Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Agriculture

Strengthening of Belize National Extension Service

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment, Sustainable Development and Immigration (MAFFESDI) collaborated with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) on the development of a National Agriculture Research and Extension Strategy. IICA has agreed to support the Ministry of Agriculture in identifying the more important basic information needed by the farmers and the extension service and to develop a strategy for the exchange of information between the farmer and the Ministry of agriculture.

From October 21 to October 28 a mission (task force)  was establish to collect data among Stakeholders, Agriculture Coordinators, Extension officers from 6 Districts , as well as other sister organizations that also provide extension support to farmers (Pesticides Control Board, Cooperatives Department).  Data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews and focus groups and the information will be used to make recommendations on how to adopt information communication technologies as an integral part of extension communication.  Extension methodologies and leadership skills to enhance the effective and efficient delivery of extension service to farmers, and the development of a proposal for a training curriculum for the agriculture extension department to target the frontline extension officers to upscale their awareness and competence in extension issues and strategies.

 

More information:

everalda.westby@iica.int

Share

Related news​

San José, Costa Rica

September 10, 2025

Erick Geovany Ac Tot, a cocoa entrepreneur who promotes high-quality cocoa and the preservation of ancestral trees in Guatemala, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality 

Erick Geovany Ac Tot—a prominent Guatemalan cocoa entrepreneur who has been assisting small farmer organizations, promoting high-quality cocoa production and preserving heirloom trees for years, in addition to being a cocoa taster—has been named a Leader of Rurality of the Americas by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). 

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Durante el llamado Diálogo Regional sobre Innovaciones para la Adaptación Climática de pequeños productores del Corredor Seco Centroamericano, los participantes discutieron temas clave como ganadería resiliente, agroforestería, innovación productiva y medidas de adaptación frente a sequías, inundaciones y otros eventos climáticos.

San Salvador

September 9, 2025

In El Salvador, Leaders of Rurality of the Americas shared experiences and engaged in dialogue with youth and specialists on ways to strengthen productivity in the Central American Dry Corridor

The leaders who participated in the meeting were Macarena Valdés and Marco Aceituno from Chile; Elvia Monzón, Gustavo Rivas and Erick Ac from Guatemala; Katy Moncada and Eodora Méndez from Honduras; and Odette Varela and Salomón Zelada from El Salvador.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Santa Fé, Darién, Panamá

September 4, 2025

Coordination between IICA and Panamanian and U.S. government authorities bolsters the fight against New World screwworm in Central America and Mexico

As part of the efforts to curb the spread of the New World screwworm (NWS), a current health threat in Central America and Mexico, the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) of Panama, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworm (COPEG) organized a meeting with livestock farmers in the city of Santa Fé de Darién to strengthen health surveillance and better protect local livestock production.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins