Cuba has begun lending unused land to private farmers and cooperatives as part of a sweeping effort to step up agricultural production, a small but potentially landmark step that could change the face of farming on the island. Government television reported on Tuesday that 51 per cent of arable land was underused or fallow, and said officials were transferring some of it to individual farmers and associations representing small, private producers. "Everyone who wants to produce tobacco will be given land to produce tobacco,' and it will be the same for coffee or anything else, said Orlando Lugo, president of Cuba's national farmers association. It was not clear how much land had been transferred and under what terms. Mr. Lugo added that the government had also begun paying farmers higher prices for some of the products they produce, including potatoes. According to official figures, farming cooperatives already control 35 per cent of fertile farmland. They account for 60 per cent of the country's agricultural production. The distribution of land programme began some time last year, according to state media, but was only officially announced this week.