Belize
In each country, the goals of the FO4ACP are: Improved access to services to empower women, rural youth and vulnerable communities, Increased entrepreneurship, access to markets and financing through equitable value chains and business development services within POs, respecting sustainable food and agricultural principles, Facilitate a common sub-regional policy and program development process with governments, stakeholders and partners, including farmer and rural youth organizations, foster information exchange, training and capacity development.
Belize has a land area of 22,966 km2. In 2019, the population of Belize was estimated at 419,199. Over 40 per cent of the population is mestizo (mixed race), while some 30 per cent is Creole. Maya and Garifuna are the two other main ethnic groups. The official language in Belize is English. Spanish is also widely spoken.
On average the agriculture sector contributes approximately BZE$500 million to the Belizean economy. In the year 2021, economic output amounted to an estimated BZE$ 537,388 mil Economic Output for 2020 was expected to be much higher than 3% when compared to year 2019. However major climatic disturbances and market contractions caused by COVID-19 resulted in minimal increase in output.
Main Crop and economic activities more importance are: Raw Sugar 19%, Fruit Juice 10%, Bananas 15%, Crustaceans 9.1%, Tourism (1.3 billions of dollars). The non-traditional sectors are the highest contributors to the economic output of Belize. Grains and Legumes ranked highest contributor with BZE$105 million.