1 e r 
 
 '(She PAN AMEIRICAN UNION 
 
 JOHN BARRETT : ; Director General 
 FRANCISCO J. YANES : Assistant Director 
 
 Future Farming in Cuba 
 
 (Reprinted from the February, 1913, issue 
 of the Bulletin of the Pan American Union) 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 
 1913 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Columbia University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/futurefarmingincOOpana 
 

 
 T he late presidential election in Cuba was conducted in a 
 manner that would have done credit to any Republic in the 
 Americas. The voting was performed without the slightest 
 disorder, and the result distinctly expressed the popular will. 
 The advance toward able and wise self-government which has been 
 made in Cuba since the island became independent is truly remarkable 
 when gauged by an appreciative understanding of the difficulties which 
 lay in the way of progress. Political conditions have greatly improved 
 and there is a tendency in the right direction. The people are becom¬ 
 ing constantly less susceptible to the appeal of agitators, and the 
 Government is displaying ever-increasing power to deal promptly 
 and effectively with annoying situations. 
 
 With the establishment of order and the consequent creation of 
 confidence among capitalists C'uba will enter upon an era of industrial 
 expansion and widespread prosperity—a state which shall involve 
 the welfare of all classes. The conditions that are creating Cuba’s 
 opportunity have been in the making for many years, and are now 
 growing acute. In the United States and the manufacturing coun¬ 
 tries of Europe the demand for foodstuffs is pressing hard upon the 
 supply. Increase of population is outstripping increase of farm 
 products. Nations which in the past have been great exporters of 
 meat and cereals are steadily shipping less, and before long will have 
 become importers. 
 
 fjatin-American countries are finding ever-expanding markets for 
 the yield of their soil. Eying directly in the principal Panama Canal 
 routes, Cuba is singularly well situated to play a ])roniinent part in 
 meeting this growing demand. It is hardly necesssary to add that 
 her wonderfully rich land and splendid growing climate give her 
 unsurpassed advantages in the matter of production. The island 
 is capable of almost unlimited development. Sugar and tobacco are 
 the products which are to-day scientifically cultivated aud raised in 
 adequate quantities. Less than 15 per cent of the arable land is 
 turned to good account, and little of it is worked to its utmost possi¬ 
 bility of production. Even in the leading industries, where the man¬ 
 ufacturing methods have been well-nigh perfected, there is room for 
 improvement m the field processes. Vast, as is the value of Cuba’s 
 annual output, much less than one-fourth of her resources have been 
 
 1 ]3y Forbes Lindsay. 
 
 3 
 
HARBOR AND WATER FRONT AT HAVANA, CUBA. 
 
 Of the $40,000,000 worth of foodstuffs purchased by Cuba annually considerably more than halt of this quantity consists of products that might be raised on the island 
 
FUTURE FARMING IN CUBA. 
 
 5 
 
 (levolopcd. With well-directed efl’ort and the aid of capital the 
 island may be made within the life of a generation to treble its present 
 yield from the soil and to support in comfort a pojiulation of 5,000,000. 
 And this would be but a moderate measure of its ultimate ])t)ssihilities. 
 
 The potential development of agriculture in Cuba has been over¬ 
 shadowed by its two dominant industries and discounted by the 
 methods of farming prevalent on the island. IMisconception has 
 been induced by the failures of colonies and individual settlers, the 
 former promoted under unfavorable conditions and the latter having 
 undertaken tasks for which they had neither altitude nor sufficient 
 means. Successful farming in Cuba, as elsewhere, necessitates pre¬ 
 vious experience, knowledge of local conditions, and adequate 
 capital. A great majority of failures are traceable to lack of one or 
 more of these requisits. 
 
 A glance at the list of Cuban imports reveals a peculiar economic 
 state which will doubtless receive the careful consideration of econo¬ 
 mists and statesmen. 
 
 Upward of $40,000,000 worth of foodstuffs arc purchased by the 
 Cubans annually. Considerably more than half of this quantity 
 consists of things that might be pro;!need on the island. Wore than 
 that, several of the items in question represent products wliich might 
 be raised in Cuba to an extent sufficient to supply the domestic 
 demand and leave a considerable surphis for exportation. This is, 
 of course, only contemplated as an ultimate possibility. Let Cuba 
 aim for the present at filling the demands of her home markets for 
 such products as may be raised within her borders. 
 
 Except for the heavily capitalized corporations which are engaged 
 in the sugar and tobacco industries, agricultural effort in Cuba is con¬ 
 fined mainly to individual natives and foreign settlers. The Chinese 
 truck gardeners are an important factor in furnishing vegetables to 
 the local market and demonstrating what may be done by intensive 
 cultivation. 
 
 The natives farm in a jirimitive manner, under what may be called 
 a ‘‘system,^’ because the same practices are jwevalent throughout the 
 island. They are not as haphazard as they appear to he, but are, 
 in fact, the intelligent result of exiierience of the easiest way of pro¬ 
 curing a subsistence from a small patch of land. The guajiro has 
 had neitlier the knowledge nor the inducement to make his land more 
 productive. Until recently there was no market open to anything 
 tliat he might have jiroduced and only the most limited means of 
 transportation. Now there are excellent roads and extensive railway 
 lines, both constantly on the increase. There is no doubt but that 
 when he is taught how to produce a larger crop and assured of a sale 
 for his surplus he will make the required effort. But before this is 
 asked of him there must be an adjustment of land tenure. Lease- 
 
ROAD CONSTRUCTION IN CUBA. 
 
 Extensive road building has l)een going on throughout the island and has rendered transportation 
 faNlities more adequate. This, in turn, should afford greater opportunities for profitable farming. 
 
 A COUNTRY ROAD IN CUBA. 
 
 Such roads, coupled with the wonderfully rich land and splendid growing climate, give to Cuba excep¬ 
 tional advantages for increasing her agricultural products. 
 
FUTUEE FARMING IN CUBA. 
 
 
 holds should be as often as possible perpetual and on terms which 
 will preclude the jiossibility of rents being unduly raised as the profits 
 of the tenants increase. The system of land taxation should be regu¬ 
 lated so as to encourage improvement, lying most lightly upon the 
 enterju-ising man and falling most heavily upon the owner of idle 
 property. It would be the part of wisdom to exempt the small cul¬ 
 tivator entirely from direct taxation. Under existing circumstances 
 he contributes his full share of the revenues through the medium of 
 his purchases of imported articles. The Government should estab¬ 
 lish an agricultural bank to furnish moderate credit at feasible rates 
 of interest. There is every reason to believe that the success of such 
 a measure would be as great in Cuba as it has been in Egypt. The 
 conditions of farming are much more favorable in the former country 
 than in the latter. Ilis midday rest is well earned by several hours’ 
 work in the field before the city dweller has taken his early coffee. 
 
 The chief essentials to the improvement of Cuban farming are at 
 hand. The problem is to turn to account resources which are now 
 being wasted or improvidently used. Fertile land and a genial 
 climate are amply available. The necessary complement to these 
 is the cessation of ''cultivation by exploitation” and the adoption 
 of cultivation with conservation. The Cuban farmer must be induced 
 to care for his land and to make it profitably productive. He will 
 respoml to stimuli if intelligently apjilied to him. Show him the 
 way, furnish him the means, and give him assurance of a reward for 
 exertion and he will acquit himself creditably in a short while. 
 
 The Cuban may not be easily moved by theoretical argument, but 
 he is peculiarly susceptible to the force of an object lesson. Give 
 him a concrete example of how he may increase his crops by intelli¬ 
 gent treatment of his land, and with little more effort than he expends 
 upon getting a bare living from it, and he may be depended upon to 
 act on the suggestion. 
 
 This is a work which should be carried on by the Government, the 
 railroads, and the land companies. It must be pursued in a practi¬ 
 cal manner, bringing the lessons right home to the man to be edu¬ 
 cated. Even in the United States, where the intelligence of the 
 farmer is of a high order, the influence of experiment stations and 
 railway demonstration cars is immeasurably greater than that of 
 scientific books. 
 
 Efforts on the part of the Government and other agencies to 
 })romote general agriculture can not fail to attract to Cuba the 
 immigration necessary to the fuller development of the country. It 
 contains abundant land that may be cultivated with less outlay and 
 greater yield than the average irrigated land of the western United 
 States. The Cuban enterprise will also return a larger ])rofit on 
 investment under the advantageous conditions which are con- 
 
TYPICAL “COLONY HOUSE’’ OF AMERICAN AND CANADIAN CITRUS FRUIT 
 
 GROWERS IN EASTERN CUBA. 
 
 AN EXHIBIT OF CITRUS FRUITS AND VEGETABLES RAISED IN THE PROVINCE 
 
 OF CAMAGUEY, CUBA. 
 
 The island is capable of almost unlimited development, yet less than 15 per cent of the arable land 
 is turned to good account, while little of it is worked to its utmost possibility of production. 
 
•»cd 
 
 ^'5 
 
10 
 
 THE PAX AMERICAN UNION. 
 
 tem})late(l, provided the cultivator exercises discrimination in the 
 selection of his crops. Heretofore foreigners taking up agricultural 
 pursuits in Cuba have bought high-priced acreage and engaged in 
 citrus fruit growing or some form of fancy farming, generally with 
 unsatisfactory results. It has been demonstrated that compara¬ 
 tively cheap land, such as is available in every Province of the island, 
 can be made to produce large crops of staple foodstuffs with regu¬ 
 larity and great profits. 
 
 A few illustrations will suffice to indicate the field of opportunity 
 open to the small farmer in Cuba. 
 
 Nearly a quarter of a million dollars is paid annually by the island¬ 
 ers for foreign potatoes of a quality inferior to those which they 
 raise at home. Indeed, the best Cuban potatoes rival the famed 
 product of Bermuda. This should be an article of export from Cuba, 
 as well as various spring vegetables, for which there is practically 
 unlimited demand in New York. 
 
 Another costly item of unport is corn, or maize. Experiments have 
 proved that excellent results may be had with this cereal on ordinary 
 Cuban land. At present it is raised only for use as fodder. The crop 
 is deficient in quantity and poor in quality. With reasonable care 
 in seed selection and cultivation, including rotation in planting, corn 
 may be grown upon comparatively cheap land and marketed at a 
 handsome profit. 
 
 There are thousands of acres of land in Cuba lying idle or earning 
 less than 5 per cent a year on $20 an acre that could be made to pro¬ 
 duce two heavy crops of alfalfa every year. This fact, among others 
 of a similarly significant character, has been established by the test 
 work of Prof. Karutz at the Camaguez experiment station of the 
 Cuba Railroad. Alfalfa is not raised at all m Cuba at present, while 
 the island pays about as much annually for imported hay as it does 
 for potatoes, and it is an expensive commodity in Habana and other 
 cities. 
 
 General agriculture in Cuba offers a promising field for corporate 
 enterprise. The story of the banana industry is indicative of what 
 may be done in other directions. There was no shipment of this fruit 
 from the island until the United Fruit Co. established the industry 
 but a few years ago. Now the United States buys upward of 
 $1,000,000 worth of Cuban bananas yearly. 
 
 A corporation entering upon agricultural development in Cuba 
 should command ample means and the services of a manager thor¬ 
 oughly familiar with crop conditions on the island. A man who is 
 reckoned as one of the most ex])ert in })ractical Cuban agriculture, 
 and one of the most conversant with the conditions of it, expressed 
 to the writer the conviction that a com])anv investing $100,000 in 
 
THE DOCKS AT DAIQIJIRE THE NORTHERN TERMINUS OF THE CUBA RAILROAD. 
 
/ 
 
 12 THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 
 
 1,000 acres of land and having as much again for working capital 
 should, under ])roper management, earn from $40,000 to $50,000 
 net annually. This proposition was indorsed by three other men of 
 similar reputation. 
 
 The suggested method of operation for such a company contem¬ 
 plates the leasing of its land in small tracts to be cultivated under its 
 direction. The comjiany would furnish each tenant with a dwelling, 
 implements, seed, and other necessaries, after the manner of the 
 Canadian land corporations, which are attracting so many Americans 
 to the Dominion. These concerns will })ut the moneyless man in 
 possession of a fully e({uipped farm and a furnished home if he can 
 satisfy them of his capacity as a farmer. It is believed that a some¬ 
 what similar method of colonization might be practiced with success 
 in Cuba. In the plan for the latter country, however, the same degree 
 of independence is not proposed. It is suggested that the tenant 
 farmer should devote his holding to such crops as the company’s 
 manager might direct, and that the corporation should harvest and 
 market the output, allowing to the cultivator a certain percentage 
 of the net proceeds. 
 
 There are sulliciently numerous examples of shining success to 
 ])rove that farming m Cuba may be made highly profitable. And this 
 is the conclusion to which an intelligent survey of all .the relative 
 conditions must lead. When efficient farming becomes the general 
 practice instead of the exception, the island will be the most produc¬ 
 tive area in the world of its size.