>from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >subject: Cuba: World Food, sugar, Chernobyl > > [MORE THAN A WEEKLY] > [BIENVENIDOS A GRANMA INTERNACIONAL] May 17, 2000 > > World Food Program promotes collaboration > program in Granma province > BY JUAN DIEGO NUSA PENALVER (Special for AIN) > >Havana.- The World Food Program (WFP) is promoting, with good >results, an agricultural project to secure the food supply of >Granma province, in eastern Cuba. The project has a budget of more > >than $18 million USD. > >According to WFP sources in Havana, the project, which will be >carried out over four years, has also been allocated a 27-million >peso contribution by the Cuban government. > >The WFP began working on the project in 1998 and it has so far >indirectly benefited more than 65,000 people, with the production >of milk, meat and more than 130,000 tons of tubers and garden >vegetables. It has also constructed or repaired 167 dwellings in >the territory. > >The WFP has a long history of fruitful cooperation with the largest > >of the Caribbean islands. Over the last 35 years, the UN agency has > >undertaken 14 development and emergency projects throughout the >country, investing some $209 million USD. > >It recently completed an emergency project in eastern Cuba which >helped 257,000 people, including 25,000 pregnant women. The latter > >are considered to be a vulnerable group, badly affected by a long >drought some months ago. > > ************ > [MORE THAN A WEEKLY] > [BIENVENIDOS A GRANMA INTERNACIONAL] May 26, 2000 > >Current sugar harvest will surpass four million tons > >* Production increase of 7% this year announced by Carlos Lage >in his annual review of the industry > >FIRST indications received from this year's sugar harvest show a >production of 4,047,000 tons, which represents a 7% increase over >last year's figures. These results were announced in the Ministry >of Sugar Industry's annual review, where the summary was presented > >by Vice President Carlos Lage. > >The review also announced that the costs of the harvest has >decreased while sugar quality has been improved still further. The > >harvest was carried out using some 10,000 fewer manual cane cutters > >than the previous year and the best yield levels in 15 years were >achieved. The amount of the harvest exported has also exceeded >targets and has already brought in almost $1.5 million USD. > > There were, however, still one or two negative aspects that were >reported. Among these was the failure to meet production targets >per hectare in Pinar del R'o, Havana, Matanzas and Cienfuegos >provinces. > >Vice President Lage said that despite low world sugar prices, the >industry was still among those which bring the most foreign >currency to the island. He also emphasized its importance for the >jobs it generates, both inside and outside of the agricultural >industry. He said that for these reasons, sugar had always been and > >continues to be one of the most important industries for the >countryÕs development. Although much work remains to be completed, > >the last two years have seen many improvements in the Cuban sugar >industry, thanks to improved organization, planning, order and >discipline, he added. > >He went on to say that although there had been a growth in the >demand for traditional sugar by-products, the levels of their >production and marketing was still low. > >He emphasized the need for even more efficiency, saying that with >world prices as they are currently, it was not acceptable to have >very high production levels if they are accompanied by equally high > >overhead costs. He warned that increases in production in future >years must continue to be achieved by means of increasing yields >and optimizing the use of existing resources. > >The annual review announced that production costs fell by 37% over > >the previous year and that fixed costs per ton and repair and >maintenance costs had also been reduced. > > ************ >sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > MORE THAN A WEEKLY] > [BIENVENIDOS A GRANMA INTERNACIONAL] May 26, 2000 > > 14TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT > Prevention is better than facing the consequences > >ON the 14th anniversary of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in >Ukraine, Koichiro Matsuura, secretary-general of the United Nations > >Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), >announced that the international solidarity effort should not be >limited to helping only the population threatened by radiation >contamination; it should also be used to derive useful experiences >in order to prevent similar situations in the future. > >During the commemoration event, Matsuura praised the decision of the > >Ukrainian government to close down the nuclear plant by the end of >the year. > >Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma confirmed on May 18 that later >this month his government would set a final closure date for the >plant. He added that a special committee, headed by Prime Minister >Viktor Yushchenko, would study the effects that the closure will >have on the national economy and society, according to reports from > >the Xinhua news agency. After the 1986 accident, only one of the >plant's four reactors was kept in operation. > >Matsuura invited all nations, non-governmental organizations and the > >international community to redouble their efforts in tackling the >accident's effects, which continue to this day. Exposure to very >high doses of radiation, even if for only a short period, can cause > >death after just a few days. The absorption of moderate doses can >cause a wide range of illnesses and types of cancer. > >Everyone's security, he continued, depends today on mutual >assistance, the willingness to share knowledge and the assurance of > >confidence. > >He went on to add that UNESCO was one of the first United Nations >agencies to respond to the call immediately after the disaster. > >Cuba also offered aid to the victims. More than 15,000 Ukrainian >children have enjoyed the facilities of the Tarara rehabilitation >center, to the east of Havana, over the course of the past few >years. The conscientious work of the center's medical personnel has > >been recognized by the Ukrainian authorities. > >The Chernobyl accident was rated at level seven, the highest in the > >international scale of nuclear incidents used by the International >Atomic Energy Agency. It was an accident of huge proportions with >enormous consequences for the health of millions of people and the >environment. > > ¥ Lilliam Riera > > ABOUT GRANMA INTERNATIONAL ONLINE Spanish | French | >Portuguese | German | Italian | Javier Sotomayor | Magazines > >[2_logo2.jpg (5843 bytes)] © Copyright. 1996-1999. ALL RIGHTS >RESERVED. GRANMA INTERNATIONAL/ ONLINE EDITION " JC > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
