( CNN ) -- Since the revolution in 1959 Cuba has been many things to many people , but the collapse of the Soviet Union meant few have seen the island state as a vision of the future . But that could be changing -- at least in one aspect . Cuba experienced a reordering of its food production in the early 1990 's . A boom for organic foods , but problems persist . As worries grow in developed nations about a future without plentiful supplies of oil , the communist republic is proving to be an increasingly popular example of how to cope when the spigots run dry , for the simple reason : they 've already been there . With the loss of supplies from oil-rich Russia in 1991 , and a U.S. embargo preventing imports from elsewhere , Cuba was plunged into a severe recession in the early 1990 's , referred to as `` the Special Period . '' Suddenly society was faced with dramatically reduced amounts of hydrocarbon energy , and the result was a fundamental reorganization of food production , leading to a boom in urban organic agriculture , which requires fewer inputs than conventional farming . Despite the increase in organic production , problems remain for Cuba 's agricultural system and ability to feed itself with local produce . `` Some estimates of the amount of food imports in Cuba go as high as 80 percent of domestic consumption , '' says CNN 's Havana Bureau Chief , Morgan Neill . `` This is n't to say that small scale organic farmers could n't learn for isolated growers , but Cuba 's overall agriculture is one of the government 's biggest problems . '' Cuba 's organic example , however , has been a source for inspiration for many outside of the country , such as the UK-based Cuban Organic Solidarity Group ( COSG ) . `` With the collapse of the Soviet Union Cuba was in a position where no-one thought it would survive -- they lost 80 percent of their trade overnight , '' says Wendy Emmett of COSG . `` As a result the priority given to food changed , and it was immediately seen as much more important . '' All over Havana small-scale organic gardens were started on roof-tops , backyards and in empty parking lots , spreading rapidly to other cities and urban centers . Farmer 's markets known as `` Kiosks '' sprang up providing city-dwellers with access to locally-grown fruit and vegetables , cutting the use of oil in transporting food in from the countryside . In the countryside , oxen and horses replaced tractors . Manual labor replaced machines . A huge program of land re-distribution was instigated . Many of the vast collective farms beloved by communist planners started to look inefficient , and so were broken up into units more manageable without fleets of tractors . The process is still ongoing . In February 2009 the Cuban authorities announced that 1,827 square miles of state land would be given to Cubans with agricultural experience or other citizens . But this change was n't easy . Prior to the `` Special Period '' Cuba had been a heavy user of oil-based chemical fertilizers , and much of the land was heavily degraded , requiring years of careful manuring to restore fertility . However , despite the obstacles , they did it . `` I was there in 1992 , which was one of the most difficult years , and certainly people were moaning a lot , but they worked together , they still kept the milk coming for the schoolchildren , '' says Emmett . `` Throughout it all they did n't close any hospitals , they did n't close any schools ; they kept going against the odds . In many ways they show us what is possible , what a community can achieve when they work together ; the power of co-operation . '' A blue-print to cope with problems post-peak oil ? Of course a powerful authoritarian state and strong central planning made such huge changes easier to implement ; a similar process of development might be very different , and possibly lees successful , in the West . But as an increasing number of people believe we will soon face a major social and economic crisis as oil supplies dwindle over coming decades , many believe we have a lot to learn from the Cuban experience . `` The industrialized world can learn that its dependency on oil will eventually push it through similar experiences to that which Cuba had to face in the 1990 's , and with similar outcomes , '' says Julia Wright , author of `` Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in an Era of Oil Scarcity : Lessons from Cuba . '' `` We can also learn that if we do not have the necessary capacities in place , our food production system will be caught short , as was Cuba . '' All over the world from New Zealand to the United Kingdom members of the Transition Town Movement , which aims to help communities prepare for the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change , hold regular screenings of the film , `` The Power of Community '' , an upbeat documentary that explores the Cuban experience , alongside films about our oil addiction such as `` The End of Suburbia '' and `` A Crude Awakening . '' `` Cuba inspires groups overseas wanting to develop alternative , more sustainable farming and food systems , partly based on the myth that has built up around Cuba being organic , '' says Wright . `` Organic farming in Cuba only operates in urban areas , not rural ... [ but ] the Cuban organic movement and the people within it are highly dedicated to their work and will continue to influence and be influenced by the organic movement overseas . '' The future is less clear . New allies are once again opening Cuba up to the outside world -- and providing fresh oil supplies . `` Hugo Chavez is supplying Cuba with increasing quantities of oil and agrochemicals , so Cuban agriculture -- and here I 'm talking about rural farms which supply 95 percent of the nation 's domestic food needs -- is becoming more industrialized , though it will not revert back to the extreme practices of the Soviet era , '' says Wright . `` Organic urban agriculture will continue and likely continue to expand out to peri-urban areas . '' But whatever the years ahead bring , Wright believes the experience of the `` Special Period '' has left its mark on Cuban society . `` The crisis that Cuba suffered has made it a better place in certain aspects , as people had to become more resilient and self-sufficient and less wasteful , '' says Wright . `` Although Cubans would certainly say that their food shortages and lack of inputs has been a hardship . ''
Cuba 's economic hardship in early 1990 's led to transformation of agriculture . Urban and organic farming , plus break up of inefficient large farms . Some see Cuba 's experience as helping to cope with problems of future oil crisis .