BELIZE - BELICE

The Right Honourable Manuel Esquivel, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Defence and Economic Development of Belize

It is a very special privilege and honour for me, on behalf of Belize, to extend to you pleasant greetings and to offer a few comments on our priorities and plans, on the occasion of this World Food Summit. It is my earnest hope that this Summit will result in actions to address the key global, regional and national priorities related to food and nutrition security for all.

The world focus on food and nutrition security, championed by FAO and energetically pursued by Dr. Diouf, has undoubtedly attracted considerable international attention. Food and nutrition insecurity is more than a problem of production and technology, it is also a question of social stratification, moral conviction and political willpower. Belize considers that food security is fundamental to human and economic development, and that viable agricultural and supporting systems, including natural resource management, will continue to be the dependable engine for sustainable economic growth and social equity in the developing world.

In Belize, food self-sufficiency is an attainable goal. Over the last 12 years, significant increases have been registered in agricultural productivity, averaging some 8 percent per annum. Although the per capita income of Belize is in the range of US$ 1 750, 25.3 percent of Belizean households are deemed to be poor and 9.6 percent are deemed to be very poor. Poverty alleviation must obviously receive our urgent attention.

Unemployment or under-employment must also be reduced, especially among youths and women. Belize has a minimum wage of US$ 1.10/hour, the highest in Central America and Mexico. Obviously then to compete successfully in the world market, we must increase the efficiency and economic return of labour by improving motivation, discipline and the skills of our workers. We must focus on labour productivity and economic returns, through appropriate mechanization, provisioning and training of our labour force.

With respect to food and nutrition, the position of my Government is that agriculture must ensure that there is enough quantity, diversity and quality of foods, consistent with what is culturally desirable, agro-economically viable, nutritionally adequate, and environmentally safe. To this end, a national food and nutrition multi-sectoral task force has been established to assess the food, nutrition and health situation of Belize. One of their salient outputs to date is the formulation of a national plan of action which proposes:

· to strengthen nutrition and health programmes such as breast-feeding and weaning practices, nutrition education, iron supplementation, growth monitoring and food services;

· to ensure an adequate domestic food supply at an affordable price;

· to develop a comprehensive food safety and consumer-protection programme and a control programme for iron, vitamin-A and iodine deficiencies;

· to promote income-generating activities, food and nutrition systems at the local level with emphasis on women's participation;

· to develop food and nutrition guidelines appropriate to different ethnic groups in the country; to ensure the inclusion of food, nutrition and physical education components at all levels of the school curriculum and in extra-curricular activities in communities; and

· to develop a food and nutrition surveillance system.

Implementing this plan will require a multi-sectoral approach, including Government, and a strong participation of local communities, households and farmers. Putting women and youth in centre stage is essential to the full success of this plan.

Guided by the recommendations derived from recent international conferences and international agenda for free trade, our Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has updated and refined its mission, which now is to enhance food security, income-generation and gainful employment, while conserving and improving the natural environment.

We must break the vicious circle of dependency within rural communities which has been reinforced through our habitual top-down approaches and social welfare-type projects. Now we must develop greater entrepreneurship, know-how and self-reliance at the grassroots levels, creating opportunities for equal participation by women, youth and the marginalized poor and through the organization of self-help initiatives for sustainability.

To effectively respond to small- and medium-size producers' needs and to manage efficiently human and financial resources, we must reorganize our systems for land distribution to incorporate research, education and extension programmes. We must network and work with commodity and farming systems' development programmes driven by location-specific priorities. We must pursue a strategy of diversification in production and processing driven by competition in local and international markets. To achieve this, we must widen the range and genetic base of important crops and livestock, and improve soil fertility, water management, pest management, animal feeding systems, beekeeping, agro-forestry and regenerative types of land-use systems.

In the context of the free trade and market-led approach, it is essential to raise our expertise, information and infrastructure capability to assess the marketability of our commodities and accordingly address research and extension priorities. In Belize, work has started on identifying new commodities where we have a competitive edge, either for import substitution or for export.

Belize is in the process of assessing the effectiveness of current policies and services for fulfilling the new international trade regulations and standards. As a result, recommendations and proposals to modernize and sustain a national agricultural health service are being carefully analysed at present. We are already working with international agencies on training Belizeans in order to meet international plant and animal health standards and product quality monitoring and control. Without these services in place, small agriculture-based economies like Belize, threatened by the flooding of our domestic market by foreign imports, may witness the demise of our agricultural sector altogether.

Another strategic area of intervention and support for food security is in financing and credit. There is need for stronger support to small- and medium-size producers in responsible credit management, if our farmers are to compete successfully with the more developed countries.

One often forgets that the developed countries have a strong agricultural sector because they nurture and protect it, and even subsidize it, despite the fact that less than 6 percent of their local populations depend on it. In countries like Belize, more than 50 percent of our population depends on agriculture. There is a real danger that unfair agricultural practices in developed nations can eliminate the ability of our farmers to compete in their own domestic market, let alone internationally.

In the end, international cooperation, rather than international competition, will determine global food security. Belize is strengthening its collaboration with other nations, with international agencies such as FAO, UNDP, CARDI, IICA, CATIE, OIRSA and others and with universities in our region. These efforts will have a significant impact on human resource development, through formal and in-service training in the short term, and on the future success of our food security programmes in the long run.

In conclusion, my Government is determined to implement concrete programmes for food and nutrition security. Our agriculture must be able to feed the nation. Rural communities must be food self-sufficient and/or able to generate income to purchase food supplements. Agriculture must continue to provide and increase gainful employment, provide new opportunities for wealth-creation for farmers, producers, investors and professionals. Agriculture must develop sustainability by protecting our natural resources. Belize stands among the leaders in the Americas in protecting and conserving our rich ecological patrimony for present and future generations. We stand committed to programmes to prevent deforestation, over-exploitation and degradation of our natural resources. We are proud of what agriculture is: a way of life; of what it means: food security, income generation and employment; and of what it can be: peace, prosperity and aesthetic beauty.