Climate change slams Cuba, Caribbean

(12 Nov 2022)

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4406173

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Batabanó, Cuba – 25 October 2022
1. Sunrise over field
2. Horse and wagon of farm workers drives by
3. Various of farm workers pulling weeds
ANNOTATION: Like the rest of the Caribbean, Cuba is seeing longer droughts, warmer waters, more intense storms, and sea level rise from climate change.
ANNOTATION: Agriculture had been a bright spot in Cuba's struggling economy.
ANNOTATION: But by changing the way nature functions in the Caribbean, climate change is tinkering with the raw elements of productivity.
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Yordán Díaz Gonzales, farmer:
"Due to climate change, I'm seeing less productivity than before. Bean production has decreased to about 30 to 40 percent."
5. Workers spraying pesticides on crops
++COVERED++
6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Yordán Díaz Gonzales, farmer:
"There's drought, more disease, we have to spray more frequently. Pests become more resistant to the chemicals."
7. Detail of worker spraying pesticides on crops
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Boca Cajio, Cuba – 27 September 2022
8. Banana plantation damaged by Hurricane Ian
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Havana, Cuba – 26 October 2022
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Adianez Taboada, Cuba's Deputy Science, Technology and Environmental Ministry:
"The impact of weather events has become stronger each time. We had a hurricane recently. Hurricanes affect us every year. Those strong weather events cause floods and losses."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Boca Cajio, Cuba – 27 September 2022
10. Banana plantation damaged by Hurricane Ian
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Boca Cajio, Cuba – 27 September 2022
11. Various of banana plantation damaged by Hurricane Ian
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Batabanó, Cuba – 25 October 2022
12. Fisherman Orbelis Silega working on boat
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
13. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Orbelis Silega, fisherman:
"Everybody felt safe (in their homes). Everybody felt safe, but the opposite happened. The water came up super high. It affected everyone."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE - Puerta de Golpe, Cuba – 27 September 2022
14. People walking through flood caused by Hurricane Ian
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Batabanó, Cuba – 25 October 2022
15. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Orbelis Silega, fisherman:
"Regarding migration…for me, I'll continue here, fighting to see if one day it gets better, because if you go to another area, the same is happening. Climate change isn't only here, it's worldwide."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE - Puerta de Golpe, Cuba – 27 September 2022
16. Flooded fields caused by Hurricane Ian
STORYLINE:
Like the rest of the Caribbean, Cuba is suffering from longer droughts, warmer waters, more intense storms, and higher sea levels because of climate change. The rainy season, already an obstacle to Cuban agricultural productions, has gotten longer and wetter.
Yordán Díaz Gonzales, a 38-year-old father of two, used to produce black beans, a staple of the Cuban diet and his most profitable crop.
He said due to climate change, production dropped by about 70%.
A month after Hurricane Ian, he farms malanga root, a Cuban staple that is more resilient to climate change, but less profitable than beans.  
Cuba has ample sun, water and soil, the basic ingredients needed to grow plants and feed animals. By changing the way nature functions in the Caribbean, however, climate change is tinkering with the raw elements of productivity.    
When September's Category 3 Hurricane Ian hit Batabanó, about an hour south of Havana, it also flooded fisherman Orbelis Silega's home.
Clients are reminded: