And from Sugar's sweet success to the controversy over carrots. The root vegetable has been in the news since last week, ever since parliamentarian Tracy Taegar Panton brought up the vulnerable state of carrot crops in the village of San Carlos in Orange Walk.
Now, That's Minister of Agriculture Jose Mai's constituency and Taegar-Panton's raising the issue didn't go over too well with the agronomist turned politician and - in response he hurled an inappropriate invitation to the member for Albert.
But the carrot problem it seems hasn't yet shrivelled up and died, even if that's what some carrots are doing as we speak. And back in the house on June 3rd Mai challenged members of the UDP opposition to go to San Carlos to find carrots rotting in fields. Tonight leader of the opposition Shyne Barrow tells us that he did just that.
Shyne Barrow, Leader of The Opposition
"I visited with the farmers in San Carlos Orange Walk South yesterday and it was very disheartening to see thousands and thousands of dollars in carrot crops, and onions as well, completely spoiled and wasted. Which is exactly the report that the honourable Tracy Panton my colleague from Alberts gave ad to the minister, minister Mai who is the representative for Orange Walk South resorted to filing repugnant insults of the member from Alberts rather than the mature responsible thing to just say okay I'm going to look into it. I'm going to examine it."
posted (June 3, 2022
Hon. Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"And she spoke about carrots and putting old pictures from - under their term, Madam Speaker, she is confused. Confusing in the sensation to pee-pee and to poo-poo - onions spoiling Madam Speaker? The last report of the 26th May is saying that we will have onions up to June 10th, but we will do our evaluation on June 15th, because after that we may have to import if there are not sufficient onions. So, how will you say onions are spoiling in the field. When you put nonsense on facebook like that, it is shaming man. Let me tell you something, you need to correct yourself. When you go and sit-down on the carrots and take a photograph, I will believe it. The next time you go to San Carlos, you go and sit on the carrots and take a photograph and make it evidence. Do not come here and lie. You are deceiving people. Unconfuse your sensation, please."
Shyne Barrow, Leader of The Opposition
"He said that he went there and nothing is spoiled and then challenged us to go there, that is, to put it mildly. So, I went and all of the crops are spoiled. There was nothing there that could be sold."
And rather than just complain the Leader of the opposition has offered a solution to the problem of crop wastage.
Shyne Barrow, Leader of The Opposition
"All Belizeans that are selling whatever should be given the first option to sell all they have and then we open the market. And Second, we have a contraband problem. The contraband vegetables come in as well, contraband everything but certainly in this instance with the farmers you have contraband produce coming into the country. So, we need to do more to stop that and that is a bit more difficult to stop but it is with the stroke of a pen that the minister can say no more import permits for foreign vegetables."
Last week Mai told us that there were no rotting carrots.
Jose Mai - Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, & Enterprise
"But I do not know of carrots rotting in the fields. My technicians were asked to go out and give me a comprehensive report. The report hasn't come in as yet this morning, but from the preliminary report I got, there are no carrots rotting in the field. But, there is a slow movement of carrots because again, they over-supply, and we're trying to ensure that no contraband comes. We're trying to manage that well."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Sir, how do you square Minister Mai's denial of this situation with the fact that when he was in opposition, he was the one that would take the media houses to see these crops wasting away in their fields."
Shyne Barrow, Leader of The Opposition
"Genuinely the reason we all rally to get elected and to form the government is so that we can find solutions, that's what it boils down to so I can't fathom that people get elected and they completely abandon the ideals and the vision that they had for the country and for their constituency, I don't get it, we are imperfect, sometimes we become overwhelmed but my goodness how is it that there is a problem."
And, while you might think this is all just one big political carrot cake, Shyne argues that there are livelihoods at stake, livelihoods that are depending on G.O.B. to find solutions.
Shyne Barrow, Leader of The Opposition
"I don't see why those farmers would lie and make this up but I went and I saw that all the crops were spoiled and so I challenge Minister Mai to say that the permit issue is not a problem. It is a rampant problem no administration has given out as many permits as this administration."
Minister Mai has told 7 News that while he tried to open El Salvador's import market for Belizean carrots we don't yet grow them at an appropriate size, and so the deal wasn't ultimately sealed.
