Meanwhile, the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association is turning to the courts over the issue of Fairtrade premiums, aiming to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs. The association claims they haven’t received the appropriate Fairtrade payments for several years and is seeking a resolution to the dispute with the involved sugar companies, ASR/BSI and Tate and Lyle. Alfredo Ortega shared how much they’re looking forward to collecting, while Mac McLoughlin pointed out that the association’s issue is actually with their parent company, Tate and Lyle.
Alfredo Ortega
Alfredo Ortega, Chairman, Committee of Management, B.S.C.F.A, Orange Walk Branch
“For the past two years now, we can see three years we have not. The B-S-C-F-E has not been getting any premium in regards to our can being delivered to the mill. And we, in regards to the regulations, we comply with the regulation. We have our certification. We are not suspended. We passed the audit that has been done to us and nevertheless, we have not been getting our premium from since 2021. So, we are awaiting that, um, we were trying to negotiate that with BSIT and like, but it came out futile. We didn’t went through to nothing. So that is why we have it in court now. We are expecting that, um, something positive come out of that.”
Marion Ali
“How much are you expecting out of this premium?”
Alfredo Ortega
“Well, every year it’s in the vicinity of three million, three point five million, depending on the amount of sugar being sold on the Fairtrade certification. So, it’s two years that we have and plus this past crop that we have not got nothing. So, if we include all three.”
Mac McLoughlin
Mac McLoughlin, General Manager, A.S.R/B.S.I
“Fair trade is between, you know, the associations and Tate and Lyle Sugars, which is the body that sells the fair-trade sugar and pays the farmers for it. So it’s really nothing to do with BSI.”
Marion Ali
“The farmers tend to disagree with you on that.”
Mac McLoughlin
“Well, it’s the truth. I mean, we don’t sell fairtrade. Well, we sell sugar that’s Fairtrade eligible, but we don’t actually market the sugar as Fairtrade. And, back to when Fairtrade started, it was long before ASR arrived in Belize. I think it was 2008. It’s always been Tate and Lyle paying the farmers the premiums.”
Residents are also worried about potential health risks from the tower’s radiation, concerns supported by respected environmental research from the US and other countries, including the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health.
Waluco Maheia
Waluco Maheia, Chairman, Cattle Landing Village
“We found out that a few villagers were not in consent or not in support of the current location for the cell tower and a lot of the concerns are around the health hazard of the cell towers. A lot of the concerns are, yes, the health impacts that could affect villagers. So that is the main concern around where the current location of the tower is situated. We had agreed to have a follow-up consultation with representation from Digi within this month of January. One of the villagers, the individual, I believe, who is progressing with the petition, we encourage that he exercises his right to go out and find out who is in support or not in support of the cell tower. We did encourage him to go and do the petition and the petition has been submitted and it is an eye opener for us. It is something that the village council will be following up on and we still plan on having that consultation with BTL and Digi with the community. And more so, to educate about how a cell tower works, what can be the impacts. As far as self-education that I’ve done, cell towers, like your cell phone and internet modem within your home fall under what we call non-ionizing radiation, meaning that it only produces heat, but not enough energy to damage human cells. So it is in the realm of the non-ionizing radiation, unlike ionizing radiation which produces more of like the gamma rays and heavier radiation.”
People in Cattle Landing have heard from their neighbors in San Jose and Emeri Grove that Digi plans to install cell towers in their communities too, but those towers will be placed more than half a mile away from the nearest homes. This distance is well beyond the recommended safe distance of 500 meters to avoid potential harmful radiation effects.
Farmers in San Carlos Village, Orange Walk, are feeling the frustration as they struggle to sell their produce at a fair price. Several farmers have planted thousands of dollars’ worth of carrots, ready for harvest and sale. However, they claim that competition from other carrots on the market and a lack of interested buyers have left their crops rotting in the ground. Today, News Five’s Britney Gordon visited some of these farmers to hear their pleas for government intervention.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
What you’re seeing is a carrot field on two hundred acres of farmland. It belongs to Ruben Perez, a farmer from San Carlos. In about two weeks, his carrots will start to rot. They’ve been ready for sale since December, but Perez says there haven’t been any buyers.
Ruben Perez
Ruben Perez, Carrot Farmer
“The problem we have right with carrots is that we cannot sell. We have problem with selling carrots. We don’t have buyers and we are ready from first week of December. That’s one month now. And the problem is that we call the buyers who import the Mexican carrots and now when we call them, some of them say, we can’t sell too much, we just could sell lee bit. And they are big importers of Mexican product and now when we have the local product, now they don’t want a lot and I don’t understand why.”
Farmers are saying their carrots aren’t selling because of competition from both imported and contraband carrots. However, Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai clarified that Belize doesn’t import carrots when there’s enough local supply to meet demand. He insists that this issue is just a political ploy, a tactic used by several political figures in the past.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“Carrots is a bad topic to use for political mileage. That’s primary school politics. Tracy tried it, she failed. Shyne tried it, and he also failed. This is a matter of supply and demand. The Ministry if Agriculture has never and will never issue importation of carrot permits when we are harvesting carrots, when our farmers are. That is a fundamental rule in the Ministry of Agriculture. That will not happen. As to contraband. The Ministry of Agriculture does not control contraband. We try to work with customs, immigration, military customs, quarantine, Baha. But we have porous borders, but up to now, we haven’t seen enough evidence of illegal importation of carrots because the quality is known.”
He also pointed out that part of the problem is the short shelf life of carrots, which makes it even harder to sell them quickly.
Jose Abelardo Mai,
“What we have is a problem we have every year with carrots. We have ninety acres planted in the country right now. Fifty acres is planted in the Cayo District, and twenty-five in Orange Walk. Another five or six acres in Corozal, another six acres in Stann Creek. Alright? The problem is that the carrots seem to come into maturity all at one time. Why? Because it’s seasonal. So everybody brought it at the same time. Secondly, carrots have zero shelf life.”
Cornelius Schmidt shared that it takes about one hundred and twenty days for carrots to be ready for harvest. If they stay in the ground any longer, they risk rotting.
Cornelius Schmidt
Cornelius Schmidt, Farmer
“What we have here once its beginning to brown like we have no then its ready to harvest.”
Perez is puzzled about why importers are hesitant to buy local carrots. He suspects that the wax coating on imported carrots makes them more attractive to buyers. With about fifteen thousand dollars invested in this year’s carrot crop, Perez fears this challenge could spell trouble for the future of his farming career.
Ruben Perez
“They need the pressure of the Minister of Agriculture because I could see how if they buy forty thousand pounds when they are importing they buy that weekly. That amount. And now that we have they can’t buy the same amount and that’s why I call the news that they could help us and we are here to tell the Minster of Agriculture, the Prime Minister too to make them help us. Because this is our job that we do and we depend in totality in this work.”
This is an issue that the Ministry of Agriculture acknowledges and has been attempted to rectify.
Jose Abelardo Mai
“We encourage them to buy from the local producer. So we said to them, if you want to continue importing, if you want to continue benefiting from your farmers, you need to buy our local products. Okay? So right now, yesterday I sat down with the government, issues, governments, and we’re reviewing analysis. And if they can’t prove to us that they are supporting our farmers, we will have to put the brakes on them. And I said that to them in no way, we will allow them to continue importing if they do not buy from our local farmers. I’m sorry.”
Just a short distance from Perez’s farm, another farmer is anxiously waiting to harvest about eight million dollars’ worth of potatoes. He’s worried that he might face the same challenges when it comes time to sell. Minister Mai has tried to reassure farmers, stating that there are no active licenses for potato imports. However, despite the Ministry’s assurances, local farmers say they haven’t received any government assistance and are uncertain about their next steps. UDP Standard Bearer for Orange Walk South claims that several farmers are hesitant to speak out, fearing persecution.
German Tillett
German Tillett, U.D.P. Standard Bearer, Orange Walk South
“I was speaking and I was telling them, convincing then to come up. To step up and give their interview about what is really happening with their crops and everything but they always say that they are afraid, so that whenever help comes, the little help that comes, they will not be able to get that. Because they come out and say what is happening. But what I usually tell them is that should not be afard because the help comes to everyone, to every farmer and if you get victimized by this government that means that something is really wrong..”
Minister Mai is optimistic that the demand for carrots will pick up within the next two weeks. Looking ahead, he revealed that the ministry has big plans to industrialize the sector over the next five years by setting up an agro-processing facility in Orange Walk. This move aims to add value to Belize’s local crops and boost the agricultural industry. Britney Gordon for News Five.
Sugar cane farmers across Belize are still anxiously waiting for the sugar roads to be repaired. Earlier this week, we reported that sugar cane deliveries have been crawling due to the terrible condition of the roads, which has severely impacted sugar production in the north. On Wednesday, Prime Minister John Briceno acknowledged the farmers’ struggles and assured the public that the roads will be fixed eventually. He explained that funds have already been allocated for the repairs, but the heavy rains Belize has been experiencing have delayed the process. Today, we asked the Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, if there’s any timeline for these much-needed repairs. Here’s what he had to say.
On the Phone: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“ I can’t give you a time frame of when the weather will fix right? Iit’s raining a lot. The Prime Minister this morning said, I think on a talk show, he said that he has okayed another million dollars for repair of sugar roads, but you cannot repair sugar roads when it’s raining. Right? We have done, we have given out contracts for contractors. If they continue work while it’s raining and roads are destroyed again, they will complain again. And if we do that, it is not wise for us to take taxpayer’s money, throw it on sugar roads, erase the following day and tax the taxpayer money gone. So we have to be timely. We have to choose the time when to do right for us to fix sugar roads.”
The Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed a second case of screwworm in Belize. The first case of this highly destructive parasite was detected in late December in Crique Sarco Village, Toledo District. This Sunday, another case popped up in Toledo, this time in San Pedro, Columbia. We spoke with Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, who shared that this case likely originated in Guatemala as well.
On the Phone: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“Screwworm can only move in a number of ways. The first one is the flies. The fly flies. They are closest point to Guatemala. Guatemala’s case from our border was eleven miles. It could have easily been a fly that flew into the country, right? And laid eggs on a therefore we had the first case. Secondly, there is a strong connection between the farmers in Toledo and Guatemalan farmers, the exchange cattle it seems and so that could have been the second possibility. The animal may have arrived in masses, in vehicles. No, we do not put cattle for human consumption none at all. Those two possibilities are the only two that we have reviewed and the could be the source of entry into the country in the case right now in San Pedro Colombia, we are still not sure how it got there. We have investigated around the neighborhood. If any of them are important to the area, we can’t find evidence of it. We believe that it’s too far away from the deep jungle to say it is wildlife. And so we are not too certain. We haven’t ascertained yet what was the source but we have people on the ground. We have a dozen people on the ground or more that are doing a house to house campaign and a farm to farm campaign to ensure that there are no more cases on the ground.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has rolled out new restrictions on live animal imports from Belize, effective January third, 2025. This move follows Belize’s confirmation of its first case of New World Screwworm in late December. Under the new rules, ruminants like goats and cattle, as well as swine, are banned from entering the U.S. Dogs can still be imported, but they must have a health certificate confirming they’ve been inspected for screwworm. Horses will also need to undergo inspection and isolation upon arrival. Earlier today, Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai reassured News Five that these restrictions are unlikely to have a significant impact on Belize’s trade sector.
On the Phone: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“We’re the last country in Central America to have contacted screwworm. Mexico had it first on us. When Mexico had the case, the U.S. did put some sanctions on them until they reviewed and made changes to the export protocol. So the Mexicans use the same protocol with us, Belize. We intend to use the same protocol with us, Belize. So we have screwworm now in the Belize, we have two cases confirmed, but Mexico has never stopped or closed the door on our exports for cattle. As a matter of fact, they are helping by reducing the number of quarantine deals from twenty-one to seven years. So that they could export a different protocol, easier and less expensive. All they want for us to do animal inspection and thorough treatment before we export. But it has not affected us. The U. S., put that on the website. We do not export any livestock to the U. S., so it does not affect us in any way.”
The sugar roads in northern Belize are in rough shape, making it really difficult for cane farmers to transport their harvest to the mill. Even though the new sugar crop season started on December twenty-seventh, deliveries have been slow, which is impacting sugar production at Tower Hill. On Tuesday, industry stakeholders like the Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association and A.S.R./B.S.I. shared their thoughts on the issue and its impact on the sector. This morning, Prime Minister John Briceño added his voice to the discussion, speaking on behalf of the Government of Belize.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Well, the sugar roads, look at the weather. We have set aside the money, we have signed contracts, but I constantly tell our farmers that we will be wasting money if we try to fix the road right now because then, one day or two days later, it’s going to break up. So, we have the money, we’ve signed the contracts. We’ve set aside even another million dollars plus to be able to fix the sugar roads. But, until the rain clears up, there’s not much that we can do.”
The recent rains might be a relief for some, but they’ve been causing a chain reaction of problems for the sugarcane industry in northern Belize. The Corozal Sugar Cane Producers’ Association issued a press release today, highlighting how the delay in road repairs has led to under-delivery of their cane quota to the mill. This could spell trouble for Belize’s 2025 cane crop output if the mill can’t compensate for the losses already recorded since the crop season began in December. In a conversation with A.S.R/B.S.I., we learned that the rains have been affecting cane delivery across the north. Farmers can’t harvest the mature cane planted in low-lying areas and are forced to turn in younger cane from more accessible areas, which don’t yield as much. However, B.S.I. spokespersons suggest that smarter planting and harvesting methods could help address this issue. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
On the Phone: Vladimir Puck, Chairman, Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association
“What the cane farmers have to endure is messing up their units, right? I mean, it’s almost impossible and they will just damage the road even further and their machinery. And that is why we have a very poor delivery at the moment, you know, because of those conditions of the road.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
Vladimir Puck, Chairman of the Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association, is raising the alarm about the poor road conditions that are preventing their members from delivering their daily sugarcane quota to the Tower Hill mill. Puck explains that the road passing through his residence and plantation, which includes several villages, is just one example of the many areas affecting association members. Olivia Carballo-Avilez, Cane Farmer Relations Manager for Belize Sugar Industries Limited, also highlighted that the recent rains have been impacting cane farmers across the entire north, making it even harder for them to meet their delivery targets.
“We are experiencing challenges in general here in the in the north, both for Corozal and Orange Walk. The challenge, the crop has started very slow. The cane supply has been almost 50 percent of what we should be getting for the day. It’s increasing now at this point, but, the farmers have expressed challenges of can supply reaching to the more mature fields that they should be reaching.”
The problem has led to a shortage of delivery for the canefarmers. Adding to the problem is the fact that the cane being delivered is younger and doesn’t produce as much sugar. This means the overall yield is lower, further impacting the sugar industry’s productivity.
On the Phone: Vladimir Puck
“We are short right now for about a third of what we are used to. To be delivering, which is the amount of out of 500 tons. We are only delivering about 300 at the moment.”
Olivia Carballo-Avilez
“This not only affects the quantity of cane, but also the quality. Cane quality is very, very important for farmers and for us because, um, it is, uh, we, we need to extract the sugar and based on the amount of sugar that we can extract out of that cane, which is the quality of the cane. We have milled 38,500 metric tons of cane, and we’ve done that in 11 days. That amount of cane on a normal grinding rate at 6,800. We would have gotten that done in five days, five and a half days.”
Carballo-Avilez explained that the issue has hit the mill hard, forcing it to halt operations. This is far from the outcome anyone wanted.
Olivia Carballo-Avilez
“The factory does not do well, um, with a start and stop. It’s not a, uh, an electronic device that you can just switch on and switch off. It doesn’t work that way. It’s a whole series of of machinery that come together to work. So, it affects the mill when we have to start and stop. It’s not, it’s not automatic. We have to be able to have enough cane on the ground, uh, at the, at the queues and at the cane yard so that we’re able to restart and we are able to continue.”
The Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association has called on the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing to collaborate with them to plan the road repairs in the future.
On the Phone: Vladimir Puck
“I think that together with stakeholders, not the authority should. We should have more meetings and maybe do a plan on how and when road repairs and needed roads need to be targeted, you know, before a start of crop. Plenty of time before a start of crop.”
CEO of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing, Victor Espat, explained that the recent rains have delayed the repair of dirt roads. The ministry has been working on fixing over seventy-five sugar roads in the north, covering almost four hundred miles. Espat noted that this is an annual task with a limited budget, but this year, the rains have set back their efforts. He pointed out that trying to repair roads during the rain would be futile, as the materials would just wash away before they could be properly compacted.
On a brighter note, Olivia Carballo-Avilez suggested a climate-resilient approach to planting and harvesting that could solve many of the issues cane farmers are currently facing. She emphasized that this would require community effort and organized planning. Key techniques include planting according to the land’s topography and the rainy season, and strategically timing when certain roads and fields would be accessible. Essentially, it all comes down to smart planting.
Olivia Carballo-Avilez
“What is required is really a transformation in the, in the delivery system. Currently we have 250 reaping groups, um, that harvest wherever they, they are, they are available to harvest. But what we really should be. thinking is about the geography of the area. Um, we need to harvest in larger groups, consolidate some of the smaller groups into larger groups. Focus attention on those areas that you are able to harvest at at a given time when it’s, um, what conditions you harvest in all the identified higher areas instead of of harvesting in low. And when it’s drier, you go into the into the less accessible and, and areas that we know are lower.”
On Monday, the Ministry of Agriculture announced the first case of screwworm in southern Belize. The infestation was limited to one animal, which has since been treated. While the New World Screwworm is treatable if caught early, it can have deadly consequences for both animals and humans. Since July 2023, the ministry has been proactive in preventing the spread of screwworm in Belize. Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, elaborates on the measures taken to protect livestock and ensure the safety of Belizeans nationwide.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“We have been working hard to prevent the introduction of screwworm into Belize. Belize is the last of all Central American countries to be reporting on a suspect case. We activated our national plan in October and aggressively engaged with stakeholder groups to strengthen our position. As part four hundred twenty-five establishments, farms, and homes were visited and more than two hundred and thirty-five technical personnel have been trained in new worlds home prevention and control brochures were designed and printed in English, Spanish, lower German, Ketchi, Mopan, and Yucatec, Maya, and Garifuna, and these have been widely distributed. Technical teams made appearances on morning shows and this was supported. by social media, post billboards, and home visits. All this contributed to thousands of religions becoming aware of and informed of the New World Screwworm as a country as a part of the prevention plan, we also increased inspections of pets being imported from New World Screwworm-infested countries at all official points of entry, these are on land, sea, and air. And then by moving control points when installed at Bullett Tree, Cayo District, and Toledo district. These are manned by BAHA officers, the police and a BLP officer and are operational twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. These movement controls were strengthened to ensure no animals enter Belize at these unofficial crossing points, and that all cargo vehicles entering Belize through these points are sprayed with an insecticide that’s also a larvicide.”
On December twenty-sixth, 2024, the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) received a report about a suspicious wound on an animal in southwestern Toledo. The wound was suspected to be caused by New World Screwworm, a highly destructive parasite that typically targets livestock and other animals. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture quickly dispatched technical teams to the area for a thorough assessment. Earlier today, the Ministry of Agriculture and its partners held a press conference to share details on their response to the infestation. Here’s Doctor Roxanna Alvarez, Animal Health Director of BAHA, with more information.
Dr. Roxanna Alvarez, Animal Health Director, BAHA
“Upon arrival at the farming establishment, a six-month-old Brangus heifer was observed penned in a coral. Closer inspection found a suspicious seeping wound on her right ear near her ear tag. A total of fifty-nine larvae were removed. The wound was treated with Cyperchlor, which is cypermethrin, gentian violet, pine, and citronella oil. Comafuss powder and ivermectin was administered subcutaneous. No other wound was found on the animal and no other animals in the herd presented lesions, wounds, or infestations. The producer was informed that his farm was under quarantine and therefore he would not be allowed to move any animals in or out of the establishment. He was also advised that follow up technical visits would be necessary. He was given advice on treatment and preventative measures for his entire herd. The samples were transported to the BAHA Entomology Laboratory and preliminary findings by the BAHA Entomologist indicated New World Screwworm. We are awaiting confirmation by COPEG. The nearest positive case from the suspected case in Crique Sarco is in Modesto Mendez, Guatemala, which is approximately eleven point eight three miles in a straight line. We have been on high alert for months. As the minister mentioned, we have had an aggressive education and outreach program, coupled with active surveillance. We have done well at preventing infestations, and I must acknowledge the vital role stakeholders have played. In this specific instance, the producer, his neighbors, and the community of Crique Sarco acted with caution, consistently inspected their animals, and immediately notified us. BAHA of wounds with larvae, also known as worms. This was crucial to our immediate response.”
