The Cuban Embargo: A 50 Year Old Tantrum

Some of you may be aware of the Cuban embargo that the United States placed on Cuba in the 1960's, effectively severing all ties with Cuba. The reason for this embargo was to attempt to provide such difficult conditions for the people of Cuba that they would have no choice but to overthrow the Castro regime and re-initiate ties with the United States.

Photo Credit: Kevin Lewis

This tactic has effectively failed. Castro is still in power. Cuba spends about $2 billion each year to import roughly 80% of its food. This is money that is going to other countries. Why not quit our 50 year old temper-tantrum and reestablish diplomatic ties with Cuba if only to improve our own economy. The U.S. is in the best position (literally we are 90 miles from the coast of Cuba) to export food and supplies to Cuba and we stand to gain the most. With our economic hardships right now, we would stand to gain much from trade with Cuba. The agricultural sector especially would stand the most to gain.

Agriculture is a major part of Cuban economy. They not only import food but they grow some food themselves. In fact, with Raul Castro in power now, the ability for farmers in Cuba to start their own operations has become much easier than in previous years. Raul understands the need for agricultural production within his own country and he has let producers start up small farms. If we can help grow Cuba's agricultural sector then we can effectively increase their production and trade with the U.S. and that would benefit both agricultural economies.

Many agricultural organizations are encouraging the normalization of relations with Cuba. The United Nations has pressed the U.S. to lift its blockade over Cuba for some years now and now that there is talk about actually going through with trade with Cuba it has become a topic of conversation. In fact, public opinion is in favor of lifting the Cuban embargo according to polls conducted in December of 2014.

The overall message is that the Cuban embargo is not an effective way to get the political change in Cuba that we want. It is costing us a valuable trade market and it is damaging to both economies while accomplishing nothing positive. So why should economies and people suffer due to this half a century old sanction. When you try something for 50 years without it working, you may want to think about alternatives. Normalizing trade, especially in the agriculture industry, could be one of those alternatives.

Should Water be a Commodity?

Many areas of the country and even some other countries are facing economic hardships due to drought and water shortages. One of the ways to preserve water is to make it a commodity. There are many facets to doing this though and depending on how expensive of a commodity it becomes, it could devastate agriculturists who need it. Richard Howitt of UC-Davis will explain some of the reasons why we should treat water as a commodity.

Feeding the world: Agricultural Biotechnology

With a growing population expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050 agriculturists and engineers need to look at ways to feed this growing population with a sustainable food supply. One might say to simply grow more crops but with a growing population comes a lessening of space to grow these crops. This is why biotech engineers are creating new ways to make crops produce more food efficiently while not always needing as much space or other resources that could come in short supply.

Water Conservation in Kansas

Many people have heard about the series of dry years that parts of the country and even the state of Kansas has had recently. This creates a demand for more water to sustain crops. So what can we do to make sure that Kansas is able to create a sustainable supply of crops while still preserving a dwindling supply of water? Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, Jackie McClaskey will give a short summary of what the Kansas government is doing to work toward solving this problem.