Cuba is a very unique country in that many of its aspects ranging from its history of independence to its current governing body differ vastly in comparison to its somewhat neighboring Latin American countries. Although Cuba's governing role and history does not mimic many Latin American countries, its agricultural policy has many similar characteristics. Much of Cuba's agriculture was dependent on sugar cane plantations causing Dutch Disease, which was experienced by many Latin American countries. Unlike other Latin American countries, Cuba dealt with a corrupt and unstable government shortly after its independence sending the identity of its government into question for the next century. The some of the leaders had similar ideas in mind while other leaders ached for a revolution. The agricultural policy took shape over those years and strangely follows many of the different characteristics of the agricultural policies in other Latin American countries.
Much of the agriculture in Cuba relied on sugar cane plantations. By 1860, Cuba was supplying nearly a third of the world's sugar supply. Cuba was still a colony of Spain and would soon gain its independence within the next 20 years. Once Cuba had gained its independence, the United States intervened in its economic business through the Platt Amendment, which gave the United States the ultimate power on the economic decisions of Cuba. Like many of Latin American countries, Cuba began to develop much wealth benefiting from a great sugar boom. Also with these booms came Dutch Disease with sugar exports earning approximately 80 percent of Cuba's foreign exchange throughout early twentieth century.
After the 1870's, technology was a big cause for the reduction of sugar mills especially due to the development of railways. Like many Latin American countries, the struggle between corporate farming and small-scale peasant farming became very apparent.