Cuban reforms likely to begin with efforts to help farmers

Miami: Without Fidel Castro as president, Cuba is more likely to launch reforms to boost food production, create oil industry jobs and put more pesos in citizens' pockets, analysts said on Wednesday.

Some changes, probably starting with efforts to help farmers, are likely to occur during the next year, some analysts said.

Raul Castro, the president's 76-year-old brother and potential successor, and other Cuban leaders have indicated for months that farmers might receive legal rights to their land and guaranteed market prices for their produce.

Those changes and other economic improvements could happen more quickly after Fidel Castro's announcement that he would step down as head of state, according to analysts.

"I don't know that Cubans would be expecting something in the next two weeks. But I do think Raul has raised expectations to a degree that they're expecting something in the course of this year," said Phil Peters, Cuba analyst for the Lexington Institute think tank near Washington.

With food production pitifully low for a country with fertile land and a year-round growing climate, farmers need more land and more autonomy in tilling it to boost output. Cuba imports at least 70 per cent of its food.

Many Cuban farms suffer from antiquated cultivation equipment. Donkeys and oxen are as visible in rural areas as tractors and combines.