BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – 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 had received funding totaling BZ$50 million (One Belize dollar = 0.49 cents) from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for the program.
The RRB and the MED have signed a contract with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association regarding the program.
The authorities said the contract with IICA will provide the resources for a Youth Managers’ Project. IICA will train 36 young men and women from villages where the RRB partners with farmer cooperatives in strategic areas such as marketing, cooperative management, and financial sustainability.
The MOA with Progressive Sugar Cane Famers Association will enable 500 low-income individuals, including women and youth from villages around the country, to be trained in rudimentary climate-smart agriculture through the development of backyard gardens.
The contract with IICA is valued at BDZ$ 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 significant 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 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 can 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 supplement their diet nutritionally or for added income while at the same time gaining further interest in agriculture.
Carlos Pol, acting Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Economic Development, and Dr. Geraldo Flowers, Programme Manager at Resilient Rural Belize, signed both the contract with IICA and the MOA.
The Country Representative, Mauricio Guevara Pinto, and Administrator, Elisa Harrison, signed the contract on behalf of IICA. In contrast, Cosme Hernandez, general manager, and Association chairman Josue Cajun signed the MOA on behalf of the Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association.
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