Cuban president appoints new agriculture minister

Raul Castro, president of the Cuban Council of State, has named agronomist Gustavo Rodriguez Rollero as minister of agriculture, a sector deemed strategic by the authorities of the island, local media said on Saturday.

Rodriguez Rollero will replace General Ulises Rosales del Toro, who is also vice president of the Council of State.

According to an official note from the Council of State, Rosales del Toro will be now responsible for coordinating the ministries of sugar, agriculture and food industry.

Rodriguez Rollero, 46, is currently the first deputy minister of agriculture.

In two years in office, President Raul Castro has replaced about 30 ministers.

In March 2009, the Cuban leader made the most extensive cabinet reshuffle in the last 20 years, which struck 11 portfolios, merging two into four and involving the departure of eight ministers, including Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.

Raul Castro has made repeated calls for economic efficiency and an increase in food production, an activity deemed as a national security issue.

The island has a food bill of about 15 billion dollars per year and about 70 percent of the commodities consumed by its population must be purchased abroad, according to local media reports.

Source:Xinhua