Launching of the Honey Production Redevelopment Support Project and Covered Structures – Support to Small Disadvantaged Farmers

Launching of the Honey Production Redevelopment Support Project and Covered Structures – Support to Small Disadvantaged Farmers

On Tuesday 3rd of December 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Fund (CDF) hosted the official launching of the Honey Production Redevelopment Support Project” and “Covered Structures – Support to Small Disadvantaged Farmers”.

The Ministry of Agriculture has identified beekeeping and vegetable production under protected covered structures as priority areas for development due to their high potential for enterprise development, economic opportunities for rural communities and their eco-friendly nature which coincides with the Growth and Sustainable Development Strategy GSDS (2015-2020) which calls for new and emerging sustainable ventures with good economic prospects.

The “Honey Production Redevelopment Support Project” formulated and funded in collaboration with Caribbean Development Fund (CDF) has come at an opportune time to support various beekeeping initiatives which will focus on capacity building and training of beekeepers and local personnel, establishment of demo apiaries, organization and infrastructural support with equipment and materials to undoubtedly enhance the industry.

The project main objectives are to:

· increase rural livelihoods options through beekeeping especially among women and youth;

· increase national production and productivity of beekeeping, and to increase the quality of honey and honey products through the promotion of standards and good operating practices.

The second project on covered structure funded also by the Caribbean Development Fund (CDF) which spans over two years’ aim is to continue enhancing the capacity and capability of our producers in covered structure technology for vegetable production. The completed thirty structures will cover an area of 27,000 square feet or 0.62 acres. The project will ensure the participation of women, youths, indigenous people and/or other disadvantaged groups.

The project main objectives are to:

· Increase the efficiency of vegetable production under covered structures by improving the construction, design and irrigation systems of at least 30 structures by the end of 2021.

· Increase capacity building of extension personnel and farmers involved in the production of vegetables under covered structures by hosting at least 2 workshops for at least 10 extension personnel and 50 farmers.

Pictures of the event:

Workshop on Coconut Production

Workshop on Coconut Production

November 25, 2019, The Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Mexican counterpart – SAGARP through the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Fisheries (INIFAP) concluded its three days training workshop on Friday November 22nd, on Capacity Building for the Improvement of Coconut Production and its Uses, at the Central Farm Station.

The three days’ workshop which covered a wide range of technical training materials was attended by coconut producers, technical personnel from Central Farm Station, Extensions Officers and representatives from the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI).

Facilitators for the training were Dr. Feliciano Gerardo Balderas from the State of Nayarit and Ms. Matilde Cortazar Rios from the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico. At the end of the day, the presentation of a certificate was issued to all participants who completed the training.

12th Regional Planners Forum and the 81st Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED)

12th Regional Planners Forum and the 81st Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED)

30/9/19: Belize City. The Government of Belize through the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with CARICOM Secretariat hosted the 12th Regional Planners Forum and the 81st Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Agriculture on September 30th to October 4th 2019, at the Belize Best Biltmore Plaza, Belize City.

The Regional Planners Forum was being hosted under the theme “Capitalizing on the New Frontier in Global Agriculture” which seeks to take advantage of new opportunities emerging in agriculture globally. The Regional Planners Forum has been an integral part of the regional agriculture planning and development since its inception.  The main objective of the Planner’s Forum was to provide a neutral platform for stakeholders to advance the discussion and build cooperation on matters of importance to regional agriculture enhancement.  Therefore, providing an opportunity to agree on directions and contribute to the development of policies and programs that capitalized on opportunities while addressing existing, imminent and emerging challenges.

This year’s forum offered an opportunity for Member States (MS) and development partners in the Region, to take stock of their collective efforts to promote sustainable agricultural development and the challenges in meeting these goals over the last decade. The Planners Forum played a critical role in furthering the Regional dialogue on agriculture.  Moreover, it was the single most important opportunity to convene key agriculture development leaders in the region to explore emerging sustainable, market-led agricultural initiatives, that are of critical importance at the national and regional levels. The Forum provided opportunities to identify approaches to combat climate change, explore climate financing in agriculture, and disaster risk reduction and building sector resilience. The general direction is one that focuses on strengthening climate change adaptation in agriculture, promoting trade through food safety and standards and creating nutritionally relevant food systems in CARICOM. The sub-themes for the Forum are further disaggregated as follows:

  • CARICOM Regional Agricultural Policy in Action
  • Capitalizing on Wealth Creation in Agri-Business
  • Propelling ICT and Innovation in Agriculture
  • Emerging Opportunities in Agribusiness

The week of activities included the hosting of the other regional bodies liked:

  • The 81st Special Meeting of COTED(Agriculture)
  • The 7th CARICOM Sugar Stakeholder Meeting
  • CARDI Board of Governors Meeting
  • CAHFSA Board Meeting and
  • CRFM Ministerial Meeting

At the core of the forum, the intent was to build strong local, regional and hemispheric partnerships, incorporating innovative approaches and fostering inclusive development, to offer enhancement opportunities to the region.

 

 

12th Regional Planners Forum and the 81st Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED)

12th Regional Planners Forum and the 81st Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED)

30/9/19: Belize City. The Government of Belize through the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with CARICOM Secretariat are hosting the 12th Regional Planners Forum and the 81st Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Agriculture from September 30th to October 4th 2019, at the Belize Best Biltmore Plaza, Belize City.

The Regional Planners Forum is being hosted under the theme “Capitalizing on the New Frontier in Global Agriculture” which seeks to take advantage of new opportunities emerging in agriculture globally. The Regional Planners Forum has been an integral part of the regional agriculture planning and development since its inception.  The main objective of the Planner’s Forum is to provide a neutral platform for stakeholders to advance discussion and build cooperation on matters of importance to regional agriculture enhancement.  Therefore, providing an opportunity to agree on directions and contribute to the development of policies and programs that capitalized on opportunities while addressing existing, imminent and emerging challenges.

This year forum offers an opportunity for Member States (MS) and development partners in the Region, to take stock of their collective efforts to promote sustainable agricultural development and the challenges in meeting these goals over the last decade. This Planners Forum will play a critical role in furthering the Regional dialogue on agriculture.  Moreover, it is the single most important opportunity to convene key agriculture development leaders in the region to explore emerging sustainable, market-led agricultural initiatives, that are of critical importance at the national and regional level. The Forum will also provide opportunities to identify approaches to combat climate change, explore climate financing in agriculture, and disaster risk reduction and building sector resilience. The general direction is one that focuses on strengthening climate change adaptation in agriculture, promoting trade through food safety and standards and creating nutritionally relevant food systems in CARICOM. The sub-themes for the Forum are further disaggregated as follows:

  • CARICOM Regional Agricultural Policy in Action
  • Capitalizing on Wealth Creation in Agri-Business
  • Propelling ICT and Innovation in Agriculture
  • Emerging Opportunities in Agribusiness

The week of activities will also see the hosting of the other regional bodies to include the following:

  • The 81st Special Meeting of COTED(Agriculture)
  • CARDI Board of Governors Meeting
  • CARICOM Sugar Stakeholders Ministerial Meeting
  • CAHFSA Board Meeting and
  • CRM Ministerial Meeting

At the core of the forum the intent is to build strong local, regional and hemispheric partnerships, incorporating innovative approaches and fostering inclusive development, to offer enhancement opportunities to the region.

Ministry of Agriculture Concluded its Regional Summer Camp for Youths Engaged in Agriculture

Ministry of Agriculture Concludes its Regional Summer Camp for Youths Engaged in Agriculture

The Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Belmopan Police Department concluded their two weeks regional summer camp for Youths Engaged in Agriculture.

The camp which lasted for two weeks had participants from the Cayo and Belize Districts. The Summer camp which started from July 23rd concluded on the 4th of August 2018 with a “kid rodeo”, which was held at the National Agriculture and Trade Showground’s in Belmopan.

The objective of the summer camp was to make agriculture more appealing to the youths, recognizing it as a vital career, especially with an ageing population of farmers. The camp also served as a means of keeping youths engaged in positive activities, reducing incidences of crime committed by youths.

The two-week summer camp included a hands-on lessons in agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, agro-processing, and livestock, as well visits to companies such as Quality Poultry, Western Dairies, and Bel Car in Spanish Lookout. A total of two hundred young people participated in the summer camp.

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Monitoring and Evaluation Unit

Project Execution Unit

The Unit was formed in 2012 with the onset of the Ministry moving from line budgeting to Programme Budgeting.  Then latter focused on results-based planning that requires reporting on outputs achieved with the resources invested, the outcome and impact that these will have on the livelihoods of people. The Unit has focused on providing support to projectize and monitor work plans. To facilitate this process, programme directors and coordinators actively participated in a Project Cycle Management training, conducted in May 2015 by Ten Step Method trainer Menno Valkenburg of the Nederland’s. The training exposed participants to the theory and practices in project cycle management. Equipped with this knowledge and the support of the M&E Unit, coordinators and programme directors have been developing projects for sponsorship.  Basic project and monitoring formats have also been developed and shared with officers in order to facilitate the M&E process within the Ministry.

The project Execution Unit is responsible for supervising, monitoring and designing projects in the Ministry, in addition implementing internationally funded projects. Provide the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security & Enterprise Technical Support for the Procurement of goods and Services and other Agricultural Program.

Goal

To contribute to improved governance by monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the performance of agricultural projects, programmes and policies of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Activities

Major activities include:

  1. Collect and provide information that will be used to determine efficiency, effectiveness, and impact of activities, work plans, projects and programs; and identify gaps and weakness in service provision
  2. Track progress on implementation of the National Agriculture and Food Policy (NAFP) 2015-2030
  3. Conduct training seminars in the new and updated monitoring and evaluation tools.
  4. Conduct schedule and un-scheduled checks on projects and activities (both locally and foreign funded) countrywide.
  5. Provide quarterly synopsis including PSIP reports on the performance and progress of agricultural projects.
  6. Provide technical support in project formulation.
  7. Actively participate in strategic planning meetings.

Future Activities

Continue strengthening the monitoring, evaluation and reporting system for programmes and projects of the Ministry.

Contact Information

Director of Projects

Mr. Jose Novelo

Email: director.peu@agriculture.gov.bz

Monitoring Officer

Mr. Jose Tillette

Email: jose.tillett@agriculture.gov.bz

Procurement Officer

Mr. Freddy Chable

Email: suppliesofficer.cf@agriculture.gov.bz

Collaborators

  • Ministry of Agriculture Project Execution Unit
  • Ministry of Economic Development
  • Ministry of Finance and Partners in Development
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Policy and Public/Private Sector Interface Unit

Policy and Private Public Sector Interface

Goal

The goal of the Unit with the support of line ministries and private sector is to increase market development, access and penetration of Belize’s agricultural commodities. In addition the Unit performs an essential role in enhancing accountability, transparency and coordination within the Ministry.

Background

The unit is considered the “The think tank of the Ministry.” It is responsible for steering the direction of the Ministry’s National Agricultural Food Policy (NAFP) 2015-2030 and ensuring that programs and activities implemented by the Ministry fulfill the policy objectives.

Activities

The following are the main activities lead by the Unit:

  1. Policy:
    a. Supports the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit in monitoring the progress of the NAFP 2015-2030
    b. Recommends amendments to policy based on Stakeholder consultation and dialogue
  2. Agricultural Trade
    a. Contributes Agriculture positions in trade discussions both at the international and regional level. Represents Agriculture at CARICOM (COTED) and in Central American relations such as (PSA Belize Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador).
    b. Holds Public/ Private sector dialogues and creates Working Groups to ensure the needs of farmers and producers are addressed.
  3. Statistics
    a. The Unit is responsible for the monitoring, compilation and dissemination of Agricultural Data of major agricultural commodities.
    b. This year the Ministry is embarking on the implementation of an IDB supported project which is aimed at strengthening the Agricultural data collection system of the Ministry. The output of the project will include the development of a farmer and farm registry, a National Agricultural Statistical System (NASS) and Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) that uses FAO data standards. It is expected that with the development of the database system users will have access to timely, reliable figures for the purpose of agricultural forecasting and planning.
    c. Write reports, present on challenges and forecasted developments in Agriculture to private and public sectors.

Services

The following are data that can be obtained from the Unit:

  1. Agriculture trade ( export and imports, quantity and value
  2. Trimester and yearly Production Data ( acres and yields)
  3. Quarantine statistics ( agriculture crops, imports/exports, quantity and value)
  4. Agriculture Input prices ( fertilizers and chemicals)
  5. Agriculture market prices ( retail and wholesale for grains, legumes, vegetables and meat)
  6. Marine production ( conch, whole fish, lobsters and fillet fish)
  7. Stock data ( grains and legumes and sugar, wheat flour)
  8. Agriculture production cycle
  9. Major production locations ( commodity, district, village)
  10. Contact information of major producers and farmers
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Contact Information

Mr. Alfonso Bautista, Statistician
alfonso.bautista@agriculture.gov.bz
Phone #: 822-2241
National Agriculture and Trade Show Grounds Headquarters

Mr. Gregorio Canto, Statistical Analyst
statsofficer1@agriculture.gov.bz
Phone #: 822-2241
National Agriculture and Trade Show Grounds Headquarters

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Agroprocessing

Agro-processing

Goal

The main objective of the Agro-processing Multi-service Facility in Central Farm is to provide training and technical assistance for the creation and expansion of small and medium sized agro-processing enterprises. The Agro- processing Unit focuses on product research and development for the transformation of local produce into value added agricultural products as well as the transfer of technology for agri- business development to improve income generation and food security.

Background

The Agro-processing Unit started as a Pilot Project in 1999 with the collaboration of the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan Technical Mission in Belize. The main objective was to enhance food processing technology and the application of food science concepts in Belize. By 2002, the ROC, Taiwan Technical Mission had already introduced equipment to be used for product research and training in food processing techniques, but the space to set up all the equipment was limited.

As a result of this, an extension to the agro- processing building was constructed. In the last seven years, the agro-processing program has successfully achieved a stronger application of basic agro-processing concepts and introduced some of the newest technology for e.g, vacuum fried technology and air-dried technology in Belize.

Activities

Some of the main activities performed by the Unit are:

  1. To coordinate training such as food safety, standards, labelling and packaging of products and quality control with the respective agency for training.
  2. Increase the variety of agro-based processed products on the local markets, improve quality of local agro-based processed products.
  3. Increase the number of small and medium enterprises involved in the processing of agricultural commodities.

Services

The following are a few of the main services provided by the Unit:

  1. The production of enriched, flavoured, banana porridge, to be distributed to targeted schools for their School Feeding Program.
    The use of technologies to preserve and add value to specific local agricultural commodities that have a production surplus” e.g jams, jellies, peanut butter, tomato salsas, pepper sauces and beans.
  2. The processing of raw traditional commodities such as cassava and banana into flour for the production of baked products (breads, pastries).
  3. The processing and packaging of cheese, milk and yogurt.
  4. The production soy bean bi-products such as soy milk, soy sauce using new technologies.
  5. The packaging of bi-products e.g honey; training of university students, women’s groups and farmers on the agro-processing techniques of the commodities mentioned above.

Contact Information

Agro-processing Coordinator

Earvin Gentle – Email: agroprocessing@agriculture.gov.bz

Ms. Anna Howe – Email: ahowe@agriculture.gov.bz

Collaborators

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Central Farm Agricultural Station

Central Farm Agricultural Station

Goal

To increase human resource by efficiently increasing rural prosperity, while improving the livelihood of producers, food security and generating technologies through applied and adaptive research in agriculture.

Background

The Central Farm Research and Innovation Center started as an Ex-servicemen Rehabilitation Scheme on the 20th of October, 1948, it was later then changed to an Experimental Station. Over the years the station have develop to what it is now a centralized station compromised of five main sections: Administration, Livestock, Crops, Research and Development, Agro-processing and Agriculture Engineering.

Activities

  1. Some of the activities performed by the station are:
  2. Provide Water Supply for the station for irrigation and livestock during the rainy and summer season.
  3. Maintenance of building and office furniture’s.
  4. Housing Rentals.
  5. Provide tractor service for the general public and famers.
  6. Provide vehicle maintenance for the Ministry and its departments.
  7. Landscaping and land maintenance.

Contact Information

Shamir Carillo (Station Manager)
Telephone: (501)-804-2079
Fax: (501)-804-3074
Email: smanager.cf@agriculture.gov.bz