Community-Initiated Agriculture and Resource Management Project

Community-Initiated Agriculture and Resource Management Project

The goal of the project was to develop the productive potential of land in the southern region of Belize, including the Toledo district and the southern part of the Stann Creek district. Poverty levels are high in the project area. About half of the area is covered by national parks and forest reserves, and much of the other half is under permanent or shifting cultivation. The Toledo district has the greatest concentration of indigenous people who adopt traditional patterns of existence, which has had a profound influence on the economic and cultural life of the district.

The main objectives of the project were to:

• develop group management and leadership skills in communities and local organizations, and directly involve poor people, and particularly women, in the design and implementation of activities, especially small-scale projects to develop income-generating activities
• strengthen public and private institutions to assist them in delivering more effective non-financial services
• ensure that poor rural families have access to financial services and resources for investment in agriculture and microenterprises
• improve agricultural production systems to make them economically viable and ecologically sustainable, and exploit opportunities for product diversification, technology supply, and access to markets

Source: IFAD