IICA’s Contribution of the Belize Livestock Registry to the Industry Harold Parham Chief Executive Officer Belize Livestock Producers’ Association June 10, 2010

Introduction  BLPA recognizing the need for sound recommendations for the development of the industry  In 2007 initiated a concerted effort to develop a sound strategic plan for the development of the livestock Industry  Recognized that sufficient reliable knowledge of the industry was lacking  Approached IICA for assistance to get a sector diagnosis done  This was referred to FAO

Market Access  BLPA’s major focus was, and still is, to establish firm export market for livestock.  Recognized deficiencies in the requirements for export in the areas of animal health, product quality and traceability.

The Registry  Dr Gabriel Marquez, in 2008, proposed that we implement a database to register all livestock farms in Belize.  He expressed his personal interest in getting this done and he would get IICA to finance it.  BLPA made formal request to IICA and in October 2009 Mr. Paul Morgan was employed as the consultant to construct and install the database

Importance of The Registry  Help to have an almost accurate knowledge of the national herd at any time in terms of:  type  Amount  Stage of maturity(age)  Health condition  Provides the mechanism to trace an animal from destination to origin as is required in international trading