The Cuban sugar harvest got off to a slow start in January with just two of 13 sugar-producing provinces meeting their production targets, official media reported over the weekend.
First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura toured central Cuba on Saturday urging on the troops.
"Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus are the only provinces that are meeting their plans; the remainder are not," he was quoted as stating.
Fifteen mills opened in December, another 28 in January and three are scheduled to begin milling this month, in the first harvest since the Sugar Ministry was replaced in November by a state-run holding company.
The industry hopes to reverse a long decline, with plans calling for output to reach 1.45 million tonnes by the time the season ends in early May, compared with 1.2 million tonnes Reuters estimates was produced during the previous harvest.
