This piece originally appeared on Agri-Pulse.
By Jack Payne, senior vice president, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and leader, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida
Editor's Note: Agri-Pulse and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs are teaming up to host a monthly column to explore how the U.S. agriculture and food sector can maintain its competitive edge and advance food security in an increasingly integrated and dynamic world.
In June, I walked into a room in Havana to sign on the University of Florida's behalf an agreement with the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture to do joint research on citrus, sugar cane, grains, and more.
I never got to hold a pen. Yet I didn't leave discouraged, and we continue to pursue the agreement. UF has been working on this relationship for more than 20 years, and we know progress doesn't always keep pace with our goals.
We'll keep at it because it's too important not to. After all, since passage of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act in 2000 (which allowed U.S. firms to sell food and agricultural products to Cuba for the first time in nearly 40 years), U.S. agriculture has sold more than $5 billion worth of food products to Cuba.
Even though U.S. sales to Cuba are declining (due to legislative restrictions that prohibit credit sales), Cuba remains an important potential market right on our doorstep.