Ecobreves – CUBA: Crop Varieties to Confront Hurricane Threat

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Jun 29 2009 (IPS) - Agricultural scientists are working in Cuba to develop crop varieties that can withstand hurricanes and are resistant to other climate adversities as part of a food security strategy. “In vitro” production has begun of short-stalk plantain seeds that are better able to withstand hurricane-force winds, Sergio Rodríguez, director of the National Institute of Tropical Food Research (Inivit), told Tierramérica.

Inivit recommended the cultivation of this variety in the months of August through October, high season for hurricanes. The institute also suggests planting windbreaker rows of trees to protect fruit orchards.

In 2008, Cuba was thrashed by hurricanes Ike, Gustav and Paloma, which devastated the plantain harvest along with other crops. The government estimated losses at about 10 billion dollars.