The government of Belize is moving early to protect its farmers as forecasts point to a longer-than-usual drought season. The initiative is a joint effort between the United Nations World Food Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise, and the National Meteorological Service of Belize. Farmers in Orange Walk, Corozal, and Cayo Districts are expected to feel the brunt of the drought. We spoke with Henry Charles Usher the Minister of Disaster Risk Management about the collaboration:
Voice of: Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Disaster Risk Management
"Now the role of the National Met Service was to utilize the data that was available to them or is available to them, analyze it and make a prediction as to what they believe will be an extended drought. So this anticipatory action mechanism is being triggered now and it is to assist farmers in three districts, Orange Walk, Corozal and Cayo. They will receive assistance ahead of the prolonged drought as is anticipated and it is in the form of a cash advance which can be used as the release speaks to, I believe, water storage equipment, irrigation supplies, even drought tolerant feeds. So the assessment and the determination of the farmers, that will be part of this program was done by the World Food Programme before and these are the farmers that will be targeted, the small farmers that will be assisted with this anticipatory action cash advance."
"Farming on a whole is a risky endeavor and every farmer can tell you that they are at the whims of mother nature and sometimes you have prolonged droughts, sometimes you have too much rain, you have flooding, etc. So we have to provide as much data as possible and we have to be able to get that information in the best possible way to our farmers. This is just a continued collaboration that we've had with our partners internationally and locally to make sure that we can get the information, analyze the information, and disseminate that information to our farmers. In terms of trends, this year we're expecting a longer than usual drought because of the weather patterns that we're seeing both in the Atlantic and in the Pacific and this is a reason why we decided to go this route to be able to have our farmers, especially our small farmers, prepared for the season."
Reporter
"How long is the drought expected to last?"
Voice of: Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Disaster Risk Management
"Well, it's just a prediction but it would be longer than what was originally thought. Of course, you know we're 26 days away more or less from the hurricane season so we have to start to be prepared for that but it seems that the extended heat and extended drought will continue right into that season."
The drought is projected to be even more severe than the one in 2025.
