Many farmers producing onions in Cuba left without essential seeds For sowing in current cold season Due to theft of several quintals of that product In the Sancti Spiritus refrigerator, the official press reported.
According to local newspaper Escambre, Six men have been charged with the crime of robbery by force at a state facilityWho had allegedly stolen 5.75 quintals of onion seeds of Carib 71 variety and 18 kg of cabbage seeds on August 28.
According to the report, two former employees of Sancti Spiritus’ Refrigeration Base 800 business unit offered the thieves the information they needed to gain access to the facility and avoid the place’s patrons.
Due to this, the criminals crossed the perimeter fence and entered cold room number nine, where onion seeds and other quality vegetables were stored, which will be used in the sowing of 2023-2024.
The Ministry of the Interior (MININT) of Sancti Spiritus arrested and charged the alleged culprits, who are detained in the province’s criminal investigation unit.
in the process, The police also blamed two guards who were on duty at the refrigerator on the night of the incident. In his case, he was charged with the crime of “failure to comply with the duty to preserve state property”.
According to EscambreSix direct defendants admitted their involvement in the theft and even helped in the recovery of 5.34 quintals of onion seeds and 26 packets of cabbage seeds. But, since these products were hidden in the bushes of the field and without refrigeration, The state company estimated its losses at the value of 1,508,204 Cuban pesos.
Orestes Ramírez Salas, provincial director of the Sancti Spiritus Semilas Base Business Unit, said for the report. This theft had a negative impact on onion sowing in the current cold season, as the stolen seeds were meant for growers. From Banao, in the Sancti Spiritus province, as well as farmers from Pinar del Río, Mayabeque, Granma, Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila.
“This effect leads to stoppage of sowing in a large number of hectares in the country. “Seeds for onion planting could not be imported this year, as we all know the limitations, and Carib 71 of national production was being used,” the official explained.
Ramirez Salas said, “We really feel very affected, and I’m not just talking about the monetary value, but about the fact that growers were left without seeds and “In the end the population suffered the consequences.”
There are no public statistics on losses caused by theft in Cuban agriculture. However, officials agree that illegal slaughter of livestock is at its worst, while producers condemn a wave of crimes that threaten their crops.