Taiwanese government transfers agricultural projects to GOB

At Central Farm today, the Taiwanese Government handed over a two-year old project initially carried out by the Taiwanese Technical Mission. The Ministry of Natural resources and Agriculture will now assume oversight of the project, land and equipment as phase two of the agricultural initiative. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was present for the transfer ceremony.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A signing ceremony between the Taiwanese government and the Ministry of Agriculture marking the culmination of the Taiwanese Technical Mission to Belize was held this afternoon at Central Farm.  While the brief formalities should have included the participation of agriculture minister Gaspar Vega and Minister of State Hugo Patt, they were both noticeably absent.  Speaking on behalf of Taiwanese government was Ambassador David Wu.

David Wu, Taiwanese Ambassador

David Wu

“Currently the Taiwan Technical Mission have three main projects: Horticulture Development Project, Rising Production Project and Agro-processing project. In the past four years, the Government of the Republic of China and Taiwan have put in more than three million U.S. dollars to execute this three projects. We implemented horticultural crop development project with four sub-projects including horticulture crops demonstration and the training center; horticulture extension; papaya exportation and our farm fruit safety extension. The horticulture crop demonstration and the training center has demonstrated techniques in seedling production and compost production as well as giving workshops on fruits and vegetable cultivation. Four hundred and seventy-two families have benefited from this project. The horticulture extension project provided assistance to the Maya grain grower’s farmers group, as well as an fertilizer production, urban gardens and a guava cultivation farmers. We have assisted one hundred seventy farmers and their families. The papaya exportation project was aimed to help small farmers by giving them loans and guiding them in exporting their produce. Eighty farmers and their families were assisted. The farm fruit safety extension executed the good pesticide management practice program and established a rapid bio-acid for pesticide residue; RPPR System for chicken pesticides in the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) Food Safety Department to educate technical staff farmers and the consumers alike.”

The transition from the initial phase of the technical mission to one of project management includes the handing over of a number of resources to the Ministry of Agriculture.  They include equipment and real estate.

David Wu

“Today I’m handing over all of the properties of the three projects including vehicles, agricultural machinery for a total of three hundred and forty properties to the ministry. More important than the properties transfer is the technology transfer and the human resources capacity building. The Taiwan Technical Mission staff, in collaboration with our partners, has completed the invaluable technical operation manuals. And today, I am also handing these manuals over to the ministry. The transfer of the three projects is not the end of the technical cooperation between our two countries. On the contrary it will be a new beginning of the cooperation between our two countries. In the year 2011, the new aquaculture project started to use this new model of project manage corporation. This year we have two new projects: namely, strengthening the control of Huang Long Ping (HLP) or better known as the greening disease of the citrus and the implementing of the integrity pasture management (IPM) in citrus project.”

Accepting the donation on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture was Chief Agriculture Officer Roberto Harrison.  Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.