Ministry of Agriculture plans 8th Lamb and Mutton Culinary Craft Workshop in Yo Creek for Thursday, February 16

Photo Credit: MAFSE

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: Right on the heels of the Lamb and Mutton Culinary Craft Workshop in San Jose Succotz in the Cayo District on January 28, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE) is preparing for another workshop to teach sheep farmers and restaurant and meat shop owners in Northern Belize ways to cook lamb.

According to Andrew Mejia, MAFSE’s Coordinator of the Sheep and Goat Project, Mejia said that since January 2022, extension officers have visited all the districts and have trained 300 people in seven workshops on ways to prepare lamb dishes. The Succotz workshop was a special intervention that not only focused on culinary preparation but also included, in conjunction with the Sheep and Goat Project Phase II and Food for the Poor (FFTP), a Christian-based initiative through the Taiwan Technical Mission, a donation of 80 breeding sheep, five rams, and a two-year technical support program done.

The Agriculture Ministry is now embarking on a new round of workshops starting at the Yo Creek Agriculture Station in Orange Walk next Thursday, February 16, targeting 50 farmers.

In San Jose Succotz last week, Extension Officer Frank Padron showed the 30 participants how to prepare stewed lamb, lamb chop suey, and barbecue lamb, kabobs, and curry lamb.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise said the workshops are part of the collaborative effort being carried out by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) Breeding Sheep and Goat Production and Guidance System Enhancement Project (Sheep Project Phase II) which runs until 2024. The project is aimed at developing and improving the sheep and goat industry in Belize which falls in line with MAFSE’s food security program.