Belmopan, November 14, 2024.
The Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Investment, through its Investment Policy and Compliance Unit (IPCU), in collaboration with the National Women’s Commission (NWC), the Taiwan Technical Mission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the Bella Vista Government Secondary School, and Belize Permaculture and Renewable Energy Ltd, have completed the vanilla cultivation training for women and girls, and officially inaugurated the first school-based vanilla nursery in Southern Belize.
This vanilla nursery has been fully planted with 100 cuttings from mother plants native to Southern Belize. This marks the first step toward increasing the supply of Belizean vanilla beans.
Present at the inauguration were Dr. the Hon. Osmond Martinez, Minister of State for Foreign Trade in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade; H.E. Lily Li-Wen Hsu, Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Belize; Mr. Lincoln Blake, Director, Investment Policy & Compliance Unit; Mr. Roberto Pan, Chief of Mission, Taiwan Technical Mission; Ms. Seidi Quetzal, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade; Mrs. Juanita Lucas, Principal, Bella Vista Government Secondary School; and Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Nesbitt, Belize Permaculture and Renewable Energy Ltd.
The Office of the Prime Minister and the National Women’s Commission foresee a promising future for this new sector in vanilla production, aiming to foster new economic opportunities that support women’s participation in Belize’s economic diversification.
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For more information, please contact:
Ms. Nadicah Galvez
Investment Policy Officer
Ministry of Investment
investment.policyofficer@invest.gov.bz
828-6704
