There's been a big shakeup in the agricultural sector with the sudden departure of Minister Jose Mai - who, through sheer force of will, had also taken the lead on fighting fusarium.
Now the man taking the lead is Minister of State for Economic Transformation Osmond Martinez. He headed a two day high level mission to the northern sugar belt from the 19th to the 20th accompanied by a team from SIRDI as they brought together the Taiwan Technical Mission, IICA Belize and the University of Belize. The aim was to assess the growing challenge of sugarcane wilt, or Fusarium.
The delegation met with farmers and visited affected fields. They observed their cultivation practices, equipment use and overall field conditions. During this assessment, four contributing factors were identified: Climate impacts such as drought, heat stress, and excess rainfall, Low soil nutrients and organic matter, Insufficient field management, and Unclean planting material and absence of tissue culture Propagation.
Experts from Taiwan recommended rapid adoption of tissue culture and seed cane disinfection, improved soil and root protection, and increased use of biological controls. They also introduced a Satellite Image Monitoring and Warning System for Fusarium Wilt.
Meanwhile, the University of Belize highlighted ongoing research on beneficial soil microbes with the potential to suppress Fusarium wilt, supporting a more sustainable, science-based approach to disease management.
