GAF
When man serves ...
The positions produced by Carlos Pao contribute to Yateras' coffee recovery.
If man serves the land it serves, it is a Martian precept widely used in these times when peasants and everyone who can cultivate it are asked for a greater effort in the midst of the shortage of fertilizers, pesticides and products that help increase yields agricultural.
That maxim is put into practice by the 69-year-old retiree, Juan Carlos Pérez Montes de Oca, known as Carlos Pao, in his home located next to the community of Palenque, head of the municipality of Yateras.
The ingenious local man produced about 40 thousand ecological positions in his small patio, since in 2019 he began to venture into that activity. "Last year I planted 24 thousand coffee, in one fell swoop, and after six months, when I sold them, I got 48 thousand pesos."
Currently he sold another 10 thousand, at the end of May, for 20 thousand pesos, and he is already preparing the land and the bags to plant another 10 thousand of coffee and fruit trees.
"You have to dedicate time, know the activity well and provide them with the cultural attention required for survival to be high, although we know that the necessary supplies are not always at hand.
"Instead of fertilizers, I generally use organic matter that I prepare myself and I assure them permanent drip water," said Carlos Pao, who has also promoted excellent quality Maradol pump fruit positions.
He explained that before beginning the sowing, he takes soil samples to the Plant Health Department so that the specialists certify their quality, "but the best judges are the buyers themselves, when they recognize the result of my efforts," he said.
The positions have a secure market: "Different productive forms of the locality, especially farmers from the Roberto Rivero Credit and Services Cooperative who, as part of the contract, sell me bags and, when possible, help with products to spray."
In addition to the postures, Carlos Pao grows vegetables (tomato, eggplant, cabbage ...), spices (coriander, garlic, porro, oreganito ...) and lemon for family consumption in his patio.
“Few things have to go out to buy in the market, because what is harvested here is enough for the family and to share with the neighbors.
"What is worth the most is the desire to do things and, as a peasant that I have been all my life, I guarantee that any bit of land, well exploited, gives what you intend", he assured.
When he thought he would hang up his gloves when he retired, the idea came to him to take advantage of his small patio; This project keeps him active and allows him to guarantee the livelihood of the family.
Carlos Pao's experience should be multiplied in other territories to contribute to the recovery of coffee, the main exportable item in the province, and to increase food production promoted by Urban, Suburban and Family Agriculture, based on the precepts of food sovereignty, in the midst of the tense situation imposed by COVID-19.
