GAF
The green gold of the economy
"Cutting marabou to make charcoal is the last thing a man should do. In the fields there are thorns on all four sides and not to mention the santanicas, the insects, the cutting cold or the intense heat ”, confesses Roberto Rodríguez Cobas, one of the 78 producers of exportable coal in the Agroforestry Company of Matanzas (AFM) , entity with around 600 workers. "It is a very tough job, but you can see the benefit. Right here in Anguilla, a town at the entrance to the municipality of Martí, many young people found a source of employment and even their little house was bought. I am in charge of a brigade of 11 and life has improved a world for us. For us, coal has become green gold… ”
In Itabo, the intricate site of the Martian geography, inhabits the best producer in the Matanzas province, Julio Villaurrutia Hidalgo, who will contribute 10 tons (t) this month. "Not alone, my wife helps me a lot," he says cheerfully, as he shows a path to the top of mud and water, making it impossible to move forward to reach the plan where his oven burns, a kind of wooden pyramid kept with zeal.
A quick account takes José Evaristo Miranda, director of the UEB Agroforestal de Martí: "Like a sack it brings 20 kilograms (kg) and the kilogram is paid at 1.75 pesos in national currency (CUP), and at 0.025 cents in convertible pesos ( CUC), for the production of 500 bags in June, Villaurrutia will enter 17,500 CUP and 250 CUC. If it were not for the lack of parts for the chainsaws - of which there are several paralyzed -, Martí himself could double, for example, the 555, 76 t delivered for export in 2019, the year in which the AFM achieved its best historical result, by placing one thousand 614 t in international markets ”.
Juan Galindo González and Juan Carlos Chávez Leal have just cut just over 30 cubic meters of marabou with a cousin's STIHL chainsaw, the same brand of German origin used by the AFM, with a damaged technical availability coefficient as a result of the blockade of the United States Government, which prevents the purchase of spare parts.
Even so, coal is consecrated for this company and for the country as one of its exportable items.
From the countryside to Havana and from there to Europe
Last Thursday, from the vicinity of Martí, before the operation began, Aleixis Martínez, inspector of Cuba-Control, carefully reviewed every moment of the process. "The cargo must arrive with the required conditions at its destination." 960 bags of coal fill a container, 19, 2 tons, specifies Oronda Marlén Rodríguez Robaina, director of the UEB Agroforestal Jovellanos.
Along with her, Javier González Pulido, driver of the TransCimex truck, does not take his eyes off the merchandise. "When COVID-19 allows it, it will be transported from the Mariel Special Development Zone to its final port."
Although 100% of the marabou takes longer to ignite than a coal mixed with other wood, once it is burned, its durability is much greater. “That is why in Europe they prefer that of the Martí fields. Its quality is proven ”, stated Dania Ramírez Cabrera, commercial director.
This also justifies the increase in orders. “This year's plan rose to 1,650 tons. We are already going for 505.79 t, equivalent in total currency (CUP + CUC) to 1 million 175 thousand 80 pesos, "said Isandra Vento, deputy director of the AFM.
Started in export in 2013, income from this concept optimizes the financial capacity of a company with average salaries of more than 1,220 pesos and incentives close to 40 CUC, attractive income that served to complete all positions, boost progress of the entity and serve employees very well, said José Manuel Ramírez López, economic director.
Exported by the Cimex corporation, the AFM was the only compliant of its kind last year in Cuba, a behavior that, together with the satisfaction of the productive and income indicators make it the best in the country, assured Miguel Ángel Workers exclusively Arregui Martínez, president of the Agroforestry Business Group.
In a telephone interview, he stated that the balances allowed the AFM to be headquartered on June 21, Agroforestry Workers' Day, an activity in which Jorge Díaz, its director general, received the National Vanguardia diploma, a category that they achieved for the second consecutive year .
In Itabo, the intricate site of the Martian geography, inhabits the best producer in the Matanzas province, Julio Villaurrutia Hidalgo, who will contribute 10 tons (t) this month. "Not alone, my wife helps me a lot," he says cheerfully, as he shows a path to the top of mud and water, making it impossible to move forward to reach the plan where his oven burns, a kind of wooden pyramid kept with zeal.
A quick account takes José Evaristo Miranda, director of the UEB Agroforestal de Martí: "Like a sack it brings 20 kilograms (kg) and the kilogram is paid at 1.75 pesos in national currency (CUP), and at 0.025 cents in convertible pesos ( CUC), for the production of 500 bags in June, Villaurrutia will enter 17,500 CUP and 250 CUC. If it were not for the lack of parts for the chainsaws - of which there are several paralyzed -, Martí himself could double, for example, the 555, 76 t delivered for export in 2019, the year in which the AFM achieved its best historical result, by placing one thousand 614 t in international markets ”.
Juan Galindo González and Juan Carlos Chávez Leal have just cut just over 30 cubic meters of marabou with a cousin's STIHL chainsaw, the same brand of German origin used by the AFM, with a damaged technical availability coefficient as a result of the blockade of the United States Government, which prevents the purchase of spare parts.
Even so, coal is consecrated for this company and for the country as one of its exportable items.
From the countryside to Havana and from there to Europe
Last Thursday, from the vicinity of Martí, before the operation began, Aleixis Martínez, inspector of Cuba-Control, carefully reviewed every moment of the process. "The cargo must arrive with the required conditions at its destination." 960 bags of coal fill a container, 19, 2 tons, specifies Oronda Marlén Rodríguez Robaina, director of the UEB Agroforestal Jovellanos.
Along with her, Javier González Pulido, driver of the TransCimex truck, does not take his eyes off the merchandise. "When COVID-19 allows it, it will be transported from the Mariel Special Development Zone to its final port."
Although 100% of the marabou takes longer to ignite than a coal mixed with other wood, once it is burned, its durability is much greater. “That is why in Europe they prefer that of the Martí fields. Its quality is proven ”, stated Dania Ramírez Cabrera, commercial director.
This also justifies the increase in orders. “This year's plan rose to 1,650 tons. We are already going for 505.79 t, equivalent in total currency (CUP + CUC) to 1 million 175 thousand 80 pesos, "said Isandra Vento, deputy director of the AFM.
Started in export in 2013, income from this concept optimizes the financial capacity of a company with average salaries of more than 1,220 pesos and incentives close to 40 CUC, attractive income that served to complete all positions, boost progress of the entity and serve employees very well, said José Manuel Ramírez López, economic director.
Exported by the Cimex corporation, the AFM was the only compliant of its kind last year in Cuba, a behavior that, together with the satisfaction of the productive and income indicators make it the best in the country, assured Miguel Ángel Workers exclusively Arregui Martínez, president of the Agroforestry Business Group.
In a telephone interview, he stated that the balances allowed the AFM to be headquartered on June 21, Agroforestry Workers' Day, an activity in which Jorge Díaz, its director general, received the National Vanguardia diploma, a category that they achieved for the second consecutive year .
