Cuba's tobacco farmers try to shake off state shackles

The Vinales Valley with its steep, lime-stoned hills, known as mogotes, was added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1999. It's often referred to as a "living cultural landscape" due to the traditional ways in which tobacco is cultivated in this unique region.

The land is usually plowed with the help of oxen. Farmers rely on these traditional farming techniques as they contribute to the quality of the soil and the tobacco.

In Cuba's communist system, farmers are part of cooperatives. They are obliged to sell 90% of the tobacco production to the cooperative for a state-determined, non-negotiable price. For their other products, they have different quota that are also determined by the state.

Some 10% of the tobacco production is used by farmers for their own consumption or to sell privately from their homes.

The cooperatives share materials such as one tractor — which is usually broken — and a truck to pick up the products. In addition they provide credits and sell fertilizers and other tools for agricultural production.

The farmers' land always belongs to the state. People might have "ownership" if the land was handed over during the Agrarian Reform in the first years after the Revolution in 1959. They can also lease the ground from the state. If they do not work the land, it will be taken away from them.

State official Justo Luis Gravera Martinez is the inspector for the cooperative Frank País in Viñales. He works exclusively with this cooperative and checks efficiency, production and the progress of the farmers.

The quota guarantees the farmers a certain share on the sale of tobacco leaves. However, the state sets the rate which is usually low. The price is non-negotiable and depends on the quality of the tobacco leaves. The farmers do not know beforehand how much they'll be paid.

From the cooperatives the leaves are transported to the state-run tobacco factories where the leaves are selected and divided according to color, quality and size. Women outnumber men as employees. Income depends on how many kilos of tobacco leaves are processed per day and ranges between $15 (€13) and $48 (€43) per month, plus extra rice and beans.

The leaves' ribs are removed and sold back cheaply to the farmers, who use it as a form of compost. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba sank into a deep economic crisis. The embargo imposed by the US squeezed Cuba's imports and as a consequence farmers learned to farm organically and focused on sustainability.

The Cuban government has introduced several measures to promote organic farming, for instance by placing an emphasis on recycling material. In 2016, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said Cuba was the most sustainable country in the world.

The carefully selected and hand-made cigars are sold at state-owned shops. Prices are so high that only foreigners can afford to buy them. Tobacco accounts for 19% of all income from exported products.