Belize Implements Program to Minimize Impact of Climate Change on Small Farmers
BELMOPAN, Belize – The Belize government says it has embarked on a six-year Resilient Rural Belize (RRB) program aimed at minimizing the impacts of climatic and economic events on small farmers while supporting sustainable market access for their produce.
The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) said that it has received funding totaling BZ$50 million (One Belize dollar=US$0.49 cents) from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for the programme.
The RRB and the MED have signed a contract with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association regarding the programme.
The authorities said that the contract with IICA will provide the resources for a Youth Managers’ Project, during which IICA will train 36 young men and women from villages in which the RRB has partnerships with farmer cooperatives in strategic areas such as marketing, cooperative management, and financial sustainability.
The MOA with Progressive Sugar Cane Famers Association will enable training for 500 low-income individuals, including women and youth from villages around the country, in rudimentary climate-smart agriculture through the development of backyard gardens.
The contract with IICA is valued at BDZ$164,522.50, and the MOA with the Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association is valued at BDZ$403,770.00.
The MED said that one of the major challenges agriculture projects such as the RRB face is the involvement of women and youth in agriculture.
“Both projects have, as one of their primary objectives, the participation of women and youth in agriculture. The Youth Managers Training Programme being implemented by IICA will target 18 males and 18 females and provide training to them in areas such as marketing, financial, and organizational management so that they will be able to provide leadership in the future to the cooperatives that RRB works with.”
The MED said that the Backyard Garden Project with the Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association will train 500 low-income women and youth in climate-smart agriculture through the development of backyard gardens with the expectation that many will use the produce from the garden to nutritionally supplement their diet or for added income while at the same time gaining further interest in agriculture.
Signing both the contract with IICA and the MOA was Carlos Pol, acting Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Economic Development, and Dr. Geraldo Flowers, Programme Manager, Resilient Rural Belize.
The Country Representative Mauricio Guevara Pinto and Administrator Elisa Harrison signed the contract on behalf of IICA, while Cosme Hernandez, general manager, and Association chairman Josue Cajun, signed the MOA on behalf of the Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association.
