Andreas Knobloch
Los Palacios
07/30/2025

Cuba has let farmland to a foreign company for the first time since its 1959 revolution, when all foreign landowners were expropriated. But can the #Vietnamese investor help rescue the island's struggling agriculture?

Under efforts to spur the domestic #rice output, the Cuban government has asked #Vietnam for help because the two countries have maintained friendly relations for decades, intensifying especially agricultuiral cooperation in recent years.

For Perez, the Los Palacios project marks a entirely new level of partnership though.

Privately owned Agri VMA is managing the lease largely independent from state interference, with operations being based on a business contract. The company has brought to Cuba its own resources, technical experts, and seeds from hybrid rice varieties developed in Vietnam.

Cuba land lease to Vietnamese company reaps rich harvest

Cuba has let farmland to a foreign company for the first time since its 1959 revolution, when all foreign landowners were expropriated. But can the Vietnamese investor help rescue the island's struggling agriculture?

^{Andreas Knobloch (Deutsche Welle)}