Agriculture in Belize

Hi Rayne75!

Welcome to Expat.com!

Armand

Rayne,
Welcome to the boards!  There are a lot of folks out there who have great info for you - just start reading... there is so much to find out about Belize!  Read some of the blogs too!

Laurie
The Cruisin Camper

Hello Armand and Laurie,

  Thanks for responding.I'm new so I'm still navigating and exploring the site. Everyone seems really nice and welcoming so far. The blogs are great! Glad to find this community.

Rayne,

There are many Mennonite farms on the mainland, and I am assuming they are chemical-free.  There is also an excellent organic farm called Sol Farms, in Cayo District near Teakettle Village:

http://solfarmsltd.com/

I don't know for sure that other farms in Belize are organic and/or chemical-free, but I am sure there are many folks, especially in Cayo District, with their own gardens.

We live right on the beach on Ambergris Caye, in a condo, so having a garden is not a possibility.  We buy produce from the many small fruit/vegetable stands here on the island.  Some is imported from the US and is presumably conventionally grown, but when you live on an island, you take what you can get.  The markets on the mainland have a lot more selection!

I appreciate the feedback, Caribegal! Good information and looking forward to following your blog. We have a small Chihuahua who would just love all that sun too. Ahh..living on an island-the good life. I know you must be enjoying it. We are planning to visit in a few months.

Bad news (from Belize Expats Facebook group) for those interested in organic agriculture in Belize:

Court Roberson
I have bad news for you all regarding GMO in Belize.

just got this email from good source...

I was informed today that Government has decided that's "full speed ahead" with GMO in Belize. I was told that the pro-GMO people have convinced Government of the following:

The reason is that ALL the soybean trash imported for feed for ALL chicken & pig feeds are from GMO sources in the USA, plus all "corn flakes" imported from USA are GMO since the year 2000 and no person in Belize has gotten sick from corn flakes, local chicken, nor pigs... that GMO is safe, only a few misguided "greens" are trying to stop progress.

Another reason is that Belize is the only country in Central America which bans GMO seeds. This is against the WTO protocol.

All the major grain growers had a meeting over the recent holidays with Government technical experts and have now decided that's in Belize national interest to go ahead with GMO.

That is not good news regarding GMO and Belize CaribgGal

Very disappointing news to say the least! Monsanto and their friends are really taking over the world. Soon there will be no small farmers anywhere, because they can't afford to buy their seed from these corporations - the return just is not great enough to survive. If they don't buy from Monsanto, they risk the possibility of law suits because of cross pollination by the bees and Monsanto has a patent on the DNA of all their grains. You have to be a large corporate farmer to make ends meet! This is happening in western Canada and there are practically NO small farms anymore. I grew up on a small 160 acre farm but now that can only be called a "hobby farm" because you cannot make a living on less than ten times that size!

We have a small acreage in Cayo District and intend to grow our own food. Also the markets in St. Ignacio and Belmopan have wonderful food!

the modern mennonites in belize use tons of spray.I regularly see a cropduster flying around spanishlookout applying alot of spray.That said there is still alot of food grown organically in belize and the movement is growing every day.the cayo district is a great place to grow your own food,fertile soil and ample rain make it easy. the pests can be a problem but there are many local organic remedies for them,just ask around and you'll find many natural ways to defeat them.there is also a great farmers market in sanignacio

billem wrote:

the modern mennonites in belize use tons of spray.I regularly see a cropduster flying around spanishlookout applying alot of spray.

I am so sorry to hear that -- was not aware.  Unfortunately, none of the produce we get in San Pedro is marked organic other than that from Sol Farms (shipped over from Teakettle Village).  I was hoping that the Mennonites, being who they are, would be pesticide-free, but I have never been sure.

In Spanish Lookout you can buy empty plastic 55 gal. drums once filled with grammaxone and other chemicals that were emptied out on the Mennonite farms. I hear a certain large supply house up there is the Official representative of Monsanto. The Mennonites are not organic.

That is sad news