HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) — Cuban experts have set up a network of 20 pest-control labs in 16 Venezuelan states as part of ongoing cooperation with nations of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America (ALBA).
For years, transnational corporations forced Venezuelan farmers to use huge amounts of chemicals in their plantations, said Jesus Jimenez, investment vice-director with the Cuban Plant Health Institute (INISAV). Jimenez was one of the first Cuban experts who worked in the South American nation under the cooperation program.
The massive application of chemicals affected agricultural systems and the health of the farmers and their families, said the expert, who noted that Cuban workers are carrying out training and advising initiatives at Venezuelan farms in an effort to pave the way for the introduction of new technology that favours the protection of the soils and the environment.
INISAV vice-director for Development Berta Muiño said that several groups of Venezuelan technicians are currently taking training in Havana in all specialties related to vegetable plant health.
Muiño said that other actions included in ALBA programs aimed at providing technical assistance to Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua.
