After 1959 restrictions on production were eliminated and sugar production increased significantly, rising from 5.8 million metric tons of milled sugar in 1958 to 6.8 million metric tons in 1961. This was partly because the cultivation of sugarcane as a perennial crop prevented mounting organizational problems from becoming apparent immediately. Drought and accumulated neglect of the cane fields, however, caused production to fall sharply in 1962 and 1963. Official re-emphasis of sugar production at this point permitted gradual recovery after 1963, despite destruction of significant parts of the crop by hurricanes in 1964 and 1966. Sugar production during the years 1965 through 1969 averaged about as much as it did in the period 1955 through 1959.

No annual increases occurred in the 1967-69 period, however, and production figures have shown little relation to the progressively higher production goals set by the government in 1965 for the years 1966 through 1970. Because of the major effort being made to approach the official goal of 10 million metric tons in 1970, however, some significant increase in the sugar harvest for that year can be expected.

Tobacco Production

Tobacco is native to Cuba and ranks with coffee, rice, and corn in terms of production value. The unusually high quality of most leaf grown in the country, however, requires more sophisticated cultivation techniques and higher labor skills than any other crop. The delicacy of this cultivation process and the almost irreplaceable skills of the labor force help explain why the government has chosen not to run the risk of disrupting the tobacco farms through direct state intervention. As late as 1966 only 10 percent of the crop was being grown on state farms, with the remainder being grown by some 40,000 small farmers in the private sector.

Despite the suitability of the environment, tobacco production has expanded very slowly, and its 1969 volume was no more than double that of the immediate postindependence years (see table 9).

Table 9. Cuban Land Use for Selected Years, 1945, 1955, and 1965

Note-Total land area 28,298,000 acres (11,452,000 hectares).

Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Foreign Regional Analysis Division, A Survey of Agriculture

in Cuba, Washington, 1969.

Like sugar, tobacco production was hard-hit by the 1929 depression and did not regain its pre-1929 level until after World War II. Tobacco statistics since the 1959 Revolution are very unreliable, but the Cuban government reported a sharp drop in production in the 1963-64 period. Since that time the picture has been unclear; some reports have placed 1966 production volume at the prerevolutionary level of 50,000 metric tons, whereas others claim the amount produced was about 35,000 metric tons. Aside from production quantity, however, it is clear that there has been a substantial drop in the average quality of Cuban tobacco since the Revolution. A prime cause of this has been the loss of the large United States market for high-quality tobacco and the increased concentration on production of lower quality tobacco for domestic use (see ch. 22, Foreign Economic Relations).

Coffee Production

Coffee, introduced in the latter part of the eighteenth century, rivaled sugar in importance during much of the colonial period. It suffered relative neglect after independence, however, and its subsequent expansion was very limited. In general, coffee production since the turn of the century has been characterized by simple cultivation methods, low yields, and high production costs.

After 1961 production declined sharply: the 1967 crop was estimated at only 27,000 metric tons, in comparison with an average of 43,000 metric tons per year in the 1955-59 period. There have been some indications of an upturn in production since 1967, presumably in response to vigorous government expansion efforts, although sufficient data was not available in 1969 to make an accurate assessment of this apparent trend.

Rice Production

Rice-growing developed on a significant scale after World War II largely as a result of domestic tariff protection and restrictions on sugar production (see ch. 22, Foreign Economic Relations). Between 1955 and 1959 internal production of milled rice averaged 150,000 metric tons per year or about half the amount needed to satisfy the high level of domestic demand. A sharp drop was evident in the mid-1960s, followed by some improvement by 1967. As with coffee production, large-scale projects designed to expand ricegrowing areas were underway in mid-1969.

Other Crop Production

Most other crops followed the general trend of decreasing production after 1961, with production subsequently leveling off and in most cases eventually rising again. It should be noted, however, that

a significant share of many of these products was consumed on the farms producing them and may therefore not have been included in available statistical compilations.

The production of basic food crops other than rice declined in virtually all cases during the 1961-64 period. Corn output, for example, dropped from an estimated 212,000 metric tons in 1960 to about 117,000 metric tons in 1965, and bean production in the 1961-67 period was consistently below the large crop-35,000 metric tons-harvested in 1960. With respect to sweet potatoes and some other viandas, however, declines have reportedly been made up, and in some cases production during the years 1965-69 may have exceeded the amounts turned out in the 1955-59 period.

Since 1959 the government has emphasized production of citrus fruits, with the result that purchases from government procurement centers increased from 98,000 metric tons in 1962 to 160,000 metric tons in 1966. Major projects to expand citrus acreage, including one begun in 1967 that involved between 40,000 and 50,000 "volunteers" on the Isle of Pines, will probably result in continued production increases.

Pineapples accounted for about two-thirds of fruit exports in 1958, but exports apparently became lower after the Revolution, and there is no indication that the crop has received great emphasis since that time.

Plant diseases seriously reduced banana production before 1959. Though banana cultivation was still practiced in early 1970, significant quantities of the crop were no longer exported. No precise production figures are available for the variety of other fruits raised, which includes mangos, papayas, and avocados; however, rough data indicate that less than 110,000 metric tons of such fruit was produced in 1962; this total does not include plantains, which are classified as viandas.

Output of henequen, which yields a fiber used to make rope and course cloth, reached a peak in 1952; in that year 16,400 metric tons of henequen were produced and 10,200 metric tons of fiberequivalent were exported. There have been no records of any henequen being exported after 1960, though unofficial estimates of average annual production have been as high as 10,000 metric tons for the 1961-66 period.

A small crop of peanuts is produced, primarily as a source of vegetable oil, though the country depends on imports for most of this commodity. Cocoa production, another minor agricultural activity, has probably not yielded more than 3,000 metric tons per year during the 1960-69 period. A small amount of cotton is raised, and the government apparently hopes to devote some 140,000 acres to it by 1970 in an effort to become self-sufficient in cotton fiber. In addition, it has been reported that 220,000 metric tons of vegetables-including tomatoes, onions, green peppers, cucumbers,

cabbages, eggplants, and carrots-were purchased through government procurement centers in 1965.

Livestock Production

Cattle

Cattle raising is second only to sugar as a source of farm income and far surpasses all other livestock activities in importance. For most of the twentieth century the total number of Cuban cattle averaged over 4 million head, though there were sizable fluctuations. Beginning in 1952, the size of the herds grew rapidly, reaching a high of approximately 5.8 million head by 1959.

As with sugar cultivation, cattle raising has traditionally depended upon the country's vast expanses of readily exploitable land. Problems posed by the dry season are greater for cattle than for sugarcane, however, since the savanna grasses turn brown during the dry months and it is difficult for cattle to maintain themselves. Despite this, before 1959 the vast majority of large ranches failed to provide supplementary feed, depending entirely on the land to maintain their stock. Some grazing land was planted with special varieties of grass such as pangola, but most of it was simply unimproved natural pasture. The result was a system of cattle raising that involved extreme seasonal hardships and required between three and four years to bring an animal to marketable size and weight.

Because of the difficult environmental conditions, the predominant cattle types represent crosses between the so-called native breed (criollo) and the pest- and disease-resistant Brahman or zebu type. Despite their selection for hardiness, however, Cuban cattle suffer severe losses from various diseases and parasitic infections; of these, brucellosis, tuberculosis, cysticercosis, and anthrax are particularly widespread. In addition, it was claimed in 1960 that hoof and mouth disease was present on the island; as of 1969 this claim had neither been publicly substantiated nor disproven.

Far more destructive than any of these continuing health problems was the indiscriminate slaughter of cattle and livestock stemming from economic uncertainty and disorganization after 1959. It is hard to estimate how many head were lost, but it appears that the 1958 total of 5.8 million head had been reduced between 25 and 50 percent by 1962. The result was that beef and veal production declined from an average of 183,000 metric tons during the period 1955-59 to an average 145,000 metric tons during the 1962-63 period. To counter this trend, the government promulgated a law in 1962 providing severe penalties for any slaughter of cattle without official authorization. This was followed in 1964 by the requirement that all cattle be registered with a newly created Livestock Registry Office set up for this purpose.

Besides such regulatory actions, the government has made a major effort to improve conditions on the cattle farms. Much of this has been directed toward improvement of domestic breeds through the setting up of artificial insemination centers; the new emphasis is on crossbreeding domestic types and Holstein cattle, though Santa Gertrudis, Brown Swiss, Charolais, Hereford and other types are also being utilized.

Simultaneously, the government has been trying to alleviate the health problems posed by disease and parasitic infection. A number of diagnostic laboratories were set up, and in 1967 a National Institute of Veterinary Medicine was established. As of mid-1969 programs for training technicians in veterinary medicine appeared to be making significant progress. The government is also attempting to ease the problems posed by the dry season through annual plantings of grasses in limited areas and the establishment of some cattle-feeding stations.

As a result of all these programs, there was apparently a significant increase in the size of Cuba's herds between 1962 and 1969. Presumably because of this, beef and veal production rose from the low annual average of 145,000 metric tons during the period 1962-63 to between 160,000 and 170,000 metric tons in the period 1964-67. In view of a continuing intense government interest in this area, continued moderate increases through the 1970s seem very likely.

Other Livestock

Hog raising, though significant, is hampered by adverse climatic conditions and primitive farming methods. Many animals, mostly native types, are simply left to forage for themselves. The result is that they gain weight slowly, produce little lard, and suffer from high rates of disease and parasitic infection.

Indiscriminate slaughter after the Revolution reduced the hog population and caused a sharp drop in pork production from 1961 through 1963, though there was some recuperation during the 1964-69 period. Production fell from an annual average of approximately 39,000 metric tons of pork during the years 1955-59 to about 25,000 metric tons in 1963. It then rose to about 27,000 metric tons in 1964 and average around 30,000 metric tons per year from 1965 through 1967.

Small flocks of chickens were raised on most farms before the Revolution. Although this style of aviculture is presumably still very common, the Revolutionary government has tended to stress. large-scale commercially oriented production. During the 1961-65 period recorded production of poultry meat apparently averaged between 45,000 metric tons and 48,000 metric tons; according to