PM Says Rural Residents Forgotten for Too Long

The National Rural Development Strategy (NRDS) 2026–2030 was launched today. This strategy aims at transforming rural communities and reducing poverty through better access to jobs and economic opportunities. 

Prime Minister John Briceño said, “For too long we have not been giving the proper attention to our rural citizens or to people living in the rural area.”

He noted that more than half of Belize’s population resides in rural areas, where challenges such as limited access to electricity, water, and roads remain. “In the urban areas, you open your eyes, put on the switch, and you have electricity… You open the faucet and you have water… Whilst in the rural areas, we find the opposite of that,” he said.

Briceño went on to describe rural Belize as the country’s main source of wealth, pointing to agriculture, tourism, food production, and natural reserves concentrated outside urban centers. “Everything that makes Belize so special and unique is in the rural areas,” he said.

The NRDS strategy, Briceño said, provides a roadmap for government investment and ensures resources are used effectively. He stressed the need for more farm roads, access to land, affordable credit, electricity, and educational support for students to break cycles of poverty.