TODAYS NEWS Close hour: 11:00

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1 TODAYS NEWS Close hour: 11:00 -Army Corps Gen. Leopoldo Cintra Frias Appointed New Cuban Defense Minister -Relatives of the Cuban Five Reiterate Concern for Rene -Solidarity with Cuban 5 in South Africa, Russia -Wole Soyinka joins global call for the release of the Cuban Five -U.S. Professionals Highlight Right to Public Health in Cuba -The New York Times Highlights Cuba s Role in Fight against Cholera in Haiti -Havana to Host International Meeting against Corruption -Legacy of Great Flamenco Dancer Antonio Gades Enjoyed in Cuba -The FAO Highlights Cuba s Advances in Agricultural Production -La Colmenita Returns Home after Successful Tour -Commendable work by the Batallon de la Frontera through history -Terrorism: Made in the USA -Thanks to the Cuban Revolution I did not lose my leg, says Cancerstricken Boy -Cuban urban agriculture: an emerging alternative Army Corps Gen. Leopoldo Cintra Frias Appointed New Cuban Defense Minister HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 9 (acn) Army Corps General Leopoldo Cintra Frias has been appointed the new Cuban Defense Minister according to an official note published on Wednesday by Granma newspaper. Cintra Frias, who had been appointed First Deputy Minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces in October 2008, was now promoted by the Council of State at the request of its President, Raul Castro.

2 In addition, the note points out that Army Corps General Alvaro Lopez Miera has been promoted to the position of First Deputy Minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces although he will continue holding his post as Chief of the General Staff. Cintra Frias and Lopez Miera both hold the titles of Hero of the Republic of Cuba. They are members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of Cuba s Communist Party (CCPCC) and also of the Council of State. In the 1950s, they joined the revolutionary army that fought against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and they participated in important internationalist missions in Angola and Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s. Relatives of the Cuban Five Reiterate Concern for Rene BAYAMO, Cuba, Nov 8 (acn) Relatives of the five Cuban heroes condemned in the United States for trying to prevent terrorist actions reiterated on Monday in this city that the life of Rene Gonzalez, one of these patriots, forced to stay in the northern country after his recent release from prison, is in great danger. They expressed their concern during a conversation with students in Bayamo, where, since Saturday, they have been explaining the situation of Rene, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino, Gerardo Hernandez and Fernando Gonzalez to representatives of various sectors. They were arrested in 1998 in Miami and condemned in 2001 to sentences ranging from 15 years to two life imprisonments plus 15 years, for warning Cuba about terrorist actions conceived by extremist organizations in Florida acting against the island with Washington s consent. Mirta Rodriguez, mother of Antonio, asserted that the relatives of The Five condemn the cruelty of the US justice to these heroes and particularly now against Rene, who served his sentence and is suffering an additional punishment: to stay for another three years in the US under supervised release. His life is in great danger, she specified, because they force him to stay at the terrorists hideout, in addition to not being able to get in touch with his comrades in struggle and that his wife is not allowed to visit him. The latter is an additional act of cruelty, maintained throughout Rene s 13 years of imprisonment, and now in the so-called supervised release, she pointed out. Magali Llort, mother of Fernando, explained that solidarity is decisive in the struggle to free The Five. Any action in favor of truth, in Cuba or abroad, and mainly in the US, is

3 important to spread the case, and represents a moral incentive for Rene, Fernando, Antonio, Gerardo and Ramon, she added. Students from different educational levels read messages of solidarity addressed to these Heroes of the Republic of Cuba, and gave flowers to Mirta and Magali. Solidarity with Cuban 5 in South Africa, Russia Havana, Nov 9 (Prensa Latina) The cause of freedom for five Cubans serving terms in U.S. prisons has found new advocates in places as disparate as South Africa and Russia. In South Africa, the Association of Friendship with Cuba and the South African Communist Party reaffirmed on Wednesday in Bloemfontein their rejection of the U.S.-imposed blockade on the island and demanded the release of the Cuban Five, as they are universally known. During an activity attended by nearly 200 people, Orlaida Cabrera, director of the African and Middle East department of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, expressed gratitude for the solidarity with Cuba. In Russia, two of the wives of the Cuban Five denounced on the Russia Today television channel the injustices committed against them and demanded their return to Cuba. Adriana Perez, spouse of Gerardo Hernandez, sentenced to double life imprisonment and fifteen years more, and Elizabeth Palmeiro, wife of Ramon Labañino, sentenced to life imprisonment plus 18 years of jail, reiterated the petition to the U.S. government to free the Cuban Five, who were detained in September Ramon, Gerardo, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez, now under supervised freedom after serving his term, were condemned to harsh sentences from 15 years to double life plus fifteen years for monitoring the terrorist actions of anti-cuban groups based in Florida, U.S. Wole Soyinka joins global call for the release of the Cuban Five Nigeria, November 1, The Nigerian Nobel Prize of Literature, Wole Soyinka joined a group of prestigious intellectuals who addressed to U.S. authorities demanding the immediate release and return to Cuba of the Cuban Five. The Nigerian Nobel Prize left clear-cut his permanent membership before that fair claim. (Cubaminrex-Embacuba Nigeria) U.S. Professionals Highlight Right to Public Health in Cuba

4 Cienfuegos, Cuba, Nov 8 (Prensa Latina) U.S. public health professionals highlighted the Cuban people''s right to free public health services, at the end of their visit to the city of central Cienfuegos. U.S. Doctor Philip Wolfson, leader of a group made up of other physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses and social assistants, told Prensa Latina that they had a favorable impression of Cuba's public health system, which guarantees the right to free medical treatment for all citizens. Doctor Roberto Weiss, whose daughter is studying an art career in Havana, said, after visiting a maternal home, that this kind of institution does not exist in his country. Patricia Reiss, who works in public health services for women, noted that what she saw in the Maternity Hospital in Cienfuegos, miles from Havana, is part of a very well-advanced mother-child system. Doctor Yusimi Cavada, leader of the Mother-Child Program in Cienfuegos, said the visitors were greatly impressed by the attention provided pregnant adolescents, adding that they want to implement the system in their working environment. Trips to Cuba by U.S. citizens have a restrictive character. Only some sectors may come to the Caribbean island after fulfilling rigorous measures. The direct damage caused by the U.S. blockade to the Cuban people until December 2010, totaled over 104 billion dollars in losses. The New York Times Highlights Cuba s Role in Fight against Cholera in Haiti HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 9 (acn) The New York Times published an article on Tuesday in which it describes as vital the presence of a Cuban medical brigade in Haiti, a country that has suffered the negative effects of cholera and a devastating earthquake in With the title Cuba Takes Lead Role in Haiti s Cholera Fight, the article notes that the Cuban medical mission in Haiti continues winning accolades from donors and diplomats for staying on the front lines and undertaking a broader effort to remake this country s shattered health care system. The text recalls that Paul Farmer, the United Nations deputy special envoy to Haiti, said the Cubans sounded an important early alarm about the outbreak in October 2010, helping to mobilize health officials and lessen the death toll. It was among the largest international aid contingents to respond after the January 2010 earthquake that tumbled Haiti into crisis. And since the cholera outbreak, the mission has treated more than 76,000 cases of the disease, with

5 just 272 fatalities a much lower ratio, at 0.36 percent, than the average across Haiti as a whole, in which 1.4 percent of cases ended in death, according to the Health Ministry, the article reads. More than a year later, cholera has killed 6,600 people and sickened more than 476,000 nearly 5 percent of the nation s 10 million people in what United Nations officials call the world s highest rate of cholera. Half of the NGOs are already gone, and the Cubans are still there, Farmer said, using the abbreviation for nongovernmental organizations. The NYT quotes Dr. Lorenzo Somarriba, the chief of the Cuban medical mission: We work a lot on the education of the population. We send people to the homes of the victims and educate them on the disease and provide them with tabs to clean the water. This is absolutely vital. The article by Randal C. Archibold adds that Cuban doctors have worked in Haiti since 1998, when 100 arrived after a hurricane. The Cuban medical mission received the National Order of Honor and Merit, the highest distinction granted by Haiti. Havana to Host International Meeting against Corruption HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 8 (acn) The 5th International Meeting on Society and its Challenges in the Face of Corruption, which will bring together some 350 experts from 20 nations in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa until Friday, will open its doors on Wednesday in this capital. Lawyers, district attorneys, auditors, economists, political scientists and legal consultants, among other specialists, will debate, at Havana s Convention Center, issues like State, Society and Rights in the struggle against corruption; and the role of the Attorney General s office and the legal system, among others. Miguel Garcia Arzugaray, head of International Relations of the Republic s Attorney General s Office, told the press that the meeting will favor exchanges of experiences and joint work in the prevention of crime, as well as in the promotion of people s education in the observance of laws. The scientific program includes six keynote lectures, among them that of Gladys Bejerano, General Comptroller of the Republic of Cuba, on the topic The Control System and the State s Supervision. Another speaker will be Antonio Mazzitelli, regional representative for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Office against Drugs and Corruption.

6 Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Spain, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau are among nations to be represented at the event. Also participating in the meeting will be experts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Legacy of Great Flamenco Dancer Antonio Gades Enjoyed in Cuba HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 8 (acn) The 14th edition of Havana s Theater Festival wound up on Sunday with the legacy of late flamenco artist Antonio Gades, in creative and faithful hands. The Antonio Gades Company, now on a tour of the island, performed at the Garcia Lorca Hall of the capital s Grand Theater. The group was created seven years after the death of its Maestro and now visits Cuba for the first time, when the 75th anniversary of Gades s birth is celebrated. Opening the program was Bodas de sangre, inspired in a homonymous work by Federico Garcia Lorca, which was followed by Suite Flamenca. Many members of the audience tried to follow rhythms with their hands and feet, in the hope of joining what was happening on stage, in a collective celebration for Gades -an innovator of Spanish dances-, his art and his people. Undoubtedly, Maria Stella Arauzo, in artistic direction, and the professionals that worked together very closely with Gades for many years, managed to pass on his spirit to the youngest members of the group. Shining among the group s treasures were flamenco singers Gabriel Mateo Cortes Cortes, Francisco Jonathan Fernandez Cortes, Enrique Pantoja Monje and Alfredo Tejada Zurita, and their skillful guitarists Andres Carmona Silva and Juan Antonio Zafra Moreno. Participating in the Theater Festival were some 80 companies from 17 nations, a real fiesta of encounters between professors and disciples, different aesthetic concepts - Cuban and

7 foreign-, new and acclaimed artists, and the public. The event s presentations were enjoyed by over 60,000 theater lovers in 25 locations in this capital, aside from those held at parks, schools and hospitals. The Antonio Gades Company also delighted the public gathered at Havana s Grand Theater on Monday night, while on Wednesday its followers will be able to enjoy its performances at the Heredia Theater, in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba. The FAO Highlights Cuba s Advances in Agricultural Production SANTA CLARA, Cuba, Nov 8 (acn) Cuba s advances in the increase of food production were highlighted by Marcio Porto, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). While addressing on Monday participants in the 1st International Symposium on Roots, Rhizomes, Tubers, Plantain, Banana and Papaya, held in this city, the organization s representative to Havana pointed out that the high educational level of Cuban farmers places them in a privileged position as compared to others in other countries, since they can access technological novelties by way of videos, manuals and other materials issued by Cuban scientific institutions. While referring to the National Institute for Tropical Root Vegetable Research (INIVIT), he considered that the continuous work of that center for more than three decades is a credit to the country for its work in favor of agricultural sciences. Sergio Rodriguez, director of the INIVIT and president of the event, told ACN that the institution s technicians and professionals work in the production of seeds that are more resistant to pests and diseases, with greater nutrition capacity, as part of actions aimed at contributing to provide food for the population. The event, which will run until November 10, brings together some 200 specialists from 11 countries to hold exchanges in scientific research, promote technology and contribute to the implementation of science in crops. On this occasion, Cuba presents its achievements in sustainable agriculture and plant biotechnology and in the improvement of phytosanitary resources. La Colmenita Returns Home after Successful Tour HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 8 (acn) Cuba s La Colmenita Children s Theater Company returned home on Monday, after a successful tour of the United States with the piece Abracadabra.

8 During a press conference in this capital, its director, Carlos Alberto Cremata, said that the most prized aspect of the visit was the constant telephone contacts with Cuban heroes Rene Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino and Fernando Gonzalez, sentenced in the US for fighting terrorism. Cremata underlined the incentive speaking with these patriots represented, the examples of which encouraged them to give even more of themselves in their presentations, with a p iece that centers on spreading the case of The Five. He explained that these patriots spoke over the telephone on many occasions with almost all the members of the company. Another moving moment he cited was the invitation to attend the plenary of the United Nations, where the resolution on the US blockade of Cuba was voted, and also being able to touch the platform from which Commander in Chief Fidel Castro or Heroic Guerilla Ernesto Che Guevara delivered historic speeches. He stated that everywhere they performed they were warmly received by the public and that they had the opportunity to perform at the UN headquarters and visit the offices of the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization, of which La Colmenita is a Good Will Ambassador. He also explained that, while part of the troupe was on this tour, another part performed in places that are not often visited by artists in the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Matanzas and Cienfuegos, an unprecedented initiative of the group. Commendable work by the Batallon de la Frontera through history By Pablo Soroa Fernandez February, 1903, was a fateful month for the rising and truncated Cuban republic. Washington s representatives and the servile president of the Caribbean island, Tomas Estrada Palma, signed an agreement for the Lease of Lands for Coaling and Naval Stations, which was stated in the ignominious Platt Amendment and represented an obstacle for territorial sovereignty. In accordance with the Platt Amendment, imposed on the Constitution of March, 1901, the Cuban government should sell or lease to the United States the lands necessary for coaling or naval stations, at certain specified points, to be agreed upon with the President of the United States." Those points (or pieces of land or water in the Caribbean island) were located in Guantanamo and Bahia Honda, though the latter was never occupied. The signing of this first agreement was followed by another one on July 2, 1903, which regulated the leasing of coaling and naval stations. On December 27, 1912, both governments agreed on canceling the part of the

9 two agreements that referred to the land or water in Bahia Honda, in exchange for expanding the area occupied by the Guntanamo s Naval Station. The Bahia Honda station was definitely excluded in 1934 with another treaty. With the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, subversive plans to overthrow the radical and progressive popular government were orchestrated from the U.S. air and sea enclave in Guantanamo. Therefore, on November 9, 1961, the Batallon de la Frontera (Border Battalion) emerged at the Vilorio farm, barely 12 kilometers from the city of Guantanamo. This battalion had been born as a special company by the end of This body of men and women undertook ever since the task to guard with integrity and glory the only artificial border of Cuba. On that same date but three years later, the Batallon de la Frontera became a Brigade and as such it has been presented with several distinctions for the exemplary courage and unselfishness of its members at the beginning made up of members of the Rebel Army, as said by the Cuban president Raul Castro Ruz. Hundreds of raw recruits carry out their General Military Service safeguarding the territory that borders with this hideout that has become a torture center, which Commander in Chief Fidel Castro referred to as a stake in the heart of the Cuba. Different generations of the Batallon de la Frontera members have had to endure more that 13,000 provocations and violations coming from this U.S. naval base, only between 1962 and However, they always remained calm and never answered back those aggressions, following the ideals of martyrs Ramon Lopez Peña and Luis Ramirez Lopez, who were killed by U.S. bullets on July 19, 1964, and May 21, 1966, respectively, while they were on duty. Although the key mission of these disciplined and heroic combatants is to protect the bordering line, some of them were killed away from this place: Jose Perez Cutiño and Maximiliano Dominguez, on May, 1969, in the war against bandits in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur; Luis de la Rosa Callamo, in Baracoa, a year after; Ruben Lopez Sabariego, on October, 1961; as well as fishermen Rodolfo Rosell, in June While on December 7, 1989, the Cuban people paid homage to their brothers, who died in Africa and in other regions of the world, a group of marines destroyed sentry boxes 17 and 18 the first one very close to the place were Ramirez was killed. As in previous occasions, the brave soldiers of the Batallon de la Frontera did not answered back because their mission was to defend their homeland with discipline and courage without answering back the

10 provocations of the imperialist enemy. The humanitarian spirit of these guardians has led them to put their own lives at risk in order to protect illegal immigrants trapped in mine fields, mostly during the 1990 s. On April 16, 1994, at the Mariana Grajales Revolution Square, in Guantanamo, Raul praised the thousands of combatants and officials of the Brigade, who put their lives at risk every day in the nearby area of the U.S. naval base, which violates International Law. The Cuban people will never quit its sovereignty over this piece of land seized from the national territory. Terrorism: Made in the USA By Néstor Núñez Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, in one of his recent interventions before the UN General Assembly during debates of the US blockade against the island, said that only in a country like the US can terrorists freely walk the streets while terrorist fighters are incarcerated in that country. And only in the US, said the Cuban Foreign Minister will an extreme right wing Congressional Representative be capable of calling the La Colmenita children s theater group terror agents. But this should not surprise anyone. There has been many vengeance actions like for example, the Cuban Five that were fighting against terrorist groups based in Miami and institutionalizing assassination attempts and armed aggression against nations that is not of the liking of the US. This has been the history of the United States, because since its own genesis, violence and the application of terror were a form of art of its expansionist and imposition tools aimed at wanting to dominate the world. Death and the imposed ostracism were some ways the US eliminated the American Indians to make way for railroads, agriculture, cattle and mining. It was that inspiration that turned the US into an expert in stealing the so called working force when they ripped the Africans from their homeland and implanted the most brutal discrimination against the African population in favor of its economic development. They used terror and war to take away half of Mexico s territory and imposed itself against a weak Spain to extend their imperial influence throughout the Caribbean and the rest of Latin America.

11 As a recent colleague said Washington has trained and used terrorists and its crimes to change foreign governments, attack nations that are fighting for their independence, like the Cuban people and recently using mercenary companies like Blackwater or Dyn Corp in support of war of aggressions in Afghanistan and Iraq. In Iraq for example, there are no less than 60 mercenary companies working with some US employees or recruits abroad. In the US alone, racist and fascist entities are working freely with a list of crimes on their backs like the bombing of the government building in Oklahoma in 1995 which inflicted the death of some 170 people. The US destabilizing institutions also have a long list of assassination plots against political leaders, revolutionary combatants and heads of state or governments including against their own national figures that were considered not of the interests of their imperial power. According to specialized reports, of the at least 40 assassination attempts against the lives of world public figures during the last century, more than a fourth correspond to criminal acts executed in or by the US. Among them were the violent deaths of US President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert; civil rights leader Martin Luther King and radical fighter Malcolm X. We are dealing with a history of terror, death and violence from US imperialism which seems to continue on the path of wanting to make more history. Thanks to the Cuban Revolution I did not lose my leg, says Cancerstricken Boy By Iris Armas Padrino In the morning of October 25, when little Adrian Izquierdo Cabrera heard the Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez mention his name and the name of other hospitalized children at the UN General Assembly, he, his mother and the medical staff could not hold back their emotion. Excitement took over the pediatric ward of the National Institute on Oncology and Radiology (INOR), in Havana, in the midst of the pain and anguish experienced every day in, mainly because of the U.S. blockade against Cuba that prevents the nation from purchasing the necessary drugs to fight cancer. As a matter of fact, the list of children mentioned by the Cuban foreign minister to condemn this criminal and inhumane policy could have been much longer.

12 Adrian went through surgery on October 7 to remove a Ewing sarcoma on his right femur, which some specialists affirm is an aggressive tumor that in most cases affects lower limbs and might cause amputation. At the hospital he was diagnosed with this disease and prior to the surgery he went through chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Adrian and his family are greatly thankful to the multidisciplinary medical staff of the oncology ward of this hospital and sent a message of gratitude to the leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro, and the Cuban president Raul Castro. Thanks to them and the Revolution, me and other children hospitalized did not lose our legs, said Adrian. If the U.S. blockade didn t exist, my plaster wouldn t cover my belly and my whole leg, and I wouldn t have to keep the plaster for almost a year, explains this 13 year-old boy, the offspring of a humble family (a housewife and a farmer) that lives in the municipality of Guines, in the western province of Mayabeque. As said by Rodriguez at the UN, U.S. laws prevent Cuba from purchasing extensible prosthesis sold by American companies; therefore, Cuban children and youngsters that suffer from malignant bone tumors can not use these orthopedic surgical appliances that substitute bone parts. I was very excited when he mentioned my name at the UN, when I heard him I told my mum he was speaking of a boy with the same name, but then when I realized what he was talking about I knew it was me, Adrian recalls with a smile on his face. In the midst of pain and uncomfortableness due to the treatment, he extolled the care and attention received from the medical staff that assists him 24 hours a day, specially from Dr. Alina, who carried out my surgery and cares about me until I get well; and Drs Erasmo and Juand Carlos; and Reno, the head of the ward, among many others. Adrian s mother, Ana Maria Cabrera Rodriguez, also expressed her gratitude for the love and attention her son receives every day from the staff of this hospital where there are excellent pediatricians, oncologists, and nurses, she noted. His mother pointed out that, according to the specialists, Adrian s surgery could cost up to 250,000 U.S dollars and thanks to the Cuban Revolution my boy was able to overcome his situation. She expressed her indignation at the genocide policy imposed by the U.S. for more than 50 years in order to suffocate millions of Cubans by keeping them from enjoying their right to health care, humanity s most treasured asset.

13 As she recalls the day the Cuban foreign minister tackled the consequences of the U.S. blockade in the field of health and mentioned her son s name she says: we all cried, we had no idea that he would refer to a group of Cuban children, including Adrian, in that important meeting. The doctors, nurses and all the staff also got excited. Colombian doctor John Olaya, oncologist and pediatrician at this hospital, affirmed that Adrian s surgery lasted about ten hours. They had to take out his fibula from his left leg and replace part of the right femur affected, and then he was prescribed a treatment of very expensive antibiotics. Olaya, who graduated in the first promotion of doctors from the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), explained that this procedure is more expensive because patients must remain in plaster which extends their stay in the hospital. He noted that lacking extensible prosthesis slows down recovery and that s why patients need to stay longer in hospital and they can be victims of infections, and added that the appearance of childhood cancer has increased. The oncologist said that about 300 new cases of malignant diseases (leukemia, lymphoma, central nervous system cancer, retinoblastoma, sarcoma, and neuroblastoma and other carcinomas) are detected annually in children. Olaya stated that tumors in the central nervous system occupy the second or third place among malignant diseases in childhood, and the first option is surgical treatment complemented with chemotherapy with Temozolomide, which helps controlling the disease; and yet the U.S. blockade hinders the way for Cuba to purchase it and has hampered the treatment of some children. Cuba has to purchase this drug through third nations and in many occasions the country cannot access to it and has to rely on donations that would suffice to complete the children s treatments, he explained. That s the reason why, Cuban scientists have designed treatment protocols that have been effective so far such as the HR3 monoclonal antibody developed by the Center on Molecular Immunology. Oncologist and pediatrician Dr Debora Garcia, who has worked at the pediatric ward of INOR for 16 years, affirmed with pride that she will continue working there because those children deserve all the love in the world. INOR, national reference as to malignant diseases, relies on an abnegated and humanitarian staff that works for children s health. Cuban urban agriculture: an emerging alternative

14 By Lino Luben Perez The aftermath of global warming favors climate change, brings about serious consequences for agricultural productivity and increases meteorological phenomena that cause natural or technological disasters that also affect Cuba. It is estimated that every year more than 300 million people are affected by catastrophes, not only social but also natural: earthquakes, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, draughts, forest fires, tropical storms and epidemics. Most of these phenomena are impossible to prevent, though their negative impact can be reduced or avoided with the implementation of practical measures as long as the communities at risk are prepared with effective mechanisms of response locally, regionally, and nationally. In this sense, urban agriculture becomes an emerging alternative that significantly influences food production on the community level in many nations of the world. A considerable amount of specialists believes that it is an alternative as to food security and a means of survival for some surviving social sectors despite their extreme poverty. Food production in the cities and on nearby areas has a faster capacity of recover based on principles of local sustainability; therefore, it is vital to rely on a manual for producers and the population in general. This manual would comprise a number of recommendations for those people linked somehow to this sector so that they can orient their resources towards places that would favor high yielding before and after being hit by hurricanes or other hostile meteorological phenomena. In consequence with this reality, a group of Cuban experts elaborated a Manual for urban and suburban agriculture producers in view of threats of adverse climate phenomena. This endeavor by these specialists, from the Institute on Tropical Agriculture Researches and the National Group of Urban Agriculture, was carried out in cooperation with the non governmental organization Oxfam International. Oxfam, in Cuba for 17 years, is an international confederation of 15 organizations working together in 98 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. The specialists that drafted the manual point out that this initiative does not aim at substituting the existing legal and official indications in this regard, but it is a complement to enhance knowledge for those

15 involved in urban agriculture programs. They insist that in order to reduce risks it is necessary to train producers on the right selection of areas, the use of construction designs, strategic reserves of seeds and resources, sowing plans, and contracts with the National Insurance Enterprise.