Dedicate the maximum effort to comply with the harvest during April and the first fortnight of May, even taking into account the still real possibilities of fulfilling the sugar plan as one of the two provinces in Cuba in a position to do so, and even contributing a little more; it was a cardinal issue addressed in the Governing Council of Ciego de Ávila corresponding to March.
The imperative to work hard was raised, paying the greatest attention to everything related to the harvest as the main task of the territory in the short term, given the economic relevance that it has in the current context.
To achieve such a challenging goal, it is necessary to organize the different activities with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker, hoping that the weather conditions and industrial breakdowns do not play a trick.
Until this Tuesday, March 28, the sugar factories in Ciego de Ávila produced 32,688.8 tons (t) of sugar, equivalent to 64 percent of the plan, hence the importance of, in the next 45 days of milling, uniting wills in pursuit of the figure remaining
In this final harvest strategy presented by Eduardo Larrosa Vázquez, director of coordination and technical supervision of Azcuba Sugar Group in Ciego de Ávila, there are more than 314,000 t of cane in the province and it is intended to link another 22,000 t from Camagüey, to produce about 58 122 t of the sweetener. There is enough raw material and the three centrals are in an active position.
The closest to fulfilling its mission is the Ecuador factory-refinery, which had 1,480 t of the sweet grain left to produce. It currently has about 29,000 t of raw material to reach the final goal of manufacturing, until April 7, a total of about 14,412 t of sugar (102 percent of forecast) and to become the fourth Agro-industrial Sugar Company (EAA) of the country in fulfilling its plan.
Regarding the Baragüá factory, Governor Tomás Alexis Martín Venegas said that sugar can be produced there at a rate greater than 150 t per day, because they are less than half of that indicator. Time is running out and any delay at this point can be final.
To which Larrosa Vázquez added that "it is important to meet these dates or bring them forward, since we need your cut and shoot balance to support the harvest in Ciro Redondo."
As for the Primero de Enero factory, once it restarts its operations due to fuel limitations, it will take about 14 days to cut the more than 30,000 t of its own cane, link another 2,000 t from Camagüey's EAA Brasil, and produce another 2,010 t, ending with 6024 t.
The key to success is in Ciro Redondo
Quite different, surely, would be the performance of the harvest by farms in Ciego de Ávila if it were not for the 35 days in which the modern Ciro Redondo factory was paralyzed due to a break in the Bioelectric plant, its energy center.
There a few days ago normality returned, but a total of 274,400 t of cane remain to be brought to the tipper of the Colossus in the Center Region (of which 136,683 are our own, 117,717 from the EAA Enrique Varona and linked from the EAA Brazil, others 20,000). It can then produce until May 15 a total of 37,686 t of sugar in this contest, for a compliance of 89 percent.
Keeping the potential norm of the Pina factory in high numbers during April will be an imperative for success; the purpose has its risks.
“The complexity of Ciro Redondo comes from the fact that its cane is linked to various places, mainly the EAA Enrique Varona. To do this, we made the decision to create a temporary provincial group there to support the direction of these tasks," the Azcuba manager said.
The actions are aimed at cutting in the areas associated with that entity of the municipality of Chambas with its balance of resources 1,900 t per day. In addition, forces and means of the EAA Ecuador and Ciro Redondo will be linked to increase the amount to be cut.
“We would never have less than three or four groups of Case combine harvesters in Varona, which will give us the opportunity to cut 3,500 t per day or more in Varona, with the logistical assurance that this implies. That gives us to cut the cane there until April 30, which in most cases has not been cut for three years by the producers. The compliance of the province, the so-called critical path, depends to a large extent on this.
"The purpose is to balance the harvest in this way with a view to the Ciro Redondo factory remaining in the last days of April and May with its strong cane, where historical statistics indicate that the rains do not affect that much."
Regarding the strategy, the governor pointed out that the daily production of 500 t of sugar or more is essential to reduce the closing commitment of mid-May.
To these ends, he emphasized ensuring good attention to the workers, both in food and in other aspects such as material and moral stimulation.
“It is vital to take into account that squads from other places will move to support Ciro Redondo's harvest. They must have real sponsors, receive maximum attention, according to the possibilities of each entity in charge”, he commented.
"The main thing is to cut the cane and maintain a permanent review of each area of the plant, because breakages are happening and in this final stage that is unfortunate," Liván Izquierdo Alonso, a member of the Central Committee and first secretary of the Communist Party in the province, said.
The clock is playing and not exactly in favor of this economic activity at the current time of the year, which is why the partisan leader added that “it is not that a day cannot be lost, but a second. A good performance of the harvest affects the wages of workers, the economy of the province and the country."
Agricultural prosperity as a guarantee of sustainability
At the meeting, the progress of compliance with the planting plan for the sweet grass was also analyzed. The purpose of this 2023 is the most ambitious of the last seven years in the territory by foreseeing some 12,144 hectares (ha).
Although so far this year some 1,180 ha have been planted in the province, equivalent to 111 percent of what was planned to date, they are below the EAA Enrique Varona and Primero de Enero, the latter will cut backlogs in April, when it will not planned to sow.
“The planting started well, but the most difficult months are coming for us since the preparation of the land is behind schedule. In April, the spring plan (May and June) must be put into action. The first thing depends on exploiting the equipment well, which is done at 64 percent when it should be at 80 percent, in addition to starting to free up more areas, mainly in Varona," the director of coordination and technical supervision of Azcuba Sugar Group in the province, alleged.
Cultivation work is at 74 percent, with delays in the two aforementioned companies.
The conference analyzed, municipality by municipality, the strategy and actions planned to comply with the planting plan, especially in the areas associated with the Primero de Enero and Ecuador factories, which have low levels of cane. By mobilizing the people, further progress can be made in this regard.