Cayo Youth Agriculture Camp Wraps Up with Hands-On Farming Training

The Cayo Central Youth in Agriculture Summer Camp concluded today at Central Farm, following a week of practical training designed to introduce young people to farming and food production.  Throughout the programme, participants gained hands-on experience in crop production, livestock management, aquaculture and agro-processing. The initiative sought to help young Belizeans better understand where their food comes from while teaching skills that can support greater self-sufficiency and future careers in agriculture.  Cayo Central Area Representative Alex Balona says the programme is also intended to address the need for succession within the farming sector. He explained that, as experienced farmers grow older, young people must be encouraged to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to continue producing food and sustaining the industry.

Alex Balona, Cayo Central Area Rep: “When a public officer retires, somebody young is hired to take over and in many other instances. But when a farmer passes away or he cannot no longer farm then nobody else takes over. And there is a huge need for us to have young farmers to take over. But unfortunately our young people are not inclined into farming. So we want to wake up the interest of our young people from the primary school level. And that’s the reason why I decided that we need to do this from the primary school level and sensitize the children so that by the time they get into high school and tertiary level they have already awakened their interest in agriculture because we need to be self-sustainable as a country. We were catering for 100 but as I mentioned earlier we have 116 participated at the end of the week and their age range is from 10 to 14 and most of our children are from Santa Elena Town. We have from Cristo Rey,  San Antonio, El Progreso, Georgeville and Central Farm, which are communities in the Cayo Central Constituency. We are encouraging our other area representatives to collaborate with us and like I said as a ministry we are prepared to go and do these summer camps for the other districts. In Orange Walk the former Minister of Agriculture started his over there and we had it again this year and now we had it in the Stan Creek District and we are hoping that other Area Reps can request and we as a ministry would be prepared to go and do these camps with them as well.”

The camp gave participants an opportunity to move beyond the classroom and take part in agricultural activities at Central Farm. Two of the young participants reflected on the knowledge and practical experience they gained during the week.

Aquim Canto, Participant: “I learned about sheep, tilapia, bees and planting on the factory.”

Reporter: And do you see yourself wanting to pursue a career in farming? 

Aquim Canto, Participant: “Yes, I like to go to the farm and I want to grow in the farm and provide food for the city.”

Zariah Mejia, Participant: “So I have a garden at my home and I want to improve it, you know, like make it better because we want more vegetables and stuff like that. And I also wanted to learn and make friends. I learned about bees. I learned about cows and sheep and goat. I learned how to plant, which will really help me with the garden. I learned how to cook which will help me to help my mom sometimes because she really works hard.”

The programme ended with a certificate distribution ceremony recognizing the participants’ completion of the training. Each participant also received a backpack containing essential school supplies to assist with the upcoming academic year./