Farmland such as this will now be leased to farmers. Gerry Vandermaesen (flickr)

Since he was officially sworn in as Cuba's president in February, Raul Castro has been busy giving back to his constituents in ways his brother never did — allowing Cubans to hold licenses for private taxis, stay in tourist hotels and own a cell phone.

But these are primarily symbolic changes. After all, many Cubans can't afford to purchase a cell phone or pay for a night at a hotel. The average monthly wage is only $20. Two of the most recent reforms, however, are potentially dynamic: the opportunity for farmers to lease state-owned land and for workers to earn production bonuses beyond their state-set salaries.

The land reforms are a response to rising global food prices. Castro recently estimated that the country would pay an extra $1 billion in food imports — enough for him to declare the food crisis a national security threat. Cuba has plenty of empty farmland left to cultivate: half of state-owned farm land is covered with weeds, according to estimates. The idea is that giving farmers an incentive to plant some of this land should reduce the need for costly food imports.

Then there's the new system of bonuses laid out by the country's vice-minister for labor, Carlos Mateu. "Writing in the communist party newspaper Granma Mr Mateu said workers would receive a minimum 5 percent bonus for meeting targets but with no ceiling on salaries," the BBC reported. "The minister pointed out that the current wage system sapped employees' incentives to excel since everyone earned the same regardless of performance."

These are revolutionary ideas in Cuba, a socialist system built on the egalitarian ideal. Last month Raul Castro challenged the governmental mindset when he said,"egalitarianism is not convenient."

When Cuba's president speaks out against the very foundation of a 49-year-old government system, it's hard not to believe that real change is happening.