Private Cuban farmers given use of government land

Council of State issues new legislation. PRESIDENT Raúl Castro has signed two new decree laws — published in the Granma newspaper today — on the distribution in usufruct of idle land, and on working conditions and wages for retired teachers and professors who return to the classrooms. Decree-Law No. 259 authorizes the handing over in usufruct of idle state land to individuals and legal entities for using in a rational and sustainable form, in line with the land’s suitability for agricultural production. It adds that the usufruct granted is for a period of up to 10 years in the case of individuals and up to 25 years in the case of legal entities.It notes that the maximum amount of land to be distributed to individuals without any land is 13.42 hectares and, in the case of those holding land as their own property or in usufruct, they can increase it up to 40.26 hectares. Decree-Law No. 260 authorizes retired teachers and professors with the capacity to contribute their professionalism and experience, to receive, on a provisional and exceptional basis, the full salary of any teaching job they may fill, plus their pension. It is explained that this decree has been expedited for convenience until the new Social Security bill is approved. The current Social Security Act establishes that retirees can participate in paid work on the condition that the total of their new salary and their pension does not exceed the salary they received prior to receiving their pension. Translated by Granma International