Ministry of Agriculture, BAHA and stakeholders sign MoU for Climate Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture Project

Published by BBNTEAM at April 13, 2023

Tags

Posted: Thursday, April 13, 2023. 2:09 pm CST.

By Zoila Palma Gonzalez: Today, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Climate Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture Project (CRESAP).

The MoU was signed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Belize Agriculture Health Authority, Pesticides Control Board, University of Belize, the National Meteorological Service and the Belize Marketing and Development Corporation.

The CRESAP project is being financed by an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development loan of US$25 million, US$2.5 of counterpart funds and US$18.20 million of commercial financing.

The Ministry noted that through the Project, support will be provided to agricultural producers to adopt climate-smart agriculture technologies via matching grants and private capital mobilization, and investments in strategic collective agricultural infrastructure assets will be made, to contribute to increased agricultural production and sustainability.

The total number of direct beneficiaries that CRESAP is expected to reach are 7,300 heads of household, of whom 7,000 will be farmers.

When all members of the beneficiary households are considered, a total of 29,000 individuals (6.9 percent of the country’s population) will benefit from the Project, of whom about 28,700 will be members of farm households.

In addition, through the project, the aim is for women farmers to be at least 30% of beneficiaries.

The Climate Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture Project is being made a reality after the Government of Belize committed to support innovative, climate-smart technologies, better rural infrastructure, improve linkages to financing and access to markets, and improved production practices.

This project will promote the adoption of climate-smart agriculture technologies and practices and finance more resilient rural infrastructure, increasing agricultural productivity while making farmers less vulnerable to climate change.

The CRESAP project will also strengthen the institutional capacity of the relevant ministries and public institutions. Given the vulnerability to climate disasters, the Project contains a Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) as well.

Present for the signing was Minister of Agriculture, Security and Enterprise, Jose Abelardo Mai, CEO Servulo Baeza of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise and heads of the participating signatory organizations.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.