Caracterización de fincas y agricultores asociados a la producción de bananos/plátanos en zonas seleccionadas de Cuba

The objective of this survey conducted in Cuba was to characterize farms and farmers associated with plantain and banana production in some of the most productive regions of the country to design a training program responding to their needs and interests, with emphasis on knowledge and application of sustainable management tactics.  The production was characterized in localities of 10 provinces of the country by surveying 52 actors. The percentage represented by each response was calculated from the total of individuals surveyed. The age composition was balanced, 70 % were between 41 and 60 years old, with a high level of education, being outstanding the incorporation of undergraduate students into production (45 %) and the association of the actors and their farms with agricultural forms at the non-state productive base. It was shown that it was necessary to outline the training of producers in phytosanitary issues because of their deficient knowledge about the crop major pests. The scarce notion of elements and functions of biodiversity the ecosystem provides, such as biological control agents, was also notable. The existence of a high use of chemical control was recorded, while the application of biocontrollers was less than 60 %. Among the fundamental causes of the low application of Integrated Pest Management were poor training, little information, and limited access to bioproducts. Interest in being trained through varied ways, such as printed materials, field days, informal talks and participatory workshops, was confirmed by the actors, and this should be considered in the training programs.