History in the Making: Sembrando Vida to Boost Productive Sector

Jose Abelardo Mai

One government official who was elated about the opportunities for farmers and improving food security was Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise Jose Abelardo Mai. Just last week, Minister Mai spoke to News Five about further expanding trade relations with Mexico and tapping into that market, which has approximately one hundred and twenty-eight million people. Minister Mai breaks down the proposed investment in farmers and what it means by Sembrando Vida or the Sowing Life Program coming to Belize.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture

“It means that two thousand farmers will be getting a small stipend monthly for four months to produce select commodities which we have to determine yet, the technical team in the Ministry of Agriculture. They will also provide agro-inputs for the production of these commodities. We estimate that it could be between eight and ten million dollars that this program will be supporting in terms of value of the project. So it is a tremendous boost to the productive sector. It is targeting small farmers and I think that this is one of the greatest moments in the history of these two countries. Two thousand small farmers receiving this kind of assistance at a time when we are recovering from COVID, I think is one of the greatest things that can happen to us. From what the president announced today, I am extremely happy. I cannot find the words. I think the Mexican president and his government have been extremely kind to Belize. The announcement today of Sembrando Vida and the announcement of a tariff free export to Mexico is something that we’ve been dreaming of for many, many years.”

The program is done in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.