Rep. Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara; Rep. Baird, R-Indiana; and Rep. Hayes, D-Conn., are members of the House Agriculture Committee.
Their four-day trip included meetings with Cuban farmers, agricultural business operators, and local officials to discuss the current state of agriculture in Cuba.
“Our journey to Cuba was an important opportunity to see the impact that U.S. agriculture is having in a nation that relies heavily on U.S. agricultural imports,” the delegation said in a statement. “As members of the House Agriculture Committee, we work every week in Washington to understand how U.S. agriculture and agricultural trade is affecting peoples around the world — and Cuba is no exception.
“We also had the chance to meet with farmers and local experts to better understand Cuba’s own agricultural operations, as well as discuss where opportunities for mutual economic benefit may exist for American businesses and the Cuban people,” they said. “We look forward to sharing our findings with our colleagues and the rest of our committee in the coming weeks.”
The House Agriculture Committee members also met with Salvador Valdés Mesa, the vice president of Cuba, and officials from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives of the National Assembly.
In addition to discussing agriculture, the congressional delegation also raised concerns about human rights, migration and consular issues.
The bipartisan delegation trip began on Nov. 19.
email: kzehnde@newspress.com
