Chanting revolutionary songs and slogans, a thousand Cuban peasants sailed from Havana, June 11, aboard the Soviet ship "Gruzia" to begin a year's study on Russian collective farms. At the same time, 300 Soviet agricultural technicians were trying their hand at cutting sugar cane on a plantation outside Havana. This was the first phase of a students/technicians exchange between Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Before the boarding the "Gruzia", there were sad farewells to be said on the dockside. Then, dressed in blue militiamen's uniforms and straw hats with Cuban flags stuck in the upturned brims, the peasants boarded the ship and set sail for Odessa. An official communique said the young Cubans, scheduled to arrive in Odessa in about three weeks, are to learn Soviet "modern agricultural methods" and apply them to Cuban needs when they return in twelve month's time.

Three hundred Soviet agricultural technicians, who arrived in Havana June 5 aboard the "Gruzia", volunteered to cut help Cubans get it into the mills in time. They are behind schedule this year in harvesting the cane, and depend so greatly upon the crop to repay loans and other international purchasing agreements. Seven hundred more Soviet technicians are expected to arrive in Cuba shortly.