Hector Silva was one of two Senators who abstained from voting on the matter. Silva said he is against monopolies but the areas in this B.T.L. takeover are so grey that he absolutely had to abstain from voting. Hector Silva, PUP Senator “What I’m saying is this, why I abstained is one: are we sure […]
Citrus should be sweet, but the industry has been going sour for quite a while. The Citrus Growers Association wanted to unseat three of its directors on the board of the Citrus Products of Belize Limited (C.P.B.L.). CPBL’s Chief Executive Officer, Henry Canton and directors Frank Redmond and Mike Dunker should have been replaced with […]
Still on the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, when we caught up earlier with the N.T.U.C.B., News Five queried their concern on the Commission of Inquiry that has been established by the P.M. to look into the allegations of impropriety in respect of procurement of medical supplies. The N.T.U.C.B. is complaining that the rules of engagement […]
Potatoes and lettuce, they are constant on dinner tables and indeed you can’t have rice and beans without potato or garden salad. There was a scarcity of both staples in the past few weeks and this triggered the importation of the products from neighbouring Mexico. But while this solved the issue of availability, it caused […]
We also found importers disgruntled at having to pay up to two hundred and ten dollars for the hundred pound sack of potatoes. The twenty-two members of the Belize Vegetable Importers Association, who did not get their permits renewed, say the price hikes result from a recent decision made by the Ministry of Agriculture. Representative, […]
When we checked with the Ministry of Agriculture, C.E.O., Gabino Canto told News Five that the decision on who got the new permits, was sanctioned by his boss, the minister. Gabino Canto, C.E.O., Ministry of Agriculture “We had some concerns expressed by the vendors yesterday in Belmopan. And I passed on the message to the […]
There is an event coming up in the deep south that sounds promising for chocolate lovers and will provide an excellent opportunity to get better acquainted with natural beauty of the Toledo District. The third annual Cacao Festival is drawing near and today Chair of the festival committee, Armando Choco, visited our studios to give […]
One of Belize’s major income earners, the citrus industry, faces a new threat. It has to do with the citrus greening disease that has recently been detected in northern, western and southern Belize. The only silver lining is that so far the disease had not been detected in citrus groves but in private backyards. Today […]
The National Agriculture and Trade Show is back on the radar and a new date has been set to hold the show. After the Influenza A H1N1 scare caused its postponement earlier this month, the trade show committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries moved the event to the twenty-ninth and thirtieth of this […]
The announced power outages were expected to begin today and when we contacted B.E.L. on Thursday the company said it is preparing for any power outage that may occur as a result of repair and maintenance work that their supplier in Mexico, C.F.E., is undertaking. C.F.E. told News Five also on Thursday that it would […]
Daniel Archer, a bus driver for Mahogany Height’s has been buying lotto for approximately six years and it has finally paid off. Tonight Archer is over sixty thousand dollars richer after he struck the right numbers in Wednesday night’s lotto. We spoke to Archer, a father of four, as he collected his winnings. Daniel Archer, […]
A bartender of San Pedro Town was today fined ten thousand dollars after he pleaded guilty to trafficking over three pounds of marijuana. Twenty-one year old Kareem Gonzalez pleaded guilty in the Corozal Magistrate’s Court after he was apprehended on south end, Corozal on Monday afternoon. Police say the weed was found in a grey […]
And in a programming notification for our viewers, we will be bringing to you live coverage of a press briefing by the Ministry of Health to be held this Friday, May first at nine am to keep the nation updated on the H1N1 flu. But before that, viewers are asked to note that a repeat […]
Day two of the extradition appeal of Rhett Fuller ended late this evening with the defence resting its case. Attorney for Fuller, Eamon Courtenay, put forward seven grounds under which the request for extradition should be denied. Today he argued that too much time had elapsed between the alleged crime his client is accused of […]
There is strong talk coming tonight from the Belize Cane Farmers Association in day four of a strike involving three entities in the sugar cane industry and the introduction of a new pricing mechanism. Word to News Five late this evening is that the Cane Farmers Association has upped the ante as three meetings with […]
There might be a breakthrough in the strike by cane farmers in the north. And this evening, Chairman of the Sugar Industry Control Board, Nemencio Acosta, told News Five that a meeting was held today among officials of the Board and Belize Sugar Industries Limited to discuss the possibility of a new price mechanism. But […]
There is still no resolution tonight to a strike in the north where cane farmers are facing lower prices for cane delivered to the B.S.I. Sugar Factory in Tower Hill. The usually long delivery lines did not form and farmers kept away for the most part. All day farmers were asked through the media not […]
The Belize Coast Guard is intensifying its war against drug trafficking and strengthening rescue missions across the country. Some help for its efforts came their way today from John McAfee who donated a twenty-seven foot boat to the BNCG worth one point one million dollars. If his name rings a bell, it is because McAfee […]
Newcastle disease is a virus that affects poultry, and it was first detected late last year in the Spanish Lookout area of the Cayo District. Because of its viral nature, it results in high mortality rates amongst infected livestock. Measures to destroy and cleanse infected areas have been taken but it has not stopped the […]
Last month we reported that the poultry farms in Spanish Lookout were experiencing losses in chickens because of the Newcastle Disease that had been affecting primarily their laying hens. While the Belize Agricultural Health Authority stepped in and disposed of over thirty thousand chickens to prevent the disease from spreading, it appears that they were […]
Back in November we reported an outbreak of Newcastle disease at a poultry farm on Spanish Lookout and tonight a government press release is announcing that it has spread. Reports are that while it is under control in Spanish Lookout, Newcastle Disease has spread to backyard poultry in other areas in Cayo, as well as […]
While the Ministry of Agriculture insists there is no shortage of red kidney beans, they have still ordered the importation of two hundred thousand pounds of pinto beans into the country for two reasons. Firstly, it is to ensure that there is an adequate supply of a suitable alternate and also to have available beans […]
The sugar industry is facing many challenges and they are not sweet. There is a low sugar production, low quality of cane and low prices that farmers will be fetching this year. Marion Ali travelled to Orange Walk today for the opening of the new crop. Marion Ali, Reporting The line at the Belize Sugar […]
There’s good and bad news coming out of the poultry industry tonight which could affect your dinner table at Christmas time. The situation is that the recent confirmation of the presence of Newcastle Disease among laying hens at the main supplier of eggs Country Foods Products farms will affect the availability of eggs in the […]
Agriculture has been the backbone of the Belizean economy for decades … and now the San Antonio Women’s Group in the Cayo District is looking to get in on the action. This week, ten of its members took part in a two-day workshop organized by the Department of Agriculture. District Agricultural Coordinator, Oscar Salazar told […]
