Farmers Receive Supplies in Major Southern Agriculture Drive

Farmers in southern Belize are receiving additional support from the Ministry of Agriculture as extension officers and key agricultural stakeholders gathered in the Toledo and Stann Creek districts.  The support is a large-scale distribution exercise aimed at boosting food production and strengthening the farming sector.  The initiative saw the distribution of fertilizer, fruit trees, planting materials, and agricultural chemicals to farmers across several communities in the south. Officials say the assistance is intended to help farmers reduce production costs, improve crop yields, and expand local food production at a time when many producers continue facing rising input costs and unpredictable weather conditions.  Minister of Agriculture Rodwell Ferguson was on hand for the distribution exercise and described the initiative as an unprecedented effort by the ministry to provide direct support to farmers at the community level.  Ferguson says the ministry’s plan is to expand the program beyond Toledo and Stann Creek and bring similar assistance packages to farmers in the other districts in the coming weeks and months.

At today’s event, extension officers also used the opportunity to engage directly with farmers on crop management, disease prevention, and best farming practices as part of the ministry’s wider strategy to strengthen Belize’s agricultural sector nationwide./