Agricultural development prospects in Belize (NRI Bulletin 48)

This report is one ofthree documents completing the land resource assessment of Belize undertaken by the Natural Resources Institute (NRI)from 1986-90. The other documents are: (i) a revised national soil classification (Baillie et al., 1993) (ii) an update on 'Land in British Honduras' (Wright et al., 1959), which will present inter alia much of the NRI land resource assessment findings in a more easily readable format (Wright et al., 1993). The aim of this report is to assess the entire··agricultural resources of the country, present an assessment of how they can be used to best effect, both in the short(economically) and long terms (by protecting the environment), and present a 1:500 000 scale map indicating the preferred use for each part of the country (Map 1 ). Map 1 does not take into account current ownership, except in the case of Programme for Belize, where it is assumed that organization will continue to manage the Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area. This report also includes advice on how a Geographical Information System (GIS) can be used to update the NRI surveys and provide additional data so that the suitability of new crops and the effect of changed economic circumstances can be determined from the land resource assessment database

Land resource assessment of Northern Belize (NRI Bulletin 43, Volume 2 of 2)

The land resource assessment was undertaken from July 1989 to June 1990 by the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) of the Overseas Development Administration (ODA), assisted by Mr. A. C. S. Wright, and Dr. M. Holder of Central Farm. The main object of the survey was to produce an updated land suitability assessment of Orange Walk, Corozal, Belize and Cayo districts which had not already been surveyed by Jenkin et al. (1976) and King et al. (1989). In addition, this survey would provide a land suitability assessment for the Belize Valley based on the soil mapping of )en kin et al. Thus, together with the land resource assessments of Toledo and Stann Creek districts (King et al., 1986, 1989 respectively), a land suitability assessment for the whole of Belize is now available

Land resource assessment of Northern Belize (NRI Bulletin 43, Volume 1 of 2)

The land resource assessment was undertaken from July 1989 to June 1990 by the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) of the Overseas Development Administration (ODA), assisted by Mr. A. C. S. Wright, and Dr. M. Holder of Central Farm. The main object of the survey was to produce an updated land suitability assessment of Orange Walk, Corozal, Belize and Cayo districts which had not already been surveyed by Jenkin et al. (1976) and King et al. (1989). In addition, this survey would provide a land suitability assessment for the Belize Valley based on the soil mapping of )en kin et al. Thus, together with the land resource assessments of Toledo and Stann Creek districts (King et al., 1986, 1989 respectively), a land suitability assessment for the whole of Belize is now available