By Jeff Franks
HAVANA (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Cubans marched through Havana's Revolution Square on Thursday for a red-splashed May Day celebration that urged economic gains and increased productivity from workers.
A sea of people, wearing red shirts and waving red flags, paraded through the vast square as President Raul Castro, making his first May Day appearance as Cuba's leader, looked on from a podium beneath a statue of national hero Jose Marti.
He did not speak, but the emphasis Castro has placed on improving Cuba's socialist economy was a dominant theme during the annual festivities that celebrate the international labor movement.
"It is fundamental to concentrate efforts on increasing production and productivity, above all of food," said Cuban labor leader and high-ranking Communist Party official Salvador Valdes Mesa in a speech to the gathered masses.
He said there had been "modest advances" in production and services, but that Cuba must "reduce costs and achieve the economic efficiency we need."
The same message was seen on some of the banners carried by marchers.
"With efficiency, quality and productivity, we salute the first of May," said one.
"Work, resist, overcome," read another.
Raul Castro was elected president by Cuba's National Assembly in February after serving as provisional leader following older brother Fidel Castro's intestinal surgery in July 2006.
The elder Castro, who led the nation for almost 50 years after taking over in a 1959 revolution, has been seen only in occasional videos and photos since his surgery.
Since his election, Raul Castro has lifted restrictions on such things as Cubans owning cellular phones and going to tourist hotels and has implemented reforms aimed at increasing food production.
The changes, small but symbolic, have been embraced by Cubans as a sign of better things to come in the island nation where the average monthly wage is about $18.
"I'm here to defend the revolution with the security that everything is going to improve here," said marcher Ernestina Hernandez, 65.
"Cuba is living another moment and we want to support the measures Raul is introducing," she said. "We have many hopes."
(For special coverage from Reuters on the changes in Cuba, see here)
(Additional reporting by Rosa Tania Valdes, Nelson Acosta and Esteban Israel; Editing by Kieran Murray)
A tobacco farm in Cuba. 



In an effort to boost its troubled agricultural sector, Cuba announced a major shift in the management of the country's farms, which are to be placed under the control of over 150 local delegations rather than the national government. The move was announced in '''', the official newspaper of the .

On Thursday, ''Granma'' reported that the management of the farms has moved from the national government's Agriculture Ministry to the municipal level. The decision-making will now be handled by 169 new local delegations. The reform also involves the elimination of 104 departments which have been deemed unnecessary.  

"The municipal agriculture delegations — an organizational process that has just concluded — will assume the responsibility for the functioning, development and control ... of agricultural production," ''Granma'' said. The move is intended to "stimulate agricultural production, perfect its sale and increase the availability of food and, in this way, substitute imports."

President Raúl Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel in February, has made agriculture one of the top priorities for Cuba. At a meeting with Communist Party leaders earlier this week, Raúl called food production "a matter of maximum national security." In past weeks, Raúl has said he wants to promote the decentralizing of food production, which he believes will decrease the country's dependency on foreign imports.

Officials estimate that government mismanagement has resulted in 51 percent of Cuba's arable land becoming underused or uncultivated. Also, Cuba imported $1.7 billion worth of food in 2007, a number that is expected to reach over $2 billion this year.

The announcement came as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in  for the annual  parade. Raúl Castro attended the parade, but did not speak, instead choosing to smile and wave from a podium as marchers streamed past. The event lasted only 2 hours, a large departure from previous years. Before Raúl's presidency, Fidel Castro's speeches themselves sometimes lasted close to 2 hours, and the parades often featured singing or skits.

Although Raúl did not speak at the parade, Salvador Valdés Mesa, head of the , used his speech as an opportunity to promote economic efficiency and productivity. "It is fundamental to concentrate efforts on increasing production and productivity, above all of food," he said.