Urbanization and Agriculture

Education and identity have been critical factors in the transformation of Cuban agriculture in the 1990s. They have provided a framework within which new policies, new actors, and new agricultural systems gained acceptance and were implemented. Cuban agriculture is something very different and the extent to which its model is applicable elsewhere is unknown. Conclusion: Given specific factors embedded in the Cuban paradigm, more research – certainly comparative research evaluating agroecological efforts in other countries – is necessary before universality questions surrounding the Cuban model can be adequately addressed.

Full Monty

Comments

[Temple3]

i can't think of many things i'd like more than a reconciliation of the african diaspora - particularly linking cuba, the us, brazil and places like that...however, the same opposition to fidel in miami is the same opposition that resulted in nelson mandela skipping miami on his freedom tour of the us...the city was basically closed to him because he embraced fidel - who basically compelled his release through the effectiveness of the troops he committed to the field in angola...so, there is much work to be done in this respect...work that could have tremendous value in places like miami and new york and chicago and san antonio and los angeles...and even kansas city because there is a growing dominican population residing in independence, missouri...the same oppositional politics are not as entrenched among puerto ricans and dominicans as with the miami collective, but there are hurdles - and better still, there are effective conduits and communicators willing and able to bridge our respective communities.

[cnulan]

Second, immigration is increasing the supply of skilled and especially unskilled labor in the US. There is substantial evidence that the collapse in the wages of younger workers of all colors with only a high school education as well as increasing numbers of modestly educated older workers is due to the massive increase in the labor force due to immigration from Latin America. This migration is leading to tension between Latino and non-Latino workers, fueling a destructive and counterproductive black-Latino racial conflict among low-income populations with common economic interests.

No solution to this save development of new economic engines. We simply HAVE TO work together to make the urban agricultural co-ops viable. Blacks and latinos have in common their shared history of excessive urbanization, excessive in the sense that the "new" lifestyle was/is not a long-term viable alternative to the older agrarian lifestyle.

But hey, we're not the only ones facing this dilemma. Everything that Andrews says in the BC thinkpiece is asserted over a backdrop which fails to take into consideration the devastating effects of Peak Oil. Nobody gets away from this issue, and the sooner we come to concrete grips with it, the better for all of us.