Organopónicos

It often consists of low-level concrete walls filled with organic matter and soil, with lines of drip irrigation laid on the surface of the growing media.

Organopónico farmers employ a wide variety of agroecological techniques including integrated pest management, polyculture, and crop rotation.

[1] Organopónicos first arose as a community response to lack of food security during the Special Period after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It is publicly functioning in terms of ownership, access, and management, but heavily subsidized and supported by the Cuban government.

This was done through the creation of small private farms and thousands of pocket-sized urban market gardens.

These urban farmers were supported by the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI), who provided university experts to train volunteers in the use of biopesticides and beneficial insects.

[citation needed] The rapid expansion of urban agriculture in the early 1990s included the colonization of vacant land both by community and commercial groups.

[4] Havana produces enough food for each resident to receive a daily serving of 280 grams (9.9 ounces) of fruits and vegetables.

The government provides community farmers with the land and the water, and sells key materials such as organic compost, seeds, irrigation parts, and organic pesticides called "biocontrols" in the form of beneficial insects and plant-based oils.

Organoponics, efforts have been negatively evaluated by some authors, mainly in the wider context of government agricultural policy.

Cuba is the only country in Latin America where killing a cow is a crime (and eating beef a rare luxury).

[8] In Caracas, the government has launched Organoponico Bolivar I, a pilot program to bring organopónicos to Venezuela.