HAVANA (REUTERS) - Former Cuban President Fidel Castro, 88, made his second public appearance in a week on Thursday, meeting with military officers and civilians who were honoured for their performance in food production, official media reported on Saturday.

Castro had met with 19 cheese makers on July 3 in a rare trip outside his Havana home.

That had been his first appearance in three months, and previously it had been more than a year since official media reported him participating in an event outside his residence.

Published photos showed him seated with more than a dozen honorees standing behind him in an undisclosed location.

Castro stepped down due to illness provisionally in 2006 and definitively in 2008, handing over to his brother Raul, 84.

Fidel writes an occasional newspaper column and receives dignitaries at home.