Cuba Hopes To Plant 14,000 Hectares In The Vuelta Abajo Next Season

Tabacuba aims to finally achieve this goal that was missed last year, thanks in particular to solar-powered irrigation.

Tabacuba hopes to plant 14,000 hectares of tobacco next season in Vuelta Abajo, the country’s main tobacco-growing region, according to a report from the official Cuban news agency ACN.

This target for cultivated area is the same as the one set before the 2025-2026 season, but ultimately, just over 10,000 hectares of tobacco were planted – still an increase compared to the previous season.

To achieve this, the Tabacuba group of companies hopes to have 50% of its irrigated land powered by renewable energy sources in the province of Pinar del Río, the report adds.

The province already has 449 solar systems installed, while another 600 are being installed, according to Osvaldo Santana Vera, Tabacuba’s agricultural director. Some 1,500 more pumps of this type are expected to arrive in the country between August and September, before planting begins in October, he added.

Following Hurricane Ian in September 2022, which destroyed almost all of the drying facilities, Tabacuba’s strategy has been to increase planted areas by about 2,000 hectares per year, resulting in an increase in the harvest of approximately 1,000 tons per season, he explained.

Pinar del Río supplies more than 70% of the tobacco produced in Cuba, including all filler and binder tobaccos.

Read also our feature “The Habanos Holds The Line” in L’Amateur English Edition #27

Photo : ©Luc Monnet