Name: Cuban farmers warn of fresh food shortage amid US fuel blockade
Uploaded: 2026-04-02T12:45:43.417Z
Duration: 2 min 30 s
Description: Cuban farmers warn their country will soon run out of fresh food because of the lack of fuel needed to plough and plant their next harvest.

Cuban farmers warn their country will soon run out of fresh food because of the lack of fuel needed to plough and plant their next harvest.

Havana

Cuban farmers are reporting severe food shortages as ongoing US fuel restrictions exacerbate existing agricultural problems. Power outages and a lack of fuel have led to significant crop losses, with factories unable to process produce and farmers struggling to harvest and transport staples like tomatoes, garlic, and sugarcane.

The agricultural crisis is deepening, with many sugar mills paralyzed and farmers unable to plant new crops due to fuel shortages. While the government has begun to relax some economic controls, the impact remains limited as long as fuel remains scarce.

Cuban farmers warn of fresh food shortage amid US fuel blockade

At a food factory in the Cuban municipality of Quivigan, tons of once juicy tomatoes are rotting away. These tomatoes have been here for too many days without being processed. They're normally turned into tomato paste in 24 hours after they arrive, but because of the long-term power cuts, we can't finish processing. These tomatoes were about to be cleaned and peeled when the belt stopped last night. Mr. Martinez tells me that they're losing 80% of their production. With only four hours of power a day, they do what they can. They also don't have petrol to deliver to hospitals, schools or supermarkets. Nearby, Martin says he lost his sugarcane crop, which has dried up because he had no fuel to cut it in time. These farmers are rushing to harvest their garlic crop, but they're afraid they'll be unable to take it to market. The same applies to plantains, manioc and other staples. The U.S. fuel blockade to Cuba's state sector is turning what was already an agricultural crisis into a calamity. Fifth generation farmer Dion Figueroa says he won't be able to plant a new harvest. It's not possible. There's no fuel for tractors. That means in a few months people won't have anything left to eat, nothing which grows on this land. Before the revolution, Cuba was the world's largest producer of sugarcane and sugar. Now this sugar mill, like so many others around the country, is paralyzed. It's closed, five years ago in fact. And this is an indication of the crisis that the agricultural sector in this country has been enduring for decades. The nearby agricultural cooperative blames it on lack of investment from the state. We have manpower, we have finance, but we have no machinery, seeds, fertilizers or fumigation. Now private farmers are allowed to import all that, but in dollars. How can they sell to a population that earns in local currency? Paradoxically, the government's tight controls over every sector of the economy are at last being relaxed. But it's impossible to gauge their effectiveness, as long as Cuba is being deprived of the fuel it needs to survive. Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera, Quibicán, Cuba.

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