our own pig, whose growth is slower, but is more resilient to disease and less demanding to nourish itself." They are advantages that become opportunities in the face of the country's economic limitations and the tightening of the US blockade against Cuba ”.

The CIBA researcher detailed that the project consists of three stages: the first one consists of the formation of a maternity palace for dark-coated pigs, proposed to be developed in the scientific institution itself; the second, aimed at contracting with cooperatives and other forms of production that provide resources for food; and, the third, related to the processing and marketing of meats and their derivatives, including projections of contributing to the supply of the Jardines del Rey tourist destination.

In the first year of implementation, it is estimated to accumulate up to 50 breeding sows to irradiate genetic material to six credit and service cooperatives in the territory. The extension of this practice to other producers in the municipality and the province will depend on the ability to maintain that rhythm. In all cases, the conditions will be verified, according to the interests defined by the research project and the contractual regulations.

"What is intended is that a part of the animals return to the CIBA, who will buy them from the pig producers at the established price, for their subsequent slaughter, processing and commercialization," the scientist expressed.

The initiative shows the effort to achieve local self-sufficiency and promote productive chains, with the interest of satisfying the demands of the people and the economy, through the rational use of science and the autonomy conferred on territorial governments to manage their development. This, without a doubt, can mean a re-encounter with the pig, with the smell and taste of its meat, without the worry caused by high prices.