On Friday Minister of Agriculture Rene Montero and Belize Rural North Area Rep. Edmund Castro visited the Fresh Catch Tilapia Farm and Processing Plant. Today they visited satellite tilapia farms in the Belize Rural North Area. They explained the reason for the visit.
Hon. Edmund Castro,
“We are here in a natural setting where tilapia strives best so Belize Rural North as we would like it to be is to become an EPZ zone, not EPZ in the sense of an export processing zone rather an economic production zone. Belize Rural North was once a division that used to supply food for the rest of the country but because of neglect over the past ten years or so, Belize Rural North has slipped in the polls, has slipped in terms of food production but with the world going through a food crisis Belize Rural North is now ready to rebound so we will clear the land and grow tilapia, we clear the land and make sure that all those single mothers that used to work at Williamson, at Nova will be become not employees but become employers.”
Hon. Rene Montero,
“I am here today to offer support to one of my colleagues Edmund Castro and you may ask why tilapia, tilapia fits well into the food security program which we have initiated as a new government. It also fits as well in the diversification program. We have a good market for tilapia, we can export as much as we can to our neighboring countries, Mexico, Guatemala, and right now Fresh Catch which is owned by the Mena family is exporting about 55,000 pounds of tilapia on a weekly basis to Mexico and beside that they are exporting 11,000 pounds to Guatemala and also the exporting to the United States. So the market for tilapia is there. Normally one of the limiting factor for farmers is marketing but the demand for tilapia is there. It also fits well into rural development because we can create income, we also can create jobs for farmers. I come here to offer my full support to my good colleague Mr. Castro in terms of the Fisheries Department who will be offering the technical advice, the technical support in terms of training for the farmers in terms of selecting the site because you don’t just dig a pond and raise tilapia, we have to find suitable land which has very limited seepage and also we have to feed them properly, it is something like practicing good animal husbandry. So thank you very much for being here and I am here to give full support to my colleague and friend Hon. Clear the land Castro.”
Tour sites included visits to the Biscayne fish farm and tilapia farms in Boston, Scotland Half Moon and Flowers Bank.
