Cuba: Successful Soil Conservation Program

Havana, Jul 20. -Cuba is demonstrating considerable success in soil conservation and improvement in over 600,000 hectares.The objective of the Ministry of Agriculture's National Program for Soil Conservation and Improvement, created in 2000, is to stop soil degradation.

Soil degradation is a very complex process involving various factors, including natural phenomena such as climate, relief, geological formations and elements introduced by human beings.

"When we say a hectare has benefited, in practical terms, it means 75 percent of the measures for stopping degradation have been introduced," stated Mario Riverol, head of the ministry's soil conservation group.

Measures include the use of living and non-living barriers, dams, green fertilizers and crop rotation, Riverol stated. (Prensa Latina)