Since the food shortage caused by the collapse of the socialist trade bloc, Cubans have been looking for new ways to feed themselves. In the late 1980s sugar and tobacco exports representing about 85 per cent of its trade income. The income was used to import oil and to finance Cuba's literacy, higher education, health care and housing programs, but it was also used to import food as a food shortages worsened. Cubans still receive food rations of rice and other simple food. The rations and distribution system provide an equitable means of sharing what is available to prevent people from starving.
Household incomes have little purchasing power for additional food.
The new food markets are operating on supply and demand, with prices forced up due to supply shortages. The situation is now better than a couple of years ago, but the food crisis continues. More food is needed, more vacant land needs to be cultivated and the food gardeners need enhanced gardening skills. Cuba had never had the strong connection to kitchen gardens as the French or Italian traditions. With the collapse of Soviet trade, Cuba sought another pathway for urban development which included the importation of one million bikes from China, to reduce the dependence on oil imports, and the establishment of the urban gardens program.