The Government of Belize (GOB), with financing of BZ$ 40 Million from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and participating beneficiaries has embarked on a six-year Programme, Resilient Rural Belize (RRB), which aims to minimize the impacts of climatic and economic events on small farmers while supporting sustainable market access for their produce.
The Programme Management Unit of the Be-Resilient Programme (PMU), acting through the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment (Lead Programme Agency) and working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise, has overall responsibility for programme implementation, including the administration and implementation of the Programme’s Matching Grant Fund (MGF), the main objective of which is to support the achievement of the Programme’s objectives by co-financing investments that would improve, in volume and quality, small farmer agricultural production and safeguard food security in the context of existing and projected climate change effects. Working with Producers’ Organizations, the Programme is providing support for the development of business plans, which identify proposed investments, including technical assistance and capacity building, aimed at achieving the above objectives, and which shall be used as the basis for accessing support from the Matching Grant Fund.
As a follow-up to Matching Grant Fund Agreement signed on December 2nd, 2021, between the Government of Belize and the New River Farmers’ Co-operative Society Limited, located in San Carlos Village, Orange Walk District, the RRB Programme will provide support for a total amount of BZ$ 255,530.00. This money will be used by the members of the Co-operative to become more resilient by working cooperatively and build an Office, Storage and Marketing Centre in the community and to hire a Marketing and Administrative Officer to manage customers and suppliers. It will support members to receive, sort, store and sell all the produce from 17 acres of onions and 6 acres of carrots to be cultivated both cooperatively and individually. Other activities will also include the financing of a capacity building plan, to improve management, reduce chemical use, improve water management for irrigation, quality control and enhance gender equity. The MGF also aims to increase the economic, social, and environmental resilience of the Co-operative. It is expected that this investment will positively impact directly 29 households representing the 39 members of the Co-operative.
On Thursday, July 28, 2022, the New River Farmers’ Co-operative Society Limited will be presented with office and processing equipment, to support this initiative. These equipment will include: a printer, desktop computer, refrigerator and plastic crates. These equipment, valued at BZ$ 8,000.00, will be handed over by Hon. José Abelardo Mai – Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprises – on behalf of the Resilient Rural Belize Programme, in compliance with the first phase of the implementation process.
Training in Value Adding of Fruits and Vegetables for Farmers in the Belize District
20 farmers from Bomba, Maskall, Nagu Bank, Rockstone Pond and Lucky Strike attended a training session in value adding of fruits and vegetables. The training was organized by the Belize District Agriculture Department with the support of the Central Farm Agro-Processing Unit.
The training conducted included the preparation of jams, pasta sauce, salsa casera and tomato preservation. This activity was hosted to instill and develop the potential of small-scale, rural-based food processing as an element of the food chain, enhancing the capabilities to diversity and increase food products as well as to serve as an incentive for producers to reduce food loss due to overproduction and market price fluctuations.
The training had participation of men, women and youths involved in farming.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with CARICOM, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), launches the fifth round of the Caribbean Food Security and Livelihoods Impact Survey.
The survey aims to inform analysis and decision-making of governments in the region in view of their continued response and recovery efforts. This interim survey aims to build on the data collected in the previous four rounds highlighting the impact of COVID-19, and gather the emerging impact of the cost-of-living crisis in the Caribbean, as catalyze by the Ukraine crisis on food security and livelihoods.
The survey is available in English and Spanish and will be open between the dates of July 19 and August 2, 2022.
The Caribbean Food Security and Livelihoods Impact Survey July/Aug 2022 can be accessed at:https://arcg.is/1ueTOb0
Bee Workshop
The Yo Creek Agric Station in Orange Walk hosted another Beekeeping seminar, on Bee Biology, Equipment, Products from the Beehive and Apiculture as a business. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Miguel Huertas, Extension Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture.
The seminar was held after the Orange Walk beekeeping community requested more training after a recent set of workshops was held with experts from Mexico. A total of 30 participants attended the workshop.
Registration Ceremony for Sayab Farmers Cooperative Society Limited
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise announces that the Department of Co-operatives, responsible for the registration and regulation of co-operatives, held a registration ceremony for Sayab Farmers Co-operative Society Limited. This new co-operative has transitioned from an ad hoc farmers’ group to a formal enterprise under the oversight of the department. This gives it access to auditing, conflict resolution services, and entrepreneurial development programs, among others.
The co-operative, which is engaged in the production and marketing of vegetables, fruits, and processed foods, operates from San Antonio Village, Cayo District. It has seventeen (17) members, nine (9) men and eight (8) women, who all come from San Antonio Village, Cayo.
During the ceremony, remarks were made by Mr. Cesar Abdias Mesh, Chair of the Co-operative, Mr. Ruben Magana, Representative, San Antonio Village Council, and Mr. Gareth Murillo, Registrar of Co-operatives. Hon. Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise was the keynote speaker. Present were farmers of the co-operative, the District Agriculture Coordinator, Cayo District, and staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise.
The third meeting for the Regional/National Mechanism for the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women (AEEMRRSICA) in the Sistema de la Integración Centro Americana (SICA) Region was hosted today. Representing the Ministry of Agriculture was the focal point for Women in Agriculture Ms. Teresita Balan.
The objective of the meeting was for countries from the SICA region (Dominican Republic, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, San Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama) to share the regional framework highlighting the strategic areas prioritized in their national plans for the implementation and operationalization of the AEEMRRSICA that supports the economic empowerment agenda for rural women pertaining to these these three sectors:
Agriculture, Fisheries and Tourism. Belize work plan was prepared in collaboration with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise, Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, Ministry of Fisheries – Blue Economy and Diaspora relations. Some of the strategic areas identified to support rural women in Belize are as follows:
Access to local, national and international markets
Access to economic resources
Social protection and employment.
Use of digital technology and information systems
Financing and access to credit
Leadership and empowerment
Capacity Building and formation
Entrepreneurship
Cooperatives
Women autonomy, equality, and health
Twenty-nine Belizeans who attended the 90-day Agricultural Labor Technical Training Program in Colombia arrived today in Belize. The course, which initiated on April 25th, came to an end on July 18th, 2022, with a graduation ceremony held by the PANACA Foundation.
The program covering thirty full scholarships for each of the eight participating countries is a part of the project, Agricultural Technical Work Training for Rural Leaders, which aims at strengthening South-South Cooperation with the countries of the Andean Community (Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru) and some countries of the Mesoamerica Project (Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica).
The course was sponsored by the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC Colombia) and taught by specialized professionals and expert personnel who manage the production processes in the facilities of the Interactive Center for Science and Technology of the Agricultural Sector, FundaPanaca.
The Belizean delegation that graduated compromises thirteen Women and sixteen Men who received their diplomas in Technical Agricultural Labor.
The Board of Directors of the Pesticides Control Board (PCB), a Statutory Board under the Ministry responsible for agriculture in Belize, is holding its Strategic Governance Retreat 2022 on the 7th and 8th July at the Dream Valley Resort in the Cayo District.
The Strategic Governance Retreat commenced with a roundtable discussion between the Board and senior officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise aimed at enhancing policies pertaining to pesticide regulation and sound pesticide management. Keynote remarks were delivered by the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry, Mr. Servulo Baeza.
The roundtable discussion highlighted stakeholder efforts and potential pathways for the development of a multi-sectoral approach for addressing issues in pest and disease management, the adverse effects of pesticides on human health and impacts on the environment, and the life-cycle management of pesticides; contributing toward the achievement of a sustainable food system for Belize.
29 June, 2022:
CEO Baeza attends SICA-CAC Meeting in Panama
Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise Servulo Baeza is in Panama attending the second ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture of the Central American Integration System and the Central American Agricultural Council (SICA-CAC).
The meeting which is being held from the 29th to the 30th of June is chaired by the Hon. Augusto Valderrama, Minister of Agriculture of Panama and President pro tempore of the CAC.
The meeting will include presentations by representatives from IICA, the Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture; presentations from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); reports and presentations on the SICA Strategy for Rural Youth; and intersectoral meetings with representatives from Ministries of Agriculture and of Foreign Trade from member countries.
On June 28, representatives from Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise (MAFSE) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) visited Maskall Village to monitor and evaluate the JICA Cold Storage Project in that village.
The JICA Resident Representative received first hand reports from onion farmers on the storage of onions in the recently established cold storage units. Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also joined the in the discussion and saw the success of the cold storage initiatives.
The project which was donated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), comes under the Development of Agriculture Cooperatives and the Improvement of Management Capacity. The total cost of project is $186,000, with Government of Belize supporting 15 percent in technical assistance. The Four 40-feet cold storage units were delivered to farmer groups in the districts of Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize and Cayo.
