Cuba’s Farmers’ Markets in the “Special Period,” 1990–1995

  • Rebecca Torres
  • Janet Momsen
  • Debbie A. Niemeier
Chapter
Part of the Studies of the Americas book series (STAM)

Abstract

The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union forced Cuba to diversify its trade links and to produce more goods domestically. In spring 1990, Cuba announced a “Special Period in Peacetime” in which food self-sufficiency was to be paramount.1 Much land previously used for export crops, especially sugar, was turned over to production for domestic consumption, and there was a return to nonmechanized agriculture using mainly organic inputs. By 1992 Cuban trade with Eastern bloc countries had fallen to 7 percent of its 1989 levels.2 The U.S. trade embargo was continuously tightened, culminating in the Helms-Burton Act in 1996 under which the United States threatened to punish third countries trading with Cuba.

Keywords

Special Period State Farm Urban Garden Collective Farm Private Farmer 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes

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Copyright information

© Jean Besson and Janet Momsen 2007

Authors and Affiliations

  • Rebecca Torres
  • Janet Momsen
  • Debbie A. Niemeier

There are no affiliations available

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