Cuba’s transition to agroecology is perhaps as widely known as it is misunderstood. In response to the economic crisis of the early 1990s, the Cuban agricultural sector largely departed from the industrial model of food production that it had previously pursued. The subsequent transition towards an agroecological model has been a dynamic and uneven process, elevating Cuba on the world stage as a global leader in sustainable agriculture while at the same time producing unique challenges for Cuban farmers, policy makers, researchers and academics. This article synthesizes and updates contemporary literature on the Cuban agricultural system, paying attention to both successes and shortcomings of agroecology in Cuba to date. In particular, it situates these literatures alongside contributions from academics and practitioners alike, bringing a number of data sets, experiences, and perspectives into conversation in the context of changing realities within Cuba and the nation’s evolving geopolitical relationship with the United States. By analyzing both the historical and contemporary processes through which agroecology has taken root in Cuba, we demonstrate that, despite its uneven and incomplete implementation, such a sustainable agroecological transition holds great, untapped potential. Agroecology in Cuba currently faces pressure from normalizing Cuba-US relations, with potentially profound implications for agriculture in both countries. But increasing opportunities are also emerging for investment, collaboration, knowledge exchange, and solidarity. In this paper, we provide an overview of the evolution of the Cuban agroecology movement; analyze the state of food security and challenges to food sovereignty on the island today; outline US-Cuba policy changes occurring since December 2014 that may affect the agrifood sector; and conclude with recommendations for supporting agroecology – for food security, food sovereignty, and sustainability – under this new and evolving relationship. Please refer to Supplementary Materials , Full text Spanish version of this article , for a full text Spanish version of this article .

The main constraint to sustainable agrarian development in Cuba has been a poorly balanced agrobiodiversity in its agroecosystems. This is the result of mainstream agrarian policy that focuses on sugarcane monocropping, following the principles of modern agriculture as promoted over the last 50 years. This paper discusses the development of a new Index of Agrobiodiversity (IDA), a tool used to identify the extent to which agroecosystems are sustainable, based on their agrobiodiversity. It describes the research carried out to identify the index components, how the index was developed and how its efficiency was assessed. The paper also presents a practical experience whereby agroecosystems from Cuba’s urban agriculture movement were measured. Our analysis suggests that the Index of Agrobiodiversity is a valid proposal: its main success lies in the fact that few material and human resources are needed, and that the required information is generated through the work of local farmers themselves. Moreover, the results can encourage farmers to increase agrobiodiversity in their agroecosystems. Please refer to Supplementary Materials , Full text Spanish version of this article , for a full text Spanish version of this article .

Cuba’s experience in sustainable agriculture and agroecology has been the subject of much international attention, particularly as advocates of agroecology aim to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing alternatives to industrial agriculture on a national scale to support ecological resilience, food security, food sovereignty, and human wellbeing. Such attention has increased since relations between the U.S. and Cuba began to normalize, stimulating speculation as to how this will affect Cuba’s advances in sustainability. The Special Feature Cuba Agrifood Systems in Transition analyses the nuances of agroecological development in Cuba. We emphasized amplifying the voices of locally-based researchers and practitioners by targeting manuscript invitations to Cuban scholars and publishing in both Spanish and English. We outline the process, challenges and goals of this unique endeavor and introduce seven articles, all contributions from Cuba except for one, which is a collaboration between U.S. based and Cuba based scholars. These articles unpack some of the complexities of Cuba’s agrifood system transition and draw on specific information and experiences to discuss successes and challenges of this transition. We thus underline the instructive value of the Cuban experience regarding the path to agrifood system sustainability and hope to spark new collaborative opportunities as scholars and citizens around the world look to develop agrifood systems that will sustain human society long into the future. Please refer to Supplementary Materials , Full text Spanish version of this article , for a full text Spanish version of this article .

This paper presents a review of relevant literature and research on the potential of silvopastoral systems for milk and meat production in Cuba. This work emphasizes the contribution of trees in pasture systems, which are known to improve the plant community as well as increase the productive efficiency of steers, reproductive females and dairy cattle. Results from this research suggest that, due to the association effect, both the availability of dry matter and the total protein content of gramineous plants is increased in pastoral systems that incorporate trees while also maintaining pasture. In systems of gramineous plants that have been mixed with Leucaena leucocephala and that support cows of average potential, it is possible to obtain milk production of 10 kg/cow/day in addition to live-weight gains of 0.500–0.600 kg/animal day –1 in Cebú cattle. This work concludes that the use of silvopastoral systems is a viable option for the production of milk and meat under low-input conditions, such as those in Cuba. Please refer to Supplementary Materials , Full text Spanish version of this article , for a full text Spanish version of this article .

The Cuban government has implemented a series of agricultural transformations since 2007 to increase the country’s agricultural self-sufficiency and reduce its dependence on food imports. These include the transfer in usufruct, i.e. use rights only, of State-owned land to non-State producers (i.e. cooperatives and private farmers), moderate price reforms, the decentralization of decision making, and the gradual relaxation of existing forms of agricultural commercialization. As a result of these measures, the area planted, as well as physical output and agricultural yields (in selected non-sugar crop categories) have shown mixed results, and still remain below desired levels. There are three fundamental unresolved issues that have prevented Cuba’s agricultural sector from achieving desired levels: (1) the need to achieve the “realization of property”; (2) recognition and acceptance of the market as a complementary economy in coordination with a planning mechanism; and (3) absence of a systemic focus to achieve the successful completion of the agricultural production cycle (i.e. the value chain). These unresolved issues should be addressed through: (1) consolidating markets for inputs, where producers can obtain essential inputs at prices that correspond to the prices they can obtain for their output; (2) granting greater autonomy to agricultural producers to allow them to decide when, where, and to whom they can sell their output, after social contracts have been fulfilled; (3) diversifying types of agricultural commercialization to permit greater participation by non-State economic actors; (4) allowing agricultural producers to freely hire the labor necessary to sustain and increase production; and (5) providing agricultural producers with needed financing and technical assistance. Please refer to Supplementary Materials , Full text Spanish version of this article , for a full text Spanish version of this article .

The collapse of the socialist bloc in the early 1990s led to a severe economic crisis in Cuba, unleashing various processes of change to confront the situation. One such process involved taking a new look at the role of the scientific sector in the management and development of science, technology and innovation, and moving from a reductionist approach to a holistic, endogenous and territorial one. This article describes a process of change that occurred at the Indio Hatuey Experimental Station for Pasture and Forage, or EEPFIH, an experimental station for research and education in Matanzas province, Cuba. This article also presents environmental outcomes obtained on farms as a result of this new approach, and institutional outcomes such as the creation of new structures making it possible to address issues such as food security and sovereignty, sustainable agriculture, and climate change at the local and provincial levels. These transformations allow the EEPFIH to respond effectively to the demands of Cuban society in collaboration with other institutions, implementing practices that stimulate these institutions to play a central role in managing their development. More horizontal spaces for exchange and innovation have been opened up, and new mechanisms for management established, consolidating alliances and connections among actors at different levels. Please refer to Supplementary Materials , Full text Spanish version of this article , for a full text Spanish version of this article .

A number of factors in Cuba today contribute to the urgent need to develop family farming based on agroecological practices across the island. These factors include: soil deterioration, high external dependence for inputs and food, damaging effects of climate change, loss of farmer traditions, and the next generation’s disinterest in a farming lifestyle, coupled with the essential contribution that family farming makes to supplying food for the country, often in small spaces, together offer the real possibility of repairing the damage caused by conventional farming practices. Given this urgent need and possibility, it is important to identify and share successful experiences built on innovative practices. The study presented here aims to do just that by sharing the experiences of a farm representative of the cooperative sector in Cuba. This is a longitudinal study of the agroecological transition that occurred in one farm’s socio-ecological system between 1995 and 2015. In particular, the study evaluates the socio-ecological resilience of the family farm during three periods of transition, which are considerably different from one another given the strategies of the family and the design and management of the socio-ecological system. We define socio-ecological resilience as the capacity of agroecosystems to adaptively change in its socio-ecological structure and interactions in order to withstand and overcome disturbances, stress and change, and to maintain production levels in harmony with the culture, social organization, and satisfaction of the needs and capacity of ecosystems, in an ecologically possible and socially desirable context ( Altieri et al., 2012 ; Casimiro Rodríguez, 2016 ; Koohafkan et al., 2011 ). We used the Evaluation Methodology of the Socio-ecological Resilience of family farms (MERS in its Spanish acronym) ( Casimiro Rodríguez, 2016 ), based on the evolution of an array of indicators of efficiency and indexes of food, technological and energy sovereignty, as well as from the transformation process from conventional farming practices to agroecological practices. Based on the results of the study, we show a set of elements that address the need to transform Cuban agriculture by implementing an agroecological base, the importance of family farming, as well as aspects that can come into play in the socio-ecological resilience of other family farms in the country. Please refer to Supplementary Materials , Full text Spanish version of this article , for a full text Spanish version of this article .

We analyze the role biological control plays in the Cuban agri-food system and discuss an experience at the country level that demonstrates that the pest problem can be handled through an ecological and sustainable approach. Biological control is one of the key components of a systemic approach that characterizes pest management. Its implementation has led to the removal of a group of highly dangerous pesticides from the Official List of Authorized Pesticides and reduced use of others. Greater emphasis has been placed on augmentative biological control, which is a tendency repeated throughout the world. In Cuba, rudimentary production occurs in 176 Centers for the Reproduction of Entomophages and Entomopathogens (CREE) located throughout the country; four industrial production plants are in operation, as are pilot plants and facilities in research centers. The biological control agents that are most reproduced are the parasitoids Lixophaga diatraeae (Townsend) (Diptera: Tachinidae) and Trichogramma Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), the entomopathogens Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bacillales: Bacillaceae), and Beauveria bassiana sensu lato (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae); the antagonist Trichoderna Persoon (Ascomycota: Hypocreales: Hypocreaceae); and the nematodes of the Heterorhabditis Poinar (Nematoda: Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) genus. The use of predatory mites in inoculative strategies is limited due to their restricted availability, in spite of the fact that different alternatives have been evaluated for their massive reproduction with encouraging results. The achievements and progress obtained in classical and augmentative biological control and the changes in the understanding and thinking in Cuban agricultural have laid strong foundations for biological control through conservation of natural enemies. This latter strategy is greatly valued in sustainable agriculture. Please refer to Supplementary Materials , Full text Spanish version of this article , for a full text Spanish version of this article .