The initiative in La Gloria, Sierra de Cubitas, Camagüey, Cuba, is supported by the GEF Small Grants Programme and the National Environment Fund. Located near the vulnerable northern coast, it is among Cuba’s 15 most climate-affected areas. The region faces challenges like soil degradation, aridity, water scarcity, saline intrusion, and coastal forest loss. The project promotes sustainable land management (SLM), integrating natural, human, and financial resources. Cuban agriculture lags in SLM due to non-conservationist practices, geographic isolation, and climate stress. Scaling up SLM is crucial to build resilience and reduce environmental degradation.
Background
The initiative addresses climate change challenges in agricultural sustainability in the La Gloria community through social innovation, focusing on SLM. It identifies and implements good practices across 10 productive sites, emphasising climate change adaptation. The capacity building of 30 producers is integral, enhancing the cultural incorporation of sustainable practices. Improved planning processes encompass sustainability approaches, lending to more rapid assessments and better quality plans.
Implemented practices include soil conservation, invasive species management, biofertiliser application, tree planting, efficient irrigation, and crop variety adaptation. The ecosystem approach extends to rehabilitating 25 hectares of native forests.
The main results include 200 hectares under sustainable management, recognition of Land Initiated in Sustainable Land Management on two farms, two Provincial Innovation Awards, a 6 per cent yearly income increase for farming families, and enhanced food security and climate adaptation. Capacity building spurs further innovative projects, fostering community resilience and continuity of achievements.
Actions taken
This innovative initiative has been pivotal in advancing Cuba’s agenda of reducing gender disparities, particularly by promoting gender equality and empowering rural women within the La Gloria community. Led by women, the project significantly enhanced outreach to female producers, encouraging their active engagement in various activities. Across the 10 farms involved, women‘s empowerment increased as they actively participated in tasks related to land resource diagnosis and implementation of SLM practices tailored to climate change adaptation.
One notable success story is that of Rosa Espinosa Rojas, whose remarkable productivity in a covered cultivation house provided by the project highlights the rapid adoption of nutrition technology for covered crops. With support from her family and friends, Rosa achieved high crop yields within a short time, positively impacting both food security within the community and her family‘s income. Another standout example is Yoleidi Vázquez‘s leadership in cultivating agroecological potatoes in her community, a challenging endeavour requiring significant effort to assimilate the technology quickly.
Innovative capacities already present in farms, like El Alacrán, facilitated access to specialised scientific and technological services, resulting in yields surpassing expectations and delivering profits to families while supplying essential food to the community. Elida Diaz Cardenas, from the La Caridad La Deseada Farm, has embraced agricultural innovation, including cover cropping, biofertiliser usage, and crop diversification, contributing to the farm‘s recognition for its SLM practices.
Female and male producers actively participated in training and decision making processes, working collaboratively within the initiative. Their newfound knowledge enabled them to showcase their achievements in various forums, fostering knowledge exchange nationally and internationally.
The initiative‘s emphasis on gender equality, women‘s empowerment, SLM, and climate change adaptation aligns with governmental goals to expand areas under SLM and tackle climate change. The diverse and motivated group, comprised of individuals of varying ages and expertise, has cohesively worked towards common objectives, illustrating the power of collective action in addressing pressing challenges at the community level. Moreover, the involvement of women researchers and specialists has enriched research, teaching, and extension activities, fostering a productive exchange of knowledge and cultural enrichment within the community.
Outcomes
Here are some examples of the outcomes from the processes:
Rosa Espinosa Rojas, coordinator of the project, a generous and supportive woman who enjoys prestige and respect for her work in favor of sustainable food production, has participated in the project since its inception, presented her experiences in national events, and participated in exchanges with farmers in the country. Mayan Belize and Fiji and Solomon Islands, the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, awarded this activity as the best example of South-South cooperation in the region. Open to learning and able to establish alliances with specialists and other producers, she stands out today for the assimilation of nutrition technology in her covered cultivation house donated by the project, with excellent productive results that favor the food security of her community. In early 2024, she received the Provincial Recognition for Community Innovation, awarded by the Territorial Delegation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.
Josefa Primelles Fariñas is a project leader, researcher, and professor at the Environmental Research Center of Camaguey and the University of Camaguey. She succeeded in bringing together producers, researchers, and specialists around the project objectives by creating a participatory environment and dialogue of knowledge. She also helped improve the design and implementation process of SLM plans oriented to climate change adaptation (Provincial Innovation Award 2019) and managed co-funding for the project. She publicized the results through publications, exchanges with producers in the country, presentations, and teaching of the Master‘s Degree in Sustainable Land Management (University of Camaguey).
Yoleidy Vázquez González, an exceptional producer, is recognized for her innovative capacity and her willingness to face complex technical tasks at the El Alacrán farm, where she shares the productive work with her husband and children. Joyful and open to learning, with the ability to establish alliances with specialists and other producers, she has been an exceptional participant in the project activities.
Roselia Iglesias Moronta is outstanding for the charisma she brings to her agricultural extension work. She has vast experience and relationships with the scientific-technological community associated with this sector in the province. She has favored the relational capital of the initiative in which she has participated since its inception and has offered valuable support to implement strong SLM practices in productive sites.
Elida Diaz Cardenas, a long-time La Caridad-La Deseada farm producer who has participated in the project since its inception, inspires young producers with her enthusiasm for her work and her love for her land. Her poetry and rhymes also enhance the atmosphere of participatory work.
Challenges
The initiative began with identifying the distinct needs of the women and men in the La Gloria Community – food security, sustainability of agricultural practice, and access to water, all in the context of climate change. The needs identified by the community were linked to gender gaps because, in general, the interests and needs of men and women are not differentiated.
Gender gaps are expressed in the invisibility of women in the sector, due to their association with the role of housewife, while their participation in productive activities is not recognized. Some women producers identified this gap, favoring the formalization of their role as usufructuaries of the land, together with their husbands or other family members.
Lessons Learned
1. Community-Led Innovation
Empowering local producers—especially women—through participatory SLM practices fosters innovation, resilience, and ownership, making the initiative more sustainable and scalable across rural contexts.
2. Gender Integration Strengthens Impact
Integrating gender equality into SLM boosts women’s visibility, agency, and leadership in agriculture, contributing to more inclusive and effective climate adaptation strategies.
3. Training Multiplies Results
Capacity building for both women and men enhances adoption of agroecological practices, improves yields, and strengthens food security, demonstrating replicability across similar farming communities.
4. Science–Farmer Partnerships Work
Linking producers with researchers and institutions accelerates knowledge transfer, strengthens innovation, and builds credibility—key for scaling SLM strategies in diverse regions.
5. Recognizing Informal Labor Is Crucial
Formally recognizing women’s roles in agriculture encourages equitable land use rights and decision-making power, promoting long-term social and environmental sustainability.
