-DATE- 19651125 -YEAR- 1965 -DOCUMENT_TYPE- SPEECH -AUTHOR- F. CASTRO -HEADLINE- SANTIAGO COFFEE GROWERS -PLACE- SANTIAGO, CUBA -SOURCE- HAVANA IN SPANISH -REPORT_NBR- FBIS -REPORT_DATE- 19651125 -TEXT- CASTRO SPEAKS TO SANTIAGO COFFEE GROWERS Havana in Spanish to the Americas 0300 GMT 25 November 1965--E (Recorded speech by Prime Minister Fidel Castro closing the plenum of coffee growers in Santiago, Cuba) (Text) Comrades, representatives of the peasant associations of the coffee growing zones of Oriente, there was a need to have a talk with you and I am going to explain why in a manner that you will understand perfectly well. During the past two years, the revolution has been making a special effort in agriculture. As you all know, an effort of great magnitude is being made with sugarcane in such a way that already last year we produced 6 million tons and we have a goal proposed of 10 million tons for 1970. In spite of the entirely adverse conditions this year in the three provinces which produce the largest amount of the country's sugar, our sugar production will be high nevertheless and nobody doubts that the goals established for 1970 will be met. Likewise, a gigantic effort is being made with cattle raising. All of you know that thousands of pastures and new dairies are being built throughout the country. A special effort is being made with fruit trees and root vegetables. An enterprise has just been organized for the purpose of giving impetus to tobacco production, in quantity as well as quality in view of the enormous increase in the domestic and foreign markets. A special effort is being made in practically all fields of agriculture. A plan of great proportions on the planting of vegetables during this season has been drafted. However, we have done nothing yet with coffee and we understand that the turn has come for this important item of our agriculture and our economy (applause). All of you are coffee growers, or children or relatives of coffee growers, who have been coffee growers for tens of years. You became coffee growers under the most difficult conditions under which any agricultural worker ever worked in our country. These ranged from the task of emigrating to the forests of the mountains, impelled by powerful reasons of economic order, to reach rough places where the work is much more difficult, where communications do not exist, without a centavo in your pockets, without anybody's help, without anybody's guarantee, without any title which would protect you in the future, on many occasions not even for yourself, but for a landowner or some proprietor, or some creditor. In addition they had to battle the vicissitudes of war and the vicissitudes, sometimes more cruel of nature--two years of war and in addition a hurricane and in some zones two hurricanes consecutively. And so it was that when our coffee production reached more than 1 million quintals without technology of any kind, without fertilizer of any kind, and it reached a production of approximately 1,250,000 quintals, there came Hurricane Flora with its terrible total of material losses and above all the most painful loss of human lives. Later, Hurricane Cleo passed through the area of Sierra Maestra and still later, as if all that was not enough, there came the drought which lasted approximately seven months in some regions of the country. All this at a time when demand for coffee consumption was higher than ever; this, at a time when the people had the most money to spend on coffee. In such fashion these natural disasters coincided with the greatest demand, with the greatest needs of coffee consumption, until this present year we reach the most critical point with a production, which, due to these causes, will not surpass by much the total of 600,000 quintals. Coffee is a product greatly prized by the people. Coffee is a product which weighs heavily in the economy of the country. In addition, coffee is the product from which 27,000 peasant families live in the mountains of Oriente, and in addition coffee (transmitter goes off the air for about 15 seconds--ed.) We must make the effort in this item of our regional agriculture. We have been analyzing all factors of economic, social, and technical types, the problems posed by a labor force, the tremendous problem posed by the gathering of the coffee crop. You know how during the past years thousands and thousands of young students have been used in the mountains. However, at times, as has happened this year, when the harvest is delayed due to rains, the withdrawal of the students coincides with the beginning of the school year and we are faced with the need of finding other means and other procedures to resolve the problem of a labor force for the gathering of the coffee harvest. In addition, this situation of coffee weighs strongly on the economy and the living standard of the 27,000 peasant families who live from and depend primarily on coffee. Many things have come to the mountains. An extraordinary help of a social nature has come to the mountains. Scores of hospitals and dispensaries have been opened in the most remote places. Medical assistance is for the peasants one of the most fully satisfied needs of the revolution and what in past years was a nightmare for any family is today tranquillity. Death rates, the percentage of infant and adult deaths, have been reduced considerably. Education has also come to the mountains to a very high degree, to such a degree that approximately 40,000 girls have gone through special schools organized for them. Thousands have continued higher studies. There is not one corner without a school or at least a teacher giving classes in a hut. An infinity of youths from the mountains have been studying in various educational centers under scholarships. In the mountains, since the hurricane, shoes for school children have been distributed free and hundreds of thousands of pairs of shoes have been distributed during the past few years. They will continue to be distributed until the day when we can make this a matter of general practice for all of the peasant children first, and all of the city children of the country also (applause). As a result of this effort, there has been the extraordinary case that the highest school attendance in the entire country has been in no other place than in the mountains of Oriente with a 98-percent attendance at schools (applause). This means a true educational revolution which speaks very highly of the organization achieved by our educational organizations and above all of the consciousness reached by the vanguard of teachers who give their services in the mountains. (applause). Bank credit has come to the mountains. Something else has come. As a result of the hurricanes there was a forgiveness of debts in the amount equal to damages suffered. Roads have come to the mountains and particularly the highways are getting here. The Mayari Arriba highway was finished. The Baracoa highway, except for a few kilometers, is completed. The highway which will join Niquero with Pilon and Santiago with Pilon are advancing at an accelerated rate. It will have a length of 220 kilometers. Its roadbed is already approaching the town of (?Espirito) where in years past one could only go by schooners which took many hours and sometimes days to get there. The day is not far off when it will only take four hours to travel by highway (words indistinct) the coast, from Santiago de Cuba to Pilon. (applause) The necessary highways and roads will continue to be built, (applause) just as school rooms, mountain boarding schools, educational centers, and other such institutions will continue to be built. However, despite all this, the economic situation of the peasants is not as satisfactory as we would like it to be and as it could be, for several reasons such as the natural erosion of the soil in the mountains where they have (word indistinct) and have planted their coffee, because of erosion, and floods, because of all these reasons of natural wear and tear. It is well known that it was only necessity which lead to the planting of coffee trees in the mountains, thereby destroying so much wealth in lumber that it is unlikely that all the coffee possible to produce there could compensate for it. Naturally, before there was a revolution, coffee was planted in the lowlands where labor productivity can be incomparably higher and where man's efforts can be accompanied by the machine which is somewhat difficult, if not practically impossible in mountains with inclines ranging from 20 to 90 degrees. Nevertheless, the coffee is there; the families are there, and until better conditions exist in the lowlands, until the technical problems of the plantations in the lowlands can be solved and sufficient (word indistinct) can be planted in the lowlands to solve this problem, we must give all the necessary attention to coffee production in the mountains for many years. As long as there are peasants there, and as long as this coffee is needed and there are peasants who want to cultivate it, we must see to it that the efforts made by those men every year produce the maximum for themselves and for the country. (applause) This is the problem at hand and that is why we have called this meeting. What factors do we consider essential? In the first place, a technical factor is considered to be essential. The other essential factor is economic. It is necessary in the first place to set ourselves the goal of doubling and tripling our present coffee production through the application of the proper technical means and measures, a production whose yields are of 60,000 quintals per caballeria--which means 6,000 quintals per (?carro)--or 80,000 or 90,000 quintals per caballeria. In some places 90 quintals have been maintained. This yield is too small. (as heard) Of course, not all coffee plantations enjoy the same conditions. Not all coffee plantations are sown at the same height or on the same levels or in the same soil. The soil in which they are planted is not equally worn. However, we must set ourselves the goal of attaining no less than 200 quintals per caballeria (applause), that is, no less than 20 quintals per (?carro). In some cases it may be difficult, while in others it will be easy to attain these goals. However, all of you will understand that if they worked years in order to sow five-six-or 10 (?carros), the value of the effort and sweat spend over a period of many years is not equal if the result of this effort is 50 quintals every year instead of 100, or 100 instead of 200. One of the virtues of technology is to double the value of each hour which each one of you has spent on the land where you spent part of your lives. (applause) Technology was never applied. Why? With what? Who was going to buy the coffee? And how was it to be paid for? Who was going to teach technology? There was a surplus of coffee. There was no money to buy the coffee. More than 20,000 families were growing coffee without any assistance from technology. If we consider that, despite this, they succeeded in planting enough coffee to produce more than 1 million sacks in these rugged and craggy mountains, we must admit that their efforts were admirable, impressive, and worthy of better results. Therefore, we must initiate the era of technology in coffee growing and not technology for one, two, 10, or 100 caballerlas, but for all caballerias. If we are to be guided by strictly technical principles, 100 percent technical, forgetting other social and economic factors, we could come to the conclusion that of the 10,000 or 11,000 caballerias, only some 4,000, 5,000, or 10,000 are worth cultivating, renovating, and fertilizing because they have the least incline, are situated on the least worn soil, have the greatest vigor, and are therefore where labor would give the greatest yield. It is true that on the most worn land and on the most mistreated plantations-- those having the worst soil conditions--labor will not yield as much and fertilizers will not yield as much. However, since we need coffee and since, moreover, thousands upon thousands of families earn their living with this coffee--this coffee which is not on the 3,000 or 4,000 caballerias, but on 10,000 to 11,000--we must take this problem into consideration. What are we to tell the peasant living here? It is necessary that, while fertilizers and technology will not give us such good results here as elsewhere, it will still give us some results and therefore, we must all work. (applause) Talking with some of our technicians who have made such a magnificent effort studying the problems of our coffee and who, with such enthusiasm, have participated in this task has brought us here, I said to them: "Find the oldest coffee plant for me even if you like one of those coffee plants that the French had in the last century. I promise that I will make it produce coffee (applause)." Now, necessity forces us to act in this fashion. If we had enormous reserves of coffee we could say: "We must liquidate that plant. Let us plant new ones." But this is not the case. What we have is an enormous deficit of coffee, and we have to use even the last plant, except those that we are going to remove to plant another, in a work of renovation of the coffee plantations. I am sure that even the worst plant, when it is pruned and fertilized at the right time and in the right manner, is going to produce much more coffee than it is producing now, and this is the first thing that all must understand. Now each plant must yield something and yield more than it is presently producing. This year there are 30,000 tons of fertilizer available, (applause) but we are making efforts to have another 30,000 available (applause) so that in 1967 there will be 60,000 tons of fertilizer to be applied, and 100,000 to be applied in 1968. (applause) As you know, fertilizer must be imported. However, we have a quota on the world market of 15,000 tons, that is something more than 300,000 quintals of coffee. If we have a surplus, we can easily acquire the fertilizer we need to produce more coffee and (?if) we do not have the coffee, we will not have fertilizer. If we do not have fertilizer, we will not have coffee. And what is best, not to have fertilizer nor coffee with which to buy it, or to have coffee and fertilizer to grow more coffee? Clearly this apparently vicious cycle is resolved by beginning with one of the other, and since we cannot begin with coffee, we must begin with fertilizer. We must make an effort so that the economy of the country will furnish this initial fertilizer in these first two or three years, so that by 1969 we can export enough coffee to have 100,000 tons of fertilizer per year plus some foreign credits for some other needs of the economy. I believe, and this is because of the faith we have in technology, that we could even reach a production of 2 million quintals. I believe something else, that these 2 million quintals, if we propose to obtain them, could be produced in the same year in which we will reach a production of 10 million tons of sugar (applause). In other words, if we have goals in sugar production, we should also have goals in coffee production. Without sugar, we have no coffee, and without coffee, we need no sugar. (applause) I say that because I do not think that it is (?an impossibility) or a fantasy. It is easier to resolve the coffee problem than it is to solve the tobacco or sugarcane problems. With tobacco, we must choose the lands and develop sowing. With sugarcane, we must expand plantations, enlarge the sugar mills, and even construct some new ones. With coffee, we already have the land. We already have the plantations. It is simply a problem of increasing the production of those lands through (?fertilizing). The coffee has already been planted. The plants are already grown. All we have to do is work with this coffee. That is why I say that this goal is not so impossible to attain. It is not very difficult to achieve. Let us suppose that our consumption increased considerably--because previously, we consumed from 600,000 to 700,000 quintals; later, we consumed 900,000 quintals--and let us suppose that we consume someday 1.3 million or 1.4 million quintals, we would have a big reserve which would enable the country to face a severe drought or a little or big hurricane and we would not have to ration coffee. We would then be able to export one-half million quintals of coffee; 200,000 quintals would be enough for us to get the foreign exchange we need for 100,000 tons (presumably of fertilizer--ed.). The other 200,000 or 300,000 could be invested in other benefits for our economy, since we need not only fertilizer, but other things that are consumed in the fields. Our coffee has a special price in the market. Our coffee is particularly cherished because of its variety and its quality. Our coffee sells up to 800 pesos per ton. Other types of coffee sell for 600 pesos. So it is clear that from every angle, it is highly beneficial for our economy for us to give all necessary attention to this industry. One of the problems before us and which will remain with us as we increase production is, of course, manpower. Fortunately, coffee harvesting comes at a time when demand for manpower is less throughout the other farming chores. At this time, the sugarcane harvest is not yet upon us. At this time, spring is over, as well as the planting season, land fertilizing, sugarcane cleaning, and the rest of the cultivation. At this time, we have more available manpower. We believe that the work carried out by students should not be done during the months of September, October, and November, but during the months when demand for manpower in the fields is the heaviest, during the spring months. In the future, the coffee in this province should be harvested with provincial manpower. (applause) This, of course, requires an increase in the earnings sought from the coffee crop. That is, that the increases--but before talking about increases, I must say, I must explain how we figure out the peasants' earning increases. Is it only measured by the price? No. The price is part of the revenue. (We figure it--ed.) principally by the increase in production. A farmer will have, for instance, 100 instead of 50 quintals from the same area, the same plantation. In addition, those 100 quintals will be paid at a somewhat higher price. Of this increase, part goes to the harvester, the other part goes to the farmer. This increase will be of approximately--taking into account increases and other measures of which I will speak later--11.57 (presumably pesos--ed.) per quintal of low grade coffee, (?and) 13.62 per quintal of what we call washed coffee. (as heard) In this manner, prices will increase from 44.50 to 52.00 pesos per quintal. (applause) In addition, here is some date: (?On) the natural coffee--the washed coffee from 50 to 60 pesos (applause), the tax of 2.62 per quintal of coffee will be abolished. (applause) In those cases where the producer sells (?coffee beans) the purchase prices per 28-pound cans are as follows: (?coffee bean) for (?dryers) from 2.05 to 2.45. (applause) (?Coffee beans for grinding) from 2.20 to 2.75. (applause) This is equivalent to a general increase over the prices of which I spoke per quintal of natural coffee of 11.50, of which 6.57 will be designated for the farmer, and five pesos for the harvester. Why? (applause) Because without the harvester, we have no coffee. (applause) We accomplish nothing by having a lot of coffee, if we have no one to harvest it. That is why we thought of increasing the price of natural coffee cans from (?55) to 80 centavos. (applause) This is equivalent to five pesos per quintal of the 11.57 which (?is established) according to the estimated increases. Washed coffee will also be correspondingly increased in prices. The 65-centavo can will sell for 1 peso. We believe that these wages will be highly stimulating and that we will not lack manpower for the coffee harvest, (applause) and that many families (applause) in the fields, and even in the cities, will feel encouraged to participate in the coffee harvest. (applause) Inasmuch as this is a special manpower problem (that people must go--ed.) to far-away and hazardous areas, it is necessary for us to have also a special wage system for the coffee harvest. Think of what it will be when we must harvest 2 million quintals of coffee. Bear in mind what the coffee will mean to our economy and what a million quintals is worth--or 2 million quintals--and how important it is for us to cultivate and harvest this product. That is why we must establish a sort of preferential wage scale, bearing in mind these situations and how these persons arrived at these measures. (Few words indistinct) launch themselves with enthusiasm into the harvest--those farmers, who are a majority, who have no large coffee plantations--will be encouraged to harvest their own coffee, (applause) because they will know that each can of coffee they gather is 80 centavos more that will remain with the family, and that a can of coffee can be picked even by a child in a morning. This, of course, entails a commitment for all to make a common effort. Your duty is to make the utmost effort (words indistinct). Some students on scholarships tell us that while they were working harvesting coffee, the coffee plantation owner was sitting at home doing nothing. To harvest coffee is not as hard as to cut cane. (words indistinct) This work is generally done under the shade. It is a kind of work that can be done even by those persons without much effort. That is why coffee harvesting should be done with the efforts not only of the (word indistinct), but also of the farmers' family. It is to his advantage, also, because that farmer will get more revenue if he harvests more coffee with his family. To carry forth these plans, we need the efforts of our peasant organizations led by comrades of the party and the INRA technicians. We could not carry forth this plan without mobilizing the masses, without taking this problem to the heart of every association and unless we initiate immediately enthusiastic work in this direction. Of course, in this fashion we will put these measures into effect as soon as possible and it has been decided that as of this year, these prices and these wages will be paid for this coffee harvest (cheering, applause). These measures, then, will be applied retroactively to 1 August of this year. In accordance with this, the differences in price of all the coffee delivered will be paid as of that date (applause). These benefits will also reach the agricultural workers, and they will receive the difference for the tons of coffee picked (applause). It is necessary that we understand that the only way to carry out these plans is to begin work immediately, call each of the associations to a meeting, and establish the collective pledge of beginning immediately to carry out these plans. For these, other elements which we know are needed. The lists have already been prepared to obtain the estimated, or corresponding analyses have been made to learn the approximate number of machetes, files, horseshoes (shouting). Of course the problems--when we speak of horseshoes we also speak of nails because we cannot do anything with horseshoes without nails--include scissors for pruning and we also know of the other materials such as the pressing need for cement for the dryers. Someone was talking about some of the other things which are needed--mules, of course. However, mules unfortunately are not built in shops (laughter). We are very conscious of the fact that we have to care for those mules extant, to collect all that we can, and to raise as many more as possible in the mountains and in the plains, and to teach them to climb mountains, because if man can learn, why not mules? Meanwhile, we must also try to resolve another problem, using the highways that are being built and the roads that may be built because now it is no longer the problem of bringing out the coffee, but also the very important problem of bringing in the fertilizers and other materials--(long pause) well, all in all comrades, all those materials. Absolutely nothing is going to be forgotten because, if we did, we would not be able to carry out these plans. I have been thinking about something more, although we cannot yet make an absolute promise. We have been thinking about some of the problems of supplies--the time when we can begin to bring the bananas from the Cauto valley to the mountains, for example, the possibility of bringing some quantities of provisions such as rice, for example, so that we will depend as little as possible on the destruction of the forests. However, the peasant now depends on coffee for his primary income and that is a great step forward. The bad thing is that the situation of coffee forces him to abandon coffee and forces him to destroy forests to plant something else which will be a better business. Self-supply does not destroy so many forests. There will always have to be self-supply by the peasants themselves. However, we must also study what possibilities we have for improving supplies in the mountains. That, as you can see and understand, requires an effort on the part of everyone and a great effort which must also be a loyal effort by all. It must mean not only the pledge of working, and working well, with the support of the peasant associations, but also supporting yourselves in these same associations. Speculation with coffee must be fought vigorously, the blackmarket in coffee (shouting). Speculation does not benefit anybody. Speculation is bread today and hunger tomorrow. The true solution, the long-range solution, the final solution is technology, work, the materials necessary to apply that technology and to increase work productively. That is the solution for you and for the people. The peasants can earn a little more or quite a bit more now that there is a shortage of coffee, not tomorrow when there is a surplus, by selling a pound of coffee for five pesos. But assuredly, those who drink that coffee are the ones who still have a lot more money than the others. Assuredly, it is those who still have higher incomes who are going to drink that coffee. And we have to produce coffee not for just a few, but coffee for all. These increases, these increases which mean millions of pesos, will have to paid by the public treasury because, as long as coffee is rationed, these increases cannot be transferred to the consuming public. The public treasury will have to pay these increases and wait until there is enough coffee so that it can be sold unrationed, in which case the coffee will be sole freely at a higher price which will pay for these increases and the costs that the country has to pay in the mountains. This is not the cost of hospitals and schools, but the cost of roads, highways, equipment for transportation and, all in all, all the needs that must be fulfilled. The public, which because of necessity pays high prices--there are those who sell at five pesos, some can buy at three pesos, two pesos, and it would be very difficult in this black market to find it at two pesos (presumably per pound of coffee-ed.)--is going to pay for coffee a higher price than it pays today, not because of an economic necessity, but to establish a certain limit for the consumption of coffee. On the contrary, we would run the risk of drinking coffee needed for (word indistinct). And we need to drink coffee, plenty of coffee, yes, but we must have some coffee left over so that we can buy fertilizers which will allow us to have coffee. And we will be able to establish prices which will fluctuate between 1.20 and 1.50 when we are able to sell coffee without a ration. Meanwhile, until coffee can be sole unrationed, the economy of the nation will have to pay for all these costs. The public treasury will have to pay them and will have to wait for increases in production to permit the unrationed sale of coffee regulated by the price, not the ration book. This will mean the end of the black market. The same thing will happen there as happened with eggs which were sold at 25 to 30 centavos until the 4 million chickens began to lay. (passage indistinct) The same thing will happen with coffee. In this business of the black market, there are some officials who are so liberal that in the very vehicles in which they travel they sometimes take a pound or more of coffee (shouting). It is necessary that the pertinent organizations take the measures to bring those who commit this crime against the interests of the economy and the people before the revolutionary courts (cheering, applause). The peasant associations must be the standard bearers in this struggle against speculation and the black market. We are sure that they will answer this call. We also expect the maximum effort of the administrators of those units (several words indistinct), and they will also apply the principle and the watchword. (passage indistinct) We believe that this (?is the) correct policy and manner of placing coffee in the place where it belongs within the items of our agriculture. We know the needs of the nation. We know the needs for construction materials (several words indistinct) the thousands of houses leveled by the hurricane. They had not all been rebuilt yet when another hurricane in Pinar de Rio razed thousands of tobacco sheds and forced lumber, cement, roofing to be sent there. You all know how a cement factory is being built, and the work is very advanced. You know how another factory is beginning to be built in Las Villas Province, how we are working s that we can have those construction materials which, like coffee, used to be surplus but today are in short supply, because before there was coffee and cement enough for storage in warehouses but today every bit of it is for consumption. What exists is needed to satisfy the needs of the people and, if there is no more, it is because we have not produced more. But there will be more to the extent that we can produce more. The hurricane, as you know, forced us to limit the distribution of sugar. However, the effort of the sugar sector last year ended the rationing of sugar. (words indistinct) and in such fashion all of us desire that there be the largest possible quantity of goods for the people which will mean the largest amount of welfare. What exists is needed to satisfy the needs of the people and, if there is no more, it is because we have not produced more, but there will be more to the degree that we can produce more. The hurricane, as you know, forced us to limit the distribution of sugar. However the effort of the sugar sector ended the rationing of sugar with the approval of our peasant farmers and in that manner we desire that there be the largest possible quantity of goods for the people which will mean the largest amount of welfare. We are still far from having reached all our aspirations for the standards of living we wish to have in the future. But, without a doubt, no one can deny that in these years, despite the inefficiency of each project which is begun (two words indistinct) toward the profound change, despite the struggle against our enemies, and despite the blockade of the imperialists, we have progressed and progressed a great deal. Those, who recently traveled with us through the mountains, saw how much change has occurred in our mountains, how many improvement there are now, but above all they saw the spirit, enthusiasm, organization, in our parties, mountain militias, peasant associations, (applause) educational and medical services. They saw the strength, the discipline, the number of persons who have passed from the fifth to the sixth grade, how many children are studying in the schools and the many dreams and hopes of the people. There is not one single person who does not say what he wants to be or what he wants to study, and there is absolutely not one who is not convinced that what he wants he will be able to have--that this is his opportunity. (applause) This is his hour in our fatherland. How different he is from the one who is without hope, dreams, ambition, or security. Men used to fear death in former times because then it meant hunger, loneliness, and helplessness for his children. Today those men feel free from those fears, (shouts and applause) and they used to ask what the future held for their children. They used to ask how hard those large numbers of children the peasant women bear would work. Today they know the answer and they have lost those fears, knowing that they do not have to talk with anyone to be able to study, to work, to send their children to any school, the best schools, better schools than the ones the children of the rich used to attend. (applause) The revolution has today made those rights possible for every one without exception. Those rights formerly belonged only to the privileged few. The people know where the hospitals are, the attention they will receive. While we need our mountains and while the peasants want to live there, I know that there are many peasants whose children are studying to be technicians, and some of these children will go to work tomorrow in the fields. It is possible that some want to reunite with their children, and others want the rights which the workers enjoy, such as the right to a pension, and to retirement. The day will come when we will be able to offer the peasant to better alternative as soon as we have enough housing, or when we will be able to offer the peasant a better standard of living in the fields for that person who may say "I want to leave from here." Many will not want to do that. Many will prefer to live and die here where they have worked all their lives and we understand that, because in the mountains where one works and suffers, one learns to know how to love them that way. We too, who have lived in those mountains, have become deeply attached to the peasants, and we love those mountains. Today that we need them vitally, let us do the most we can for them. Let us work to the maximum so that we may receive maximum returns. Let us take care of waste their resources. Let us not waste their resources. Let us take care of the land, take care of its (word indistinct) and give it water and nourishment, the nourishment which fires have taken from it, and we will see how those mountains will respond to our work. They will respond to our efforts. There have been times when some peasants did not have confidence in applying technology, in using fertilizer. But we have passed through some areas, such as the peak of Monpie where three years ago on one of our trips up Turquino Peak, we recommended that they use fertilizer, apply technology. Now, today on that peak there is a production of coffee which is the pride of the peasants. As soon as the peasants see the results of technology, they immediately understand its importance and they want to apply it. Now, let us do this, but do it as a group. We must have confidence in the results that this will bring for your well-being and for the well-being of the nation. That is why this effort is so important. We asked Comrade Armando, Comrade (?Fello), the comrade leaders in agriculture in Oriente when we would go to work, when we would hold this meeting, because there was no time to lose, not a minute to lose to buy and acquire whatever was necessary and rapidly acquire those things which are needed to put us to work. We promise ourselves to go to work immediately to resolve all these necessities, and we expect you (shouts and applause) to immediately join your comrades when you return and discuss the use of technical and practical methods. We have to regroup all the technicians that we have and assign them according to regions so that they can teach, in a practical manner, the measures that the peasants should apply. Technical work must be carried out. We must apply and use to a maximum those cadres that we have. We must open immediately the Baracoa school again to increase the number of technicians. (applause) Through (word indistinct), we must explain to them how things are done, how the (?form) is carried out, how fertilizer is done. Here is a practical measure the comrade technicians essentially proposed today: 1) Three (word indistinct) as a minimum will go to the coffee plantations; 2) Prune and regulate the shade; 3) Prune and remove shoots from the trees on time; 4) Fertilize without poisoning the entire organic fertilizer at the coffee plantation like the (words indistinct) which is the reason for coffee being ruined, waste of other crops and refuse which can be harvested in the area; 6) Cover the coffee plantations by replanting the clearings. 7) Destroy the unproductive trees and replace them with quality plantings. Naturally this will require that the most careful attention be given to the nurseries; 8) Foster the (word indistinct) by fulfilling the technical guidance, by fulfilling the slogans--"Let there not be one coffee berry left unharvested. Let there not be a coffee tree unattended. Let there not be a single farm unattended. Forward with the technicalization of the coffee. We will raise the production with the technicalization of the coffee. Let us carry forward this program. Let us all take this as our own goal as a matter of honor, the goal of 2 million quintals of coffee for 1970. (applause and shouting) Fatherland or death! We will win! -END-