When Hard Work Pays Off

Roger Rosales Virelles has turned a family farming tradition into one of Granma’s strongest livestock operations. In Jimirú, about 28 kilometers from Bayamo, he manages a 117-head herd of red and white Zebu cattle while also cultivating crops on his farm.

Rosales trained as a veterinary doctor, but his vocation eventually drew him back to the countryside and to the work passed down through his grandparents. His six hectares for family consumption produce plantains, corn, cassava, beans, sweet potatoes and melons. He also has eight hectares devoted to forage and sugar cane.

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At the first cutting it develops well, but at the second, instead of growing, it is affected by the salt and becomes smaller, so I have to keep moving it to another place.

The cane has proved difficult to maintain. “At the first cutting it develops well, but at the second, instead of growing, it is affected by the salt and becomes smaller, so I have to keep moving it to another place,” he said.

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With this money I have bought fuel to prepare the land and plant more feed for the cattle, closing the production cycle. I have also received work equipment, such as boots, files and machetes.

For the past three years, Rosales has held a direct contract with the meat industry. His deliveries have made him Granma’s top contributor. The arrangement has brought foreign-currency payments deposited on magnetic cards, which he uses to buy supplies and goods in stores.

“With this money I have bought fuel to prepare the land and plant more feed for the cattle, closing the production cycle. I have also received work equipment, such as boots, files and machetes,” he said. Direct dealings have also reduced delays: the industry collects the animals at his farm, pays faster and recognizes both his contracted deliveries and his overperformance.

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Now it is more convenient. They come here to collect the animals, and payment is faster. They value my fulfillment of the contract and my overperformance.

Rosales also meets his milk commitments to the La Pulsiana shop, which supplies almost 50 children, pregnant women and older people. He hopes to buy a solar kit to improve his home, power an electric turbine and secure water for the cattle. Yet the work remains relentless. His 11 grazing areas require constant care, with days beginning at 4 a.m. and stretching into the night.

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I want to buy a solar kit to improve the house and also power the electric turbine and secure water for the cattle.