Government of Belize to Offer Relief to Citrus Industry

Jose Abelardo Mai

And one of those agriculture industries that the PM says is underperforming is the citrus industry. The Minister of Agriculture, Jose Mai says the government has undertaken numerous initiatives recently to help to increase performance in citrus. We spoke with Minister Mai about the support being offered and the outlook for the industry.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture

“Government interventions so far, financially has been the allocation of funds to DFC for them to lend to citrus growers. That is our support so far. At the ministerial level our discussion has been yet in stages to discuss or offer the citrus growers is subsidized prices for seedlings. Many of the trees are old or diseased. They have identified resistant or one tolerant to the disease. So we are prepared to offer them a subsidy, fifty percent the cost of seedlings so that the farmers can start their orchards. That is as far as we go in terms of financial support to citrus growers. So they themselves have decide that is the way they will go, eighteen dollars per bag. We continue to dialogue and encourage them to meet to arrive at this type of solution to benefit all the stakeholders.”