May 17 is a representative date for Cuban peasants. That day the Commander in Chief Fidel Castro signed the first Law of Agrarian Reform, giving the land to men and women for production. Today, 56 years after the creation of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), Yereiny de la Caridad Guzmán, president of the organization in San Antonio de los Baños, tells us about the structure, function and the main activities developed for the association.
The Association is made up of 10 grassroots organizations, with a total of 1275 associates; 223 women and 1052 men. 1089 are associated with the Credit and Service Cooperatives (CCS), 888 men and 201 women. In the Agricultural Production Cooperatives (CPA) we have 186 associates, 164 men and 22 women. In the Cooperative and Peasant Sector we have 224 young people. We have a growth of 31 associates in correspondence with the previous year, 42 women and 18 young people in management positions.
The ANAP is linked to the political and mass organizations, as well as to the companies and institutions that have working relationships or agreements with us; among them, the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) and the Young Communists League (UJC). We have set up 10 FMC-ANAP brigades, which bring together 248 members, most of them from the cooperative and peasant sector, as well as other women from rural communities.
Currently, we have 5 UJC committees, consisting of 30 activists, 21 men and 9 women. We also have 9 Technical-Youth Brigades in the territory, with 70 members, and 9 Peasant Youth Brigades, with 121 members. The work with the UJC continues to be strengthened with the purpose of constituting the committees in all the grassroots organizations, where possible.
On the occasion of the 56th anniversary of ANAP, the Municipal Bureau of the ANAP approved a plan of activities. We carried out the political process in the 10 grassroots organizations to pay tribute to the Commander in Chief. Youth-peasant meetings took place at the grassroots and municipal levels. The meeting of the FMC-ANAP brigades was held, as well as the culinary art meeting. Currently, the Baseball Cup ''56th Anniversary of ANAP'' is being held.
The farmers and cooperative members have a great commitment to food production. Actually, the role of the ANAP, in terms of the ideological political work with the associates, directly influences these results.
