Technical staff from Belize's Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE) are collaborating with local potato farmers to enhance production following an exchange visit to Peru conducted from June 2-6. During this visit, technical officers engaged with stakeholders in Peru's established potato value chain.
According to Luis Hernandez, Director of the Research and Innovation Center at Central Farm, the visit aimed to build the capacity of Belizean officers who will guide farmers. Hernandez noted that the visit was a part of the "Strengthening the Potato Value Chain in Belize" project under the South-South Project and International Cooperation framework.
"Basically, the objective of the exchange visit was to provide capacity building for Belizean technical officers of the Ministry of Agriculture, and also for us to conduct field visits for the potato value chain in Peru under the project titled 'Strengthening the Potato Value Chain in Belize.' The key outcome of the exchange visit was to strengthen technical alliance and to exchange experiences between both delegations on the value chains for quality potato and value chain products," Hernandez stated.
The visit also aimed at adapting new potato varieties to Belize's climate to help reduce imports. Hernandez explained that Belize has a short production window due to climate conditions. "Belize has a short window for the production of potatoes. As you are aware, potatoes prefer a cold temperature. And during that period, we only have a short period for us to produce and plant potatoes from November to December. So the importance of this is for us to have alternatives," he added.
Currently, efforts are underway in collaboration with SIP, the Centro Internacional de Papas, to introduce new potato clones tested in Africa. Hernandez expressed optimism about these initiatives: "...we're hoping that four of them can adapt...Therefore, in addition to that, we're looking at whether we could have the ability to produce seeds and limit our importation from the US."
The exchange visit, done in partnership with Peru's Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, included other MAFSE officials such as Lilian Suntecum and William Can.
Source: Love FM