Cuba, pesticide libre

Cuba isn't the first country you'd think of as a world leader in organic farming. But food and oil shortages, caused by U.S. trade embargos and the collapse of the USSR, forced it to rethink its import- and pesticide-dependent economy years ago.

"Organic agriculture became the only solution to keep growing food, since we lost all our sources of funding and supplies for chemicals," explains Havana biologist Roberto Perez Rivero, who's in Montreal this weekend to share his expertise.

In response to the crisis, oxen were put back to work in the fields and state-managed gardens blossomed within city limits. "We've been able not only to fight for food security, but to introduce more vegetables into the Cuban diet," he says.

Rivero says North Americans can learn from Cuba's experience. "In the North more and more people are interested in getting healthy food and ready to pay better prices for it," he notes. "The next step is to develop skills that are more ecologically sound, which can be used at home to reinforce self-reliance, putting more pressure on the rest. The organic way--and we're showing it--is not a step backwards."

Rivero's lecture "Cuban Organic Agriculture" is presented by Eco-Initiatives/Eco-Quartier NDG and Q-PIRG Concordia, tonight, Nov. 4, 2149 Mackay, 7 p.m. Call 484-4129 for details.

--Sarah Musgrave