The INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE CIENCIAS AGRÍCOLAS (INCA), located in San José de las Lajas, Havana province, appeared in 1970 to meet the governmental demands of developing investigations along the country, as an agricultural research and postgraduate education center and to widen its results to productive practice and qualify producers.

At present, the institution is aimed at:

Generating and transferring updated knowledge, integrated technologies and new products of biotechnology, crop science and sustainable systems, to efficiently raise agricultural and foodstuff production.

To accomplish this mission, the following research lines and strategic fields were defined:

- Plant breeding for agriculture under stress conditions (classical, biotechnological and participatory methods).
- Characterization and management of rhizosferic microorganisms.
- Bioactive products applied to increase plant production and disease resistance.

According to the new system of science organization and technological innovation, a scientific policy is improved on the basis of research projects, besides pushing forward a task approach “per product”.

To carry out researches, INCA reckons with 84 researchers with scientific degree: 30 Masters in Science and 40 Doctors in Science. There are 12 newly graduates from universities devoted to their qualification.

From the viewpoint of investigations, the institute is arranged into five departments:

- Crop Genetics and Breeding
- Plant Nutrition and Biofertlizers
- Agronomy
- Crop Physiolgy and Biochemistry
- Biometry.

It also has two Experimental Stations and a Scientific–Technical Information Department.

One of the main INCA’s goals is to qualify either its professional staff or the outside ones.
INCA was appointed as a Postgraduate Center in 1977; since then, postgraduate courses, masteries, specializations and doctorates are taught according to its different specialities. Also, tailor-made trainings are prepared on request.

The center has a wide agricultural extensive activity; consequently, essential investigation results are delivered among governmental and private enterprises of the country and abroad.

A biennial International Scientific Congress is celebrated at INCA, with the aim of promoting exchanges among researchers, producers and teachers related to the following agricultural subjects:

- Sustainable agriculture system under tropical and subtropical conditions
- Agricultural biotechnology applied to micropropagation, biofertilization, crop selection and breeding
- Research selection in different crop specialities.7

Products, equipments and projects of agricultural and research interest are presented during the Scientific Seminar, besides pre and post-event courses.

The investigation results of INCA and other linked institutions are published in the quarterly-issued journal Cultivos Tropicales, which is considered a relevant serial in Cuba. Indexed by the most important Date Bases related to scientific journals, it is sent to 142 institutions of 46 countries. It is now available on line at http://www.fao.edu.cu.

Concerning international collaboration, it has been focussed to develop research strategic areas, joined researches and scientific staff´s qualification with effectiveness and excellence.
As a result of investigations, a group of products related to new varieties of potato, tomato, rice, soybean and others, have been achieved, which are better adapted to tropical and subtropical conditions, besides biofertilizers based on mycorrhizic fungi and rhizobacteria, more effective micropropagation systems and agricultural productive technologies.