Media

CNFA Joins USACC Delegation to Cuba 

Partnerships key in developing Cuba’s agricultural sector. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Returning from a four-day learning trip to Cuba, Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) Board members and former United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretaries John Block and Michael Espy, along with CNFA’s President and CEO Sylvain Roy, called on Congress to end the U.S. embargo on Cuba. 

From March 1-4, 2015, CNFA joined more than 95 members of the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba (USACC) on a learning journey to Cuba, traveling across the country and visiting several farm operations to learn more about Cuba’s agricultural economy. The delegation also met with Cuban businesses and government leaders as an important first step towards fostering potential partnerships in advance of normalized trade relations. 

On their return to the U.S., Block, Espy, and Roy released the following statement: 

“Ending more than a half-century of trade restrictions will provide a two-way trade and new market opportunity for both Cuban and American farmers. This is our chance to work together with the Cuban people and help develop their agricultural sector. Such a partnership will truly create long-term growth in Cuba and help develop relationships between the government, private sector, and farmers. There are several organizations and firms in the U.S. that can help open the flow of the technology and expertise necessary to improve Cuban agricultural production. Helping to expand the potential of Cuban agriculture through these partnerships will be instrumental in the development of a vibrant commercial environment between the U.S. and Cuba.” 

###

About CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international development organization, specializes in designing sustainable, market-led agricultural initiatives. CNFA builds strong local and global partnerships, incorporates innovative approaches in its programs, and fosters inclusive development to offer enhanced opportunities to under-served groups. Since 1985, CNFA has managed more than $510 million in donor-funded agriculture development programs and has worked in 42 countries across the world in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia. Visit us at cnfa.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.