Farmers’ Club Model

To promote food security and environmentally friendly and climate smart agriculture; HPP Belize utilizes the Farmers’ Club Model (FC) created by the Federation for Associations connected to the International Humana People to People Movement.

The FC model was created in the 90s in South Africa. HPP Belize has adapted it to fit to the reality and conditions of the farmers and communities in Belize.

Demographics

Approximately, 800,000 hectares or about 38% of Belize’s total land area is considered potentially suitable for agriculture, but only 9.7% (about 78,000 hectares) is used for crop and livestock production (ccccc, 2015).

Many small farms are mixed farms, having some livestock and crops producing both for subsistence and income generation, exhibiting a variety of farming systems constrained more by market forces than productive capacity (FAO).

A quarter of all farms are located in the Toledo district with 77% of them being small farms (FAO, 2011).

There are approximately 12,000 farmers in Belize, 24% of farms have less than 5 acres, 33% between 5 and 20 acres, and 74% of farms in the country are below 50 acres (FAO, 2011).

3,000 small farmers cultivate in Toledo and Stann Creek districts, many of them are poorly organized; they operate and market individually; giving them limited negotiating capacity (ccccc, 2015).

Most small farmers use unsustainable practices that threaten agricultural capacity and food security. Practices include: farming on marginal land and steep slopes; slash and burn agriculture, deforestation; overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and livestock over-grazing.

Most small farmers in Belize may be described as poor. Some of the main factors responsible for the low income are: lack of a good distribution network, the limited access to support facilities (such as drying, storage, processing, transportation); lack of appropriate technological packages required for optimizing yield; lack of an organized market intelligence system. (MAF, 2013).

FC Structure

Farmers' Clubs mobilizes small farmers to form clubs of 15 to 20 people. A community outreach assistant and other experts train them in sustainable farming methods and introduces them to new ways of value-chain processing and marketing.

The model centers on inspiring farmers to embrace opportunities that will help them improve their lives. It provides them with the means to experiment with new techniques and empowers them to rise from poverty thru cooperation.