Soybean plantations in Blue Creek and other parts of the country are also being affected by the continuous drought. In Blue Creek, farmers there were expected to plant two thousand five hundred acres of soybeans but instead, were only able to plant two hundred acres. This is a loss of over a million dollars according […]
Parliamentarian Jose Abelardo Mai says the Government must pay attention to the farmers’ plights. Ignoring such issues can have detrimental effects on not only the economy but also on households, says Mai. He adds that there must be a fresh injection of capital in the industry so that farmers can bounce back. Jose Abelardo […]
On August ninth, 2019, management and workers of the Citrus Products of Belize Limited gathered for the signing of a Subsidiary Workers Agreement, which is a contractual agreement between the company and its two hundred and twenty-five permanent employees. The agreement outlines the terms, conditions and benefits of employment for workers stationed at four different […]
For more than ten years, the Fisheries Department and its partners have been working on amendments to the Fisheries Bill. If the amendments are approved and enacted, there will be stronger enforcement of fisheries regulations and increased promotion of sustainable fisheries management. Cabinet received the draft bill in March 2014, but the amendments are yet […]
For the past four years, the Government of Belize through the Ministry of Agriculture has been working on expanding the sheep farming industry in Belize. The aim of the project is for local farmers to satisfy the demand of the multimillion-dollar market in the Caribbean and Central America. But in order to meet the required […]
The three-day sheep management workshop will also feature a day of leather tanning. Many may not know, but there is a leather cooperative out west. Its members, who are primarily farmers, are making use of the skin from cattle to generate additional income. It’s a process that takes up to eight days, but can significantly […]
The Coalition for Sustainable Fisheries is championing a move to ban the use of gillnets countrywide. Gillnets are indiscriminate and as such are depleting fish stocks. This morning, a news team set out to see where they visited a remote area about twenty miles north where fishermen are harvesting tons of fish using gillnets. Isani […]
Last month the Stabroek News of Guyana published an article outlining the challenges in the sugar sector for CARICOM states. The article headline reads that the, “extensive tax evasion sinking struggling sugar industry.” As we’ve reported in the past, the E.U. market changes from 2017, along with the low global commodity prices for sugar during […]
There is an alert tonight in the banana industry in the south. The Belize Agriculture Health Authority informs of a suspected detection of Fusarium wilt of bananas in La Guajira Province in Colombia. The disease is devastating and can potentially wipe out the industry. If infected, banana plants die and the disease spreads quickly within […]
The citrus industry continues to grapple with low productivity, dwindling farmhands, as well as lack of financing. These challenges are compounded by citrus greening, so much so that the 2018/2019 crop fell by almost fourteen percent when compared to the previous year. But today when News Five caught up with Minister of Agriculture Godwin Hulse, […]
Can the citrus industry rebound? That’s the question we posed to officials of the Citrus Growers Association when we met for a one-on-one interview on Thursday. Hit by citrus greening, declining production and lack of financing, the industry in the south has been facing huge challenges. But there is some optimism as industry officials believe […]
While up north the sugar industry is having a bumper crop, in the south, the citrus industry is in dire straits. The 2018-2019 crop has been plagued by many factors which has resulted in a steep drop in the delivery of oranges, by as much as thirteen percent. The industry is experiencing all sorts of […]
Phase One of a three-day train-the-trainers workshop being held by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Agriculture Organization has concluded. The Sustainable Food Systems and Value Chain Development Project began on Monday and was facilitated by Bree Romuld of the F.A.O. The purpose of the seminar was to introduce participants to principles and […]
Today was a big day for the northern districts, as the 2018-2019 sugar crop closed off at A.S.R/B.S.I. It ended on a positive note for the sugar industry with record breaking numbers for sugar cane milled and sugar extracted. There are, however, some farmers who were not able to deliver all their cane. But the […]
And so while sugar experts and farmers are happy about the boost in this year’s sugar cane milled and sugar extracted, it also brings into the focus the much needed market for this sugar. The Ministries of Agriculture and Trade and Commerce, along with its sugar industry partners of A.S.R./B.S.I., Santander and other regional bodies […]
Neal says it would be significant for Belize Sugar to get into the CARICOM market. B.S.I. alone is producing upwards of one hundred and fifty thousand tons of sugar and just a fraction of that is being consumed on the local market; the surplus can meet the needs of CARICOM. William Neal, Communications & […]
A two-week summer programme with a focus on agriculture concluded over the weekend with lots of fun activities for the budding farmers. As many as two hundred young people took part in the annual programme which teaches them different aspects of agriculture, which is one of the key pillars of the economy. News Five’s Duane […]
If you’ve ever come across a bee, your natural reaction would be to run away because their sting can be painful and deadly. And while bees have proven deadly to humans and animals, they are critical to the sustainability of food production. But bee populations are dwindling more and more each year. They are under […]
Last month we told you about a donation of small hive beetle traps that was handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture. Those traps are to be used to control the pest that has taken over bee colonies in the Orange Walk and Corozal Districts. It is a pest that is native to the African […]
A pair of Belizean fishermen was busted in the southern waters off the coast of Placencia with a massive haul of out-of-season conch. According to the Fisheries Department, a team of rangers was out on routine patrol near the southeast corner of Channel Caye when they encountered Bartolo Jimenez and another fisherman. Upon closing in […]
The conch season was closed earlier than usual this year. Notwithstanding its premature closure, the Fisheries Department has been working closely with its maritime counterparts to enforce all laws at sea. According to Gamboa, there has been a joint effort over the past two months to patrol several hotspots, including the area where the fishermen […]
On Wednesday night, we told you the story of the largest onion producer in the Belize District. The Orellana family produces upwards of one hundred thousand pounds of onion annually, but this year, they found themselves competing with contraband onions on the market. And because the contraband produce is going for a cheaper price, local […]
The BAHA Quarantine team has implemented a number of measures to crack down on the contraband business. Those efforts include checkpoints for inspections, as well as surveillance and intelligence gathering to regulate imports to prevent entry of pests and diseases. The contraband problem is not unique to onions. There is also a Medfly outbreak along […]
In April 2017, the Pesticides Control Board launched a plan that would help the Board reach a higher level as a modern, more effective organization that delivers quality services and provides adequate coverage to the agri-food sector, as well as other sectors involved in pesticide use. In its almost thirty years of existence, this is […]
Contraband onions are hurting local onion farmers. Several onion producing communities have thousands of pounds of onions on their hands and can’t sell them. The Belize Marketing and Development Corporation and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Extension Service conducted a yearly onion availability last Friday in three of the major onion producing communities, Maskall, Little Belize […]
