November 25, 2022:

A handing over ceremony was held today at Patchakan Village, Corozal, as a covered structure was handed over to the Patchakan Farmers’ Co-operative Society Limited.

The covered structure is part the Small Grants Programme administered by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, sustainable forest management, food security, and sustainable cities in developing countries. It is the largest source of multilateral funding for biodiversity globally and distributes more than $1 billion a year on average to address inter-related environmental challenges.

GEF works in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise, represented at the ceremony by CEO Servulo Baeza. Guest speaker for the ceremony was Mr. Leonel Requena, National Coordinator of the GEF Small Grants Program in Belize. Also present were Mrs. Michelle Longsworth, Acting Managing Director of the Belize Enterprise for Sustained Technology, Mr. Gareth Murillo, Registrar of Co-operatives, and members of the co-operative.

There was also an exchange visit with other farmers coming from Santa Familia GVL, Frutas Tradicionales Bromelia, and Western Mopan Farmers of Cayo, Santa Cruz Women’s Co-operative of Orange Walk, and Concepcion Vegetable Farmers Co-op of Corozal. A training program on covered structure management was also given by the Extension Service, Corozal.