Transformation of the spatial structure of crop production of Cuba at the end of 20th — beginning of 21st century

Abstract

Despite the fact that agriculture is one of the oldest economic activities, this industry is constantly in the process of transformation and the speed of these changes is growing. However, these transformations are taking place in diverse ways in different countries and regions of the Earth. The article examines changes in Cuban agriculture that occurred after 1990 in connection with the collapse of the USSR. The disappearance of the Soviet Union from the political map of the world was not the only reason for the beginning of transformations in the Cuban economy, but it became a trigger for reforms in all sectors of the national economic complex. As a starting point for the study, the development of the agricultural sector of Cuba until 1990 was analyzed and the principles of economic policy implemented in the country to overcome the crisis that arose in the industry in the 1990s. The article examines changes in the spatial specialization of crop production in Cuba in recent decades, for which the Localization coefficients of the cultivated areas. This coefficient was calculated for the main agricultural crops (sugar cane, bananas, citrus fruits, fruits, rice, short-cycle food crops and forage crops) and their dynamics for period 1989–2016. Since 1990, there has been a diversification of agriculture in Cuba with an increase in the importance of food crops. According to the results of the study, it can be concluded that the changes that have occurred in the structure of sown areas and their territorial distribution are associated with the need to provide the population of Cuba with food. This led to a reduction in the cultivation of export crops and changes in the specialization of agricultural production at the level of provinces.