“To do real science you have to be out there where the crops are growing,” said Sergio Ramírez, the son of a farmer who for the past 18 years has directed a research centre that is vital to meeting the challenge of securing Cuba’s food supplies, however adverse the climate conditions. In his view, the main thing is to be prepared for climate change, look for solutions, and bring together the experience and know-how of small farmers with the theoretical knowledge of researchers, in order to be forearmed to face the coming difficulties.

To respond to this challenge, “Cuba possesses a potential range of species and varieties that allow cultivation of specific foods under particular climate conditions,” said Rodríguez, the head of the National Research Institute of Tropical Root Vegetables (INIVIT) in the central province of Villa Clara. The expert told IPS over the telephone that many tropical countries like Cuba must plan food production around two completely opposite sets of probable conditions: severe drought and hurricanes. Three hurricanes devastated the island’s crops in 2008.

It is no secret that 76 percent of the country’s farmland is relatively unproductive, with nearly 15 percent being affected by soil salinity and another 14 percent with low organic matter content, due to soil exhaustion and other reasons, Rodríguez said.

“The situation is improving with the use of farm animals to work the land, and organic fertilisers and biological control methods instead of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. I would say we are moving towards a low-input, economically sustainable agriculture that is less harmful to the environment,” he said.

To mitigate adverse climate factors, in Rodríguez’s opinion the key is to diversify agriculture, in order to ensure there is sufficient food after a hurricane or a lengthy drought. “Growing a wide variety of crops will also help satisfy consumer demand,” he added.

He mentioned the advantages of planting sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and pumpkin or squash (Cucurbita moschata), for instance, two creeping plants that are resistant to high winds. The same is true of taro (Xanthosoma and Colocasia esculenta) because it is a low-growing plant and has firm root anchorage, he said.

“During times of severe drought we can grow cassava (Manihot esculenta) and plantains (Musa paradisiaca), which can survive long periods without water. When crops are diversified, an answer can be found to everything,” said Rodríguez. Many species of roots and tubers are particularly appreciated by Cubans as staple foods.

According to Rodríguez, INIVIT has these varieties available and is constantly seeking others. “At present we are experiencing a period of high temperatures in Cuba and we have to design varieties resistant to these conditions,” he said.

The research centre maintains a germplasm bank containing 650 varieties of sweet potato, 512 of cassava, 327 plantain and banana varieties, 120 of yam and 152 taro species. “These genetic resources are one of the country’s major strengths,” he said.

According to Rodríguez, the germplasm bank is “a living museum, containing the genes necessary to cross plant lines and construct new varieties with the ability to resist or adapt to adverse conditions.” To preserve this genetic wealth is “to conserve biodiversity, which makes it possible to select the most suitable characteristics for every possible set of conditions,” he said.