GAF
Omar, between ingenuity and the will to produce food
He always had a peculiar understanding with the earth. Perhaps his knowledge was inherited from his ancestors or it is only, as he assures, "the commitment that every man has to extract from nature the goods necessary to provide for his family and have a full existence." The truth is that this producer has turned all his ingenuity into the work of the field and his patio has been considered of national excellence.
The 60-year-old peasant did not inherit the farm from him. He came to those farms only with the will to produce food and the commitment to do so in the best possible way. Today he recalls that the place looked very different, the house was old, the yard was neglected, and "those obstacles were the incentive to step forward and challenge the same climate if necessary." From the comfort of his home, with an ever attentive view of the destinations of his nursery that has already become famous in Las Tunas, Omar tells 26 of the projects that are now keeping him awake and prompting him to get out of bed very early, with optimism well focused on success. “I am dedicated to fruit trees. Right now I have dwarf guava, Persian and Creole lemon and a new variety of cherry. I also have more than 20 thousand coffee seeds, because I have proposed to contribute to the production of this crop in my province. I have an agreement to produce more than 100 coffee plants for this year, but on my own I have gone ahead and I hope to have about 30 thousand soon. “Everything is used on this farm. I recycle waste, I compost. In fact, I trade the worms. I prepare my own substrate, with which the plants grow healthy and vigorous. I cannot complain about the results, since I put the knowledge of science and technology into this equation, my land has been in excellent condition. “He put me between the brow and the eyebrow to start an automated irrigation system, and finally I succeeded. The invention took time. The machine is designed so that the plants get the right amount of water they need, depending on the relative humidity, temperature and air. In this way, I save the liquid because sometimes what the plants need is 10 or 15 seconds of water. "I produce between eight and 10 thousand plants each month that are staying in Las Tunas, and that gives me great pleasure, although my final goal is for those positions to become trees and their fruits reach the families." Recently, a new project occupies Omar. The producer, associated with the credit and services cooperative (CCS) Omar Pérez, built pools for the breeding of ornamental fish. He assures that the investment was large, but he has always wanted to diversify his efforts. His ponds today display colisables, bards, and other species that have gotten into his eyes. “Since he learned about aquaculture, he wanted to be part of the project. So I didn't think too much about it and put some colossomes next to the ornamental fish. As these are not carnivores, they live very quietly. Those little animals are like the pigs in my house, I throw them all the food waste, the shells of the food, and how much appears. They are a very grateful species, which gain weight very quickly like tench and tilapia. “With regard to the colossomes and together with the fishing company, we want them to spawn here, something that has not yet been done in the country. We are preparing to face the challenge, but I like to think that it will be possible and that this will only be the beginning of what aquaculture can achieve in the soil of Las Tunas ”. Omar has shown that perseverance and ingenuity are an infallible formula for any producer. He confesses that he does not like to be pigeonholed into a single activity and wants his farm to continue growing, not only for his own benefits but as a kind of teaching for those young people who can find the prosperity on earth that they so long for.
