Introduction: The Cooperative Department has had a productive year, with significant strides in enhancing cooperative societies across Belize. The focus for 2023-2024 has been on fostering sustainable livelihoods, capacity building, and laying the groundwork for future growth. Below are the key achievements, lessons learned, and future priorities outlined in our Annual Report.

Key Achievements (2023-2024):

  • New Registrations: Two new cooperatives were successfully registered:
    • Northern Coconut Growers Co-operative Society Ltd. in San Estevan, Orange Walk
    • Indian Church Farmers Co-operative Society Ltd. in Indian Church, Orange Walk
  • Capacity Building Workshops: These workshops focused on:
    • Benefits of organization for small-scale producers and service providers
    • Conduct of meetings and proper minutes-taking
    • Bookkeeping and records management
    • Cooperative administration and management
    • Specialized training for honey byproducts for women cooperatives
    • National Healthy Start School Feeding Project
  • Exchange Visits: Facilitated exchange visits to enhance learning and collaboration between cooperatives.
  • Project Development: Successfully drafted and defended the “Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods Building Resilience-Investments in Cooperatives” project before GEF-SGP UNDP.
  • Curriculum Development: Further development of the cooperative registration and capacity building curriculum, along with enhancement of the staff manual.

Lessons Learned:

  • Successes: There was higher-than-expected interest and comprehension among stakeholders in capacity-building programs. This indicates a strong demand for continued education and support.
  • Challenges: The department faced a growing demand for its services, which was challenging to meet due to decreasing resources.

Future Priorities & Plans:

  • Digital Transformation: Plans are in place to digitize the current cooperative registry and the training and registration processes.
  • Legal Restructuring: Formalizing legal revisions and restructuring within the cooperative sector to better meet the needs of modern cooperative societies.

Conclusion & Recommendations:

  • Strengths & Opportunities: The cooperative sector in Belize is becoming more vibrant and dynamic, contributing significantly to the economy and improving the livelihoods of its members. There is renewed interest in the cooperative business model, backed by strong political support.
  • Weaknesses & Threats: However, challenges such as undertrained staff, antiquated legislation, resistance to change, and a reducing budget continue to pose threats. Addressing these issues will require additional resources and strategic planning.

Final Thoughts: “If you want to be incrementally better: Be competitive. If you want to be exponentially better: Be cooperative.”

The Cooperative Department remains committed to fostering a resilient cooperative sector in Belize. We look forward to another year of growth and development.

Contact Information: For more details, please contact the Cooperative Department at:

  • Phone: 822-2648
  • Email: info@coops.bz