US farmers to visit important facilities today in Havana

After learning on Monday about the main difficulties and challenges of the Cuban economy, and in particular agriculture, the delegation of some thirty U.S. farmers participating at the 5th US-Cuba Agricultural Conference will tour today facilities in Havana

On their second and penultimate day of exchanges with local officials and producers, both state and private, they will visit the Ayestaran-Cerro agricultural market, and the online store for shipping food and other products to Cuba, known as SUPERMARKET 23.

They will also be today at the Gelma Logistics Center, belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture, and tomorrow, Wednesday, they will continue their tours.

At Monday's opening of the Agricultural Conference, Orlando Linares Morell, president of the Agricultural Business Group, stressed the importance of this meeting, characterized by a growing presence of farmers from the northern nation compared to previous editions, an expression of the strong interest of the parties in strengthening trade and productive ties between the two countries.

He thanked in particular Paul Johnson, president of the Focus Cuba coalition; Congressman Rick Crawford and PhD. Michael Strain, Commissioner of Agriculture of Louisiana, for being here leading these efforts aimed at fostering trade relations and helping to eliminate existing barriers in the midst of the blockade.

Cuban official stressed how this unjust policy hinders access to financing, inputs, parts and spare parts, industrial agricultural equipment, animal feed, fuel, maritime and air transportation, as well as the fluid relationship with new trading partners, by hindering bank transfers as a result of Cuba's inclusion in the list of nations sponsoring terrorism.