Project profile — Piloting a Purchase for Progress Approach in Cuba

• Cuba (100.00%)

• Basic Health: Basic nutrition (12240) (20.00%)
• Agricultural development:
Agricultural development (31120) (30.00%)
Food crop production (31161) (30.00%)
Agricultural co-operatives (31194) (20.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (significant objective)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The project aims to increase food security for women, men and children, especially of vulnerable groups in Cuba. Its goal is to strengthen the sustainable production of nutritious food, particularly beans and bio-fortified beans, which contributes to increased consumption of these products by vulnerable groups who are targeted in government-subsidized food programs. Project activities include: (1) providing technical assistance and sharing best practices with small-scale farmers on crop management and technologies in order to increase quality and quantity of yields; (2) training local bean producers, especially women producers, in improved, environmentally sustainable agricultural production and management techniques, gender equality, and cooperative governance and leadership; (3) procuring and providing modern agricultural tools, materials and equipment to strengthen the production capacity of local women and men farmers; and (4) purchasing beans to be supplied to the most vulnerable, including beneficiaries of health institutions, the elderly, pregnant women and children under 5 years of age.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased capacity of local bean producers, including women producers, in selected municipalities in Matanzas and Guantánamo provinces, to apply sustainable agricultural practices in the production of beans and bio-fortified beans; (2) increased access by vulnerable groups to nutritious foods (bio-fortified beans) through the regular government distribution system; and (3) increased equitable access to beans for boys and girls in primary schools and health institution recipients.

Results achieved as of the end of the project (August 2019) include: Overall, a strengthened sustainable production of beans and bio-fortified beans by producers of the municipalities of El Salvador and Niceto Pérez in Guantánamo province, and Union de Reyes in Matanzas province was noted, more specifically: (1) beneficiary cooperatives increased their production by 128%; improved yield per hectares by 37%; decreased production costs by 12%; and reduced post-harvest loss to 8% of total production; (2) 1,935 (of which 661 women) farmers and service and input providers were trained in subjects such as: seeds selection and multiplication; cooperative management and leadership; sustainable production of beans; marketing for service providers; responsible use of agricultural machinery; and best practices to face drought; (3) 2,335 farmers benefited from the distribution of: tractors and their appliances; irrigation systems; grain dryers; mobile repair workshops; sewing machines for grain bags and packaging; drying mats; a cool storage plant for seeds conservation; grain humidity gauges; and mechanical scales; (4) 96% of producers involved in the project are using modern agricultural techniques in their productive activities; (5) up to 80% of producers are increasingly using as much as 11 varieties of certified seeds that contribute to the achieved yields; and (6) an estimated increase of 1,663 tons in bean production since the start of the project in 2014 was noted, representing a $1.7 M CAD reduction in imports. Overall, the improvements in productivity and efficiency in bean production had a positive impact on the consumption of beans and bio-fortified beans by recipients of government-subsidized food programs, more specifically: (1) 55,460 women, men and children from the targeted municipalities benefited from access to beans and bio-fortified beans as part of the diet provided in 149 institutions that are part of the government-subsidized social protection programs(such as schools, day cares, maternity homes and health facilities); (2) six tons of bio-fortified beans were produced in the municipalities of Guantánamo province for the first time, and were distributed among school and health facilities representing 1% of the total quantity of beans supplied to these institutions; and (3) the proportion of domestic bean intake over other imported grains incorporated into the supply plans of schools and health institutions increased from 30% at the beginning of the project to 50% by the project’s end.

• Proactive disclosure