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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

CONSULTANCY SERVICES – INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY SPECIALISTS FOR THE DESIGN OF A WEB-BASED

SANITARY AND PHYTO-SANITARY INSPECTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR BELIZE

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Sustainable and Inclusive Belize Program 

Overview: The Sustainable Agriculture Program is designed to promote the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, increase climate resilience and environmental sustainability, and enhance productivity in specific crops and livestock production. The primary objective is to increase competitiveness and access to markets for farmers and agribusinesses.

Program Benefits The program offers several benefits, including:

1. Technical Assistance
   • Assistance in creating a Farm Plan (FP) or Green Agri-Business Plan.
2. Co-Financing
   • Partial implementation of a viable farm plan with a maximum of BZE$4,000.00 through a voucher system.
3. Grants
   • Partial financing for selected green agri-business plans:
     • Up to BZE$50,000.00 for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
     • Up to BZE$150,000.00 for farm groups.
4. Capacity Building
   • Support to enhance farm management capabilities.
5. Learning by Doing
   • Activities such as farmers’ field schools and farmer-to-farmer exchange programs.

Beneficiaries and Target Groups The program targets the following groups:

• Small farmers
• Women farmers
• Indigenous farmers
• Migrant farmers
• Youth farmers
• Farm groups
• MSMEs in the agriculture sector

Eligibility Criteria

Individual Farmers

• Proof of land tenure (property title, possession right, lease, or community/collective land).
• Qualify as a small farmer with 0.5 to 20 acres of land in production.
• Register in the Belize Agriculture Information Management System (BAIMS) or commit to register.
• Producer of one or more priority agricultural commodities of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE), excluding traditional commodities.
• Farm in operation for at least 12 months.
• No harmful environmental impact.
• Ability to provide a minimum of 15% of the total Farm Plan cost in cash or in-kind contribution.

Farm Groups

• Evidence of working as a group for at least one year prior to application.
• Ownership title of land or possessory right to use or occupy the land.
• Registered as a cooperative/association or commit to formalize.
• Participation of women, youth, indigenous, and/or migrant farmers.

MSMEs

• Evidence of conducting related business activities for at least one year.
• Proof of registration certificate or commitment to formalize (letter of commitment).
• Qualify as MSMEs in Belize.

MSMEs Classification

• Micro Enterprises: Less than 5 employees, annual revenues < BZ$100,000.
• Small Enterprises: 5 – 20 employees, annual revenues ≥ BZ$100,000 and < BZ$500,000.
• Medium Enterprises: 21 – 51 employees, annual revenues ≥ BZ$500,000 and < BZ$4.5 million.

Contact Information For more information or to apply, please contact your district extension office:

• Cayo District Agriculture Office: Israel Galicia, 804-2079, israel.galicia@agriculture.gov.bz
• Belize District Agriculture Office: Kenya Castillo, kennya.castillo@agriculture.gov.bz
• Corozal District Agriculture Office: Edgar Yam, 402-2297, edgar.yam@agriculture.gov.bz
• Orange Walk District Agriculture Office: Jonathan Carillo, 342-7119, jonathan.carillo@agriculture.gov.bz
• Stann Creek District Agriculture Office: Mariano Novelo, 502-2514, mariano.novelo@agriculture.gov.bz
• Toledo District Agriculture Office: Edwardo Moh, 702-2689, edwardo.moh@agriculture.gov.bz

Conclusion The Sustainable Agriculture Program aims to build a resilient and competitive agricultural sector in Belize by supporting small and marginalized farmers, enhancing environmental sustainability, and promoting access to markets through strategic support and capacity-building initiatives.

To apply kindly See Application Below:

 Application forms for small farmer

Sustainable and Inclusive Application form- MSME FG