7 News Belize

Searching For A Citrus Solutions
posted (July 13, 2017)
Citrus fortunes have been steadily declining over the last 10 years, and some speculate that without a massive infusion of capital, new plant stock and collective will - Belize's oldest agro-industry could slip away.

But, based on a meeting on Monday in Belmopan, it seems that collective will could finally be on the horizon. The Ministry of Agriculture convened a meeting with representatives of the Citrus Growers Association and Belize Citrus Mutual - the growers groups with a long history of hostility. Well, this time, they are ones who jointly requested the meeting.

According to a joint release, they wanted to talk about "the performance of the 2016 - 2017 crop, the progress being made in managing the Huanglongbing disease, and pressing issues such as labour and access to affordable capital.

Coming out of the meeting, the Ministry agreed to work with both associations and CPBL to develop a strategic plan aiming to plant 5 million citrus trees in 5 years.

The Ministry of Agriculture also committed to work with the Ministries of Labour and Immigration to implement a farm workers program to, quote, "ensure the timely supply of labour needed from neighboring countries to complement the local labour force."

BAHA will also crackdown on illegal citrus nurseries planting noncertified citrus plants.

And - for the hard part - the Ministry says it will "collaborate with the industry to attract additional capital…to increase production to 8 million boxes…"

Last year, the industry produced 3.2 million boxes; in 2005, it produced 6.2 million.

At the end of the meeting, all parties pledged to collaborate, and, quote, "work to increase production and transform the industry."

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