Announced on September 7, the programme will fund pesticide treatments across affected areas to reduce mealybug populations and limit further crop losses. The government and cane farmers will share the cost equally, with each contributing $2.56 million. Farmers will repay their portion through agreed deductions from cane deliveries over four crop cycles.
The Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute will oversee the programme in partnership with Belize’s four cane farmers’ associations and Belize Sugar Industries Limited/ASR Group.
The intervention will cover around 50,000 acres, including standing cane as well as fields earmarked for harvesting or replanting. Each targeted field is expected to receive at least two pesticide applications, with the treatment programme scheduled for completion within two months.
The emergency response follows significant production losses in the sugar industry linked to mealybugs and Fusarium disease. The two problems are estimated to have caused more than million in losses, affecting the northern sugar-producing region and the farming communities that depend on the crop.
Carlos Pol, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Economic Transformation, said on September 3 that the decline in sugarcane and sugar production last year highlighted the need for immediate action.
Pol warned that production could deteriorate further if the pest problem is not addressed and confirmed that the government had approved the $5.2 million intervention.
The programme is intended to contain the current infestation and protect sugarcane production in the short term. Its effectiveness will depend on timely application of treatments, coordination between farmers and industry stakeholders, and continued monitoring of the pest.
Longer-term efforts are expected to focus on stronger pest-management practices, improving the industry’s resilience to climate-related pressures and developing sugarcane varieties with greater resistance to threats such as mealybugs and disease.
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