So far, in 2022, the Ruta Invasora Agricultural Company, located in the Popular Council of Jicotea, in the provincial capital of Ciego de Ávila, has traveled the thorny path of losses. Despite dragging expenses higher than income, the socialist state entity knows that it will come out of the bad time.
Jorge Luis Pérez Delgado, its deputy director, with “millions of things on his mind”, talks about millions more that do put the accounts in check, for the moment: “In May, the losses were 723,597 pesos and, the accumulated in the first five months, it amounts to 2,520,473”. However, "the forecasts are to recover in the coming months, gradually, until we close the year well."
The economic situation forces its directors and specialists to keep accounts day by day, as the member of the Central Committee of the Party and its first secretary in the province, Liván Izquierdo Alonso, suggested during a visit to the Company this Friday.
"It is very difficult to sustain the processes in the nine Base Business Units (UEB) with low fuel availability, especially that," the director of Ruta Invasora, Ricardo Pérez Echevarría, who closes his eyes and sees numbers, said.
Actions to capture buffalo in the southern part of the territory and industrial activities in the Meat and Agricultural Products UEB (known as "the slaughterhouse") are affected. For example, up to 15 animals were killed there and, under current conditions, the figure could be five weekly, millions of pesos less.
Likewise, the production and transportation of organic feed, charcoal and various crops, transport, machinery, logistics and service assurances, and the four livestock units (two for cattle and the rest for buffalo), in charge of genetics and the contribution of milk and meat.
Faced with the deficit, they have not shrunk. To lessen its effects, they had to reduce the workforce, so much so that from around 1,600 workers they had last year, the Company today has 580, 425 of them direct to production.
The complex situation, in turn, led to promoting other productions, such as charcoal for export; to promote the breeding of rabbits, rams, goats, chickens, pigs... in 10 livestock modules, to be inserted in online sales and to maintain the small contributions of the rustic cheese factory for the population fairs.
In addition, they found another source of income in the construction of pallets and coffins from timber trees, in the establishment of cooperative production agreements, in the creation of eight labor groups, in the service of taming oxen and in the chaining with local development projects dedicated to obtaining food.
The deputy director referred to the cooperative production agreements, through which 23 typical units (dairy farms) have been delivered, with a total area of 184.00 hectares (ha), in the hands of 32 usufructuaries, dedicated to obtaining milk.
In general, Pérez Delgado continued, 1,188 usufructuaries have been granted 11,697.24 ha of land, poorly exploited by Ruta Invasora, which should bear fruit within two years.
In this regard, Ricardo Pérez Echevarría clarified that “those lands that were transferred were lost in marabou, although some have not been able to carry them out, due to the lack of fuel and equipment to clean the weeds, which is quite a lot. And there are many of them who have raised milk production." However, there are still about 6,000 idle hectares to be granted.
Red numbers
The agricultural entity, with a lot of effort on the part of its farmers, has not stopped delivering milk, meat and various crops, both for the industries and for the population, its main state commitments.
Until June 28, it failed to comply with the milk plan by 23,686 liters (L), which is 288,158 L in the month. However, Oriol Padrón Pérez de Corcho, director of technique and development, assured that, when the June numbers are closed, it would be overachieved, since the Dairy Company has not yet offered the number of cheese delivered by the producers to the industry, where one pound equals 5 liters of milk.
At this time, Ruta Invasora has 33,390 head of cattle. 1,400 of the 7,000 heifers are expected to calve within the current year. Moreover, to date, there have been 892 births.
The first secretary of the Party asked about the average number of liters of milk per cow, to which Oriol Padrón Pérez de Corcho replied: "2.8 L and it could be 3.5 L."
Immediately afterwards, the secretary with another question: "what particular farmer has a cow on his farm to give him 2.8 L of milk?" The call was, then, to dignify this socialist state company, because the only way out of the losses is contributing.
Regarding the low availability of fuel, Liván Izquierdo Alonso learned that, recently, 57 milk producers were sent to make cheese, given the impossibility of collecting the liquid, in the midst of the serious difficulties that the country faces to ensure, above all, that resource of social consumption.
The director of technique and development pointed out that, this year, the Dairy Company assumed the execution of the contracts, a commission that Ruta Invasora assumed, for which they handle, practically, numbers.
Although it is forecast as the best month so far this year, in the 28 days of June counted, the meat plan was not fulfilled by 6.9 tons, which was 43.8.
In other words, 18 animals did not classify for the slaughterhouse, because they did not have the corresponding weight. In addition, there is not enough oil to transport as many as possible to the four weights scattered in the territory (Popular Council of Jicotea, Venezuela, Ciego de Ávila and Baraguá).
Pérez Echevarría expressed his interest in improving the capture of buffalo in the south of the province, because "there are also people behind these loose animals on the coasts." Even 35 buffalo have been paid in a month, caught by people who dedicate themselves to doing it.
Oriol Padrón Pérez de Corcho knows how much more private producers need to be supported, since 92 percent of that milk and meat production is in their hands and, in the case of various crops (sweet potato, taro, cassava, plantain, vegetables, grains, fruit trees...), one hundred percent.
However, in the spring campaign, they faced problems with fertilizers and fuel, which led, for example, to planting only 5.30 ha of taro, even more than previously thought. In addition, crops such as bananas, vegetables, grains and fruit trees shortened their plans.
The rustic cheese factory is another important source of income for the Company, although it is running at less than half of its potential. Inaugurated last November 19, “it is experiencing very weak moments”, according to Oriol, because the buffalo are in their reproduction stage.
Jorge Félix Abstengo Quintero, director of the UEB Ganadera Jicotea, commented that “1000 L of milk can be processed daily, which represents about 300 pounds per day. Today, on average, only 15 pounds are obtained, because there is no raw material. On Saturdays, around 100 pounds are taken to the fairs in the City Park, in the provincial capital”.
Liván Izquierdo Alonso called for “monitoring the lands given in usufruct, because they have to produce, looking for alternatives to put an end to the marabou; to strengthen the structure of the entity, to continue working on feeding, genetics and animal management, and to control what is produced, because those milk creams and cheeses that are sold on the highway come from the area.
"They must inspect the quality of the milk in the seven warehouses where Ruta Invasora sells directly to the population, update the entity's propaganda, monitor the cattle and wage war on idle land." In a special way, he ordered a thorough review of the 43 measures approved for the strengthening of the socialist state company, fundamental actors of our economy.
Walk (not like the) Turtle
Izquierdo Alonso, accompanied by the Governor, Tomás Alexis Martín Venegas, by the first secretary of the Party in the main municipality, Julio Gómez Casanova, among other members of the Popular Council, spoke with residents and toured the Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz primary school, the pharmacy, the sweet potato market No.7, the cheese factory, La Aurora livestock module and the dairy farm of Omar Pérez, who provides 750 liters of milk daily.
Among the commitments, the improvement of communal hygiene, care for people in vulnerable conditions, painting work, improvement of doors and windows in some facilities and the repair of the primary school by the Provincial Insurance and Services Company stand out to Education, after appreciating a considerable deterioration in the wood of its roof and the need to improve the bathrooms.