The National Agriculture and Trade Show was held this past weekend under the theme, “Integrating Sustainable Food Systems: Mitigating Climate Change, Strengthening Agricultural Resilience”.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise, this year’s show welcomed and hosted over 41,000 visitors, regional delegates, and guests. In its press release, the ministry said it thanked all those who attended the show as well as the committee members who gave their time and energy to help plan and coordinate this year’s event.
The drawing for the raffle of the 2024 Ford Ranger pickup truck was postponed. The ministry said that “at the time of drawing, the minimum threshold for tickets sold had not been met, hence the decision to postpone was made. Given the concerns of entrants and with consideration for the reputation and brand image of the supporting partners, namely BEC and DigiWallet, the Ministry assures that this was a legitimate undertaking that will proceed and for which there will be a winner. Tickets bought have been secured and will remain valid. Ticket sales will resume with the raffle scheduled for May 24, 2024.”
Through the Sustainable and Inclusive Belize Project, six extension officers were contracted to support the Ministry of Agriculture by providing technical guidance and coordination support to the project activities at the district level. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Economic Development, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank, handed over six motorcycles, desks, chairs and laptops at a value of fifty-one thousand, six hundred and sixty-one dollars to the project.
Rocio Medina Bolivar
Rocio Medina Bolivar, Group Country Manager, IDB
“This was a very special and very important milestone for the Government of Belize and actually for the whole of Belize. It was an equipment handing over related to two very important projects that is part of our portfolio and we’re really proud to be partnering with the Government of Belize. One is related to Sustainable and Inclusive Belize that really focuses on two very important sector, like agriculture and tourism and digital innovation. Through these two projects, I think we are going to really, in the agriculture sector, for instance, we are going to really impact the farmers, more than two thousand, eight hundred farmers that will be impacted and we are providing equipment that will really help the extension officers at the Ministry of Agriculture and other ministries, for instance, to have access to the logistics that are required and all the equipment also for digital and innovation. So it’s very important.”
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“Agriculture is a verb, it’s in the field. No extension officer is supposed to be in the office, except when they are writing their reports. The donation today, the contribution of motorcycles for extension officers is very, very important. Farmers need all the help that they can get in these very difficult times of climate change and this project focuses around that, mitigating the effects of climate change. Many of the programs and projects we have now are resilient agriculture . How do we produce under difficult circumstances, you know, higher temperatures lead to quick infestations of insects. We have the experience with low pollination when temperatures are very high in corn and so climate change is real.”
Three farmers will be honored on Friday at the opening ceremony of the National Agriculture and Trade Show. They are Sara Chub, the female farmer of the year, Maura Escobar, the junior farmer of the year and Nandy Aldana, the senior farmer of the year. All three farmers were bestowed with the esteemed title after a rigorous vetting process by personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture. Here are a few words from all three farmers, courtesy of the Government Press Office.
Sara Chub
Sara Chub, Female Farmer of the Year
“Every time my two kids and husband tell me the same thing, mommy you nuh tired? I tell them we need to be out there. Sometimes I was in a program that was training us to have some organic stuff.. it actually helped. Once you put your mind and hear to it you will get ahead, because I believe agriculture is a very important sector in Belize. During COVID, you know what happened, everything was on lock down. I was surviving on agriculture, instead of sitting home doing nothing. I could provide extra income to my family. I will not depend on husband salary, not depend on this one and that. God give us two hands and I believe we can use them for the correct purpose.”
Maura Escobar
Maura Escobar, Junior Farmer of the Year
“My Name is Maura Escobar. I am twenty-four-years-old. I was born here. I am Belizean. I was born in 2000 in the fifteenth of May and I am a farmer. I am a single mother. I have two kids and it was hard for me to be independent at first. But since I already knew about farming, I launched myself into farming and I began to work hard and I want to say that we can get ahead in life without support from anyone else. If you focus on what you want, you can achieve your objectives. You cant pay attention to other people. Sometimes we need advice from someone else, but those people may just come and tell you, “No, you cant do it”, but you have to tell yourself that you can. I wake up at five-thirty a.m every day. I make some coffee, put the stuff in the car and then I go to look for the young man who helps me at the farm.”
Nandy Aldana
Nandy Aldana, Senior Farmer of the Year
“My name is Nandy Aldana. I am from Concepcion Village and I am twenty-seven-years-old. I can say I belong to a family of farmers because my father was a farmer too and now, I continue to be a farmer. I have been farming full-time for fifteen to sixteen years and my passion for farming started when I was small, learning from my father. That is when I discovered that I wanted to be a farmer too. That is where everything started.”
The FAO’s One Country, One Priority Product (OCOP) Initiative has kicked off its inception workshop, marking the beginning of a comprehensive project aimed at bolstering Belize’s coconut value chain. This global endeavor will facilitate the formulation of a thorough value chain analysis and a three-year sector development plan specifically tailored for coconuts in Belize.
On April 9, stakeholders from various sectors, including government bodies, non-governmental organisations, civil society representatives, project task force members, prominent technical experts, OCOP focal points, and FAO personnel from 11 project countries, congregated virtually to inaugurate this transformative project. The inception workshop focused on delineating project objectives, anticipated outcomes, major activities, and scrutinising the detailed project implementation roadmap and budget.
Participants at the OCOP Inception Workshop
The OCOP initiative, a flagship program of the FAO, is engineered to aid Member Countries in transitioning towards more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems by fortifying the value chains of Special Agricultural Products (SAPs). By championing sustainable practices in the production, storage, processing, and marketing of selected SAPs, OCOP contributes significantly to the empowerment of smallholders and family farms, in alignment with FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022–31 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Funded by the FAO Flexible Voluntary Contribution (FVC), the global project is slated for implementation from March 1, 2024, to December 31, 2025, with a total allocation of USD 1 million. Eleven countries stand to benefit from this initiative, each focusing on promoting a distinct SAP. These countries and their chosen SAPs encompass:
Belize (coconut) and Jamaica (ginger) from Latin America and the Caribbean.
– South Sudan (sorghum), Togo (rice), and Zambia (onion) from Africa.
– Bhutan (Quinoa) and Nepal (large cardamom) from Asia and the Pacific.
– Kyrgyzstan (walnut) and Tajikistan (apricot) from Europe and Central Asia.
– Algeria (fig) and Lebanon (pulse) from the Near East and North Africa.
Participants at the OCOP Inception Workshop
The primary aim of this project is to augment food security, livelihoods, environmental sustainability, and income generation for rural communities through the sustainable development of special agricultural product value chains.
With the participation of over 110 stakeholders, the inception workshop provided a platform for deliberating project implementation and exchanging challenges and priorities concerning the OCOP initiative at regional and national levels. To date, approximately 15 million has been mobilised to support 54 countries.
Activities in Belize entail the mobilization of a national task force and the formulation of a collaborative work plan in tandem with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise since the launch of the regional OCOP.
Belize’s fisheries stocks, particularly the lobster population, could be in a critical state within a few years, says an advisor with the Belize Federation of Fishers. The spokesman told News that there is data that suggests that if steps are not taken from now to reverse the overfishing of this marine product. Today, the Federation took part in a workshop held by the Earth Journalism Network, which looked at marine stocks, and problems that the marine industry faces because of overfishing, illegal fishing and related practices. George Myvett is a voluntary advisor with the federation. He paints a grim picture of how Belize’s lobster industry could decline if we do not put measures in place to give the lobster population to reproduce.
George Myvett
George Myvett, Voluntary Advisor, Belize Federation of Fishers
“In Belize, depending on who and when you speak to them, there are over four thousand commercial fishers. One of the issues with this is that Belize has what is referred to as an open-access fishery, meaning there is no limit to the amount of fishers in the industry. One of the recent policy changes that has happened…could crash in as little as three years.”
The Farmers of the Year for 2024 have been announced. The National Agriculture and Trade Show Committee has named Nandy Aldana of the Corozal District as the Senior Farmer of the Year. The Female Farmer of the Year is Sarah Chub of the Belize District, and the Junior Farmer of the Year is Maura Esther Escobar of the Cayo District. The three winning farmers will be recognized during the National Agriculture and Trade Show, which will be held from April twenty-sixth to the twenty-eighth. This year’s theme is “Integrating Sustainable Food Systems: Mitigating Climate Change, Strengthening Agricultural Resilience”.
Last night, we told you that A.S.R./B.S.I. denounced Prime Minister John Briceño’s decision to launch a Commission of Inquiry into the sugar industry. It was gazetted on March nineteenth, prompting a statement from the multinational company. The miller contends that the decision is politically motivated and erodes B.S.I.’s investor confidence. Today, members of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association’s executive team were present for day two of the budget debate inside the National Assembly. They were there to support Jose Mai, the Minister of Agriculture and a member of the B.S.C.F.A. Alfredo Ortega, the Vice Chairman of the Committee of Management commented on B.S.I.’s position.
Alfredo Ortega, Vice Chairman, BSCFA
“Like in any case it is a pity they behave in that way because in all, before they had said that they want to put two commissioners on which they had named them, from Brazil two join the other three persons from Marishous. So they were on board long before this thing with the commission of inquiry. It is nothing new, so it is a pity to hear from them now on this date that they will be coming out and say they will not support the commission of inquiry. I think that the prime minister has to take better steps and better decision in regards to this commission of inquiry, because as you can recall, the prime minister and the minister of agriculture have mentioned many times that once the commission of inquiry brings out their information that information will be used by the cane farmers, not only the BSCFA but the other associations to get better commercial agreements and also it will assist the Government of Belize to produce a modernized sugar industry. So to us the BSCFA is not a surprise, but we believe that Belize should not admit that multinationals comes and place in our throats or in our mouths what they want things to happen in their way. Belize is a nation of laws and rules and rules must prevail. If, look, I will use this example, whenever a Belizean opens a small business and GST gets to know there is a business, they come directly to the business and investigate so that person can pay their GST. So if they do that to small Belizean people, why shouldn’t they do that to the multinationals?”
In its release, A.S.R./B.S.I. noted that it will have to reevaluate its options in Belize. Well, B.S.C.F.A. says if A.S.R. wants to leave Belize then let them leave. Ortega says, the industry will not collapse in the absence of A.S.R.
Alfredo Ortega
Alfredo Ortega, Vice Chairman, B.S.C.F.A.
“Of course yes, if we the BSCFA were prepared to buy the mill we had the money in hand ready to do so. It is a pity that the government at the time didn’t give us the opportunity to buy it over but rather they chose to give it to BSI. So if they want to go, let them leave. The industry will not die because they want to leave. There are other investors that want to come into the country. But because the design of the Sugar Industry Act, many of them that come just go away because as it is in the monopoly of BSI/ASR. SO we are not afraid if they want to pack and go because we know that will never happen. They are just trying to threaten us and the government so that we fall at their knees and do as they please.”
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister told reporters that he does not listen to B.S.C.F.A. press conference. As you may be aware, the association holds a number of press conferences to ventilate its concerns to the public. They also use the opportunity to get across direct messages to political leaders like PM Briceño. The association did just that on Tuesday. We asked Ortega for his response to the PM’s remarks.
Alfredo Ortega, Vice Chairman, B.S.C.F.A.
“The prime minister well knew before he was elected how the sugar industry was. He was the one who said that once he is elected he would work for the betterment of the sugar industry, that the industry would be one of his priority that he would be creating the marketing committee in the first one hundred days of government. That has not happened as yet. So, we do believe that as the prime minister of this country to look over the sugar industry and to see that the industry has the necessary tools for it to be viable.”
Reporter
“Who is not listening to your press conferences is the prime minister. He said so yesterday, what is your response to that?”
Alfredo Ortega
“Well it is a pity that now that he is elected to give that type of response. I think that as the leader of the country he has a moral responsibility to the sugar industry.”
During his contributions to the budget debate, Jose Mai, the Minister of Agriculture, confirmed that he and Prime Minister John Briceño have a difference in opinion over the commission of inquiry into the sugar industry. Mai noted that the commission of inquiry has been gazetted and as a result is now law. He further stated that while there is resistance, he believes this is what is best for the industry.
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“The recent protest was handled well. It would have been under the UDP the security forces would have been led by some rough neck UDP, man handle the cane farmers, they would have roughed them up, have their guns raised and let us remember who shot to death Anastacio Guiterrez of Asan Victor, Prime Minister Barrow refused to meet with cane farmers to address the matter. This is unlike our PM who cl4early we do have difference of opinion, but nevertheless have taken his time to meet with both sides and I am hopeful we will put this sugarcane matter to rest. And while there were some delays with the signing of the commission of inquiry, it has been signed and it is law. We do expect resistance but again I am convinced we all want the best for this industry.”
