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Is self sufficiency in food attainable for Belize? Probably not, but as they say the longest journey begins with one step. And a great big step was taken last week when a new agro processing facility was opened at the Central Farm. It’s a collaborative effort between Taiwan and Belize and Ambassador Joseph Shih said Belize can be the breadbasket of the region.

Ambassador Joseph Shih,
“To make Belize a food basket for CARICOM countries and I am anxious and ambitious to improve that in Central America. The government of Belize and the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan are going to work very closely to provide food security and good safety not only to Belize here in Central America but to all the regional countries.”

Rene Montero, Minister of Agriculture
“From 2002 Belize has imported more than $100 million worth of food items and last year in 2008 that import bill amounted to nearly $159 million. My government is committed in reducing that annual food import bill. That objective can be achieved in part by providing the requisite policies, technical material and financial support for agro-processing initiatives that are designed to convert locally produced agricultural commodities into value added products that will in some cases replace some imported products or in other cases be acceptable as substitutes for products that we currently import.”

The facility was jointly financed for a total cost of $450,000.