A Havana cooperative, beneficiary of the Global Environment Facility's Small Grants Program, is planning an increase in natural insecticide production in order to supply several Cuban provinces. The Rosa Elena Simeón cooperative manufactures at least six types of insecticide from the seeds and leaves of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), which also helps fight desertification and is considered a good absorber of the climate-changing gas carbon dioxide.

“With this international support we will be able to plant another 150 hectares of neem, which will allow us to increase our output and even have enough for export,” Silvia Ibarra, president of the rural cooperative, told Tierramérica.

The pesticides they make are effective for controlling insects that attack livestock, among other uses, she said.