Belize Data Book
Last update: October 17, 2024
This page contains information about some of the data available in the FEWS NET Data Explorer (FDE) for Belize. This is not a comprehensive guide.
For information about using the filters and fields for specific domains in the FDE, see Choose a Data Domain.
Summary table
ISO 3166-1 codes | Alpha 2: BZ, Alpha 3: BLZ, Numeric: 84 |
|---|---|
Administrative units | Districts |
Agricultural seasons | Wet/main (June - October), dry (November - April) |
Major crops | Maize/corn, beans, bananas, sugarcane, citrus |
Country food security context
Statistical reporting units
Administrative (admin) units are the geographical areas into which a country is divided. FEWS NET uses the following terminology: National boundary = admin 0, First sub-national division = admin 1 (e.g., states in the United States), Second sub-national division = admin 2 (e.g., counties in the United States), and so on.
Admin 1: District
Belize is divided at the first-level of administrative units into six districts: Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann River, and Toledo. All agricultural data is reported using the six Admin 1 units.
There is only one annual administrative boundary set (effective date 1982) in official use for the crop production data contained in the FDW.
Crop data
Explore our crop data.
View our documentation on using the Crop Domain.
Crop estimate data sources
The principal source for Belize agricultural data is the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries website, located at: https://www.agriculture.gov.bz/document-center/ . Its data and supporting documentation are well-organized and complete.
The Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) hosts some of the same crop statistic data at its website at: https://app.sib.org.bz/ords/r/sib/bnss/1?session=3807467079620 .
The GIS center at the Statistical Institute of Belize is preparing an online GIS resource, which is not yet available, at https://sib.org.bz/about-us/gis/ .
Year and season definition
There are generally at least two seasons recognized in Belize, a wet (June-October) and dry (November-April) season. The wet season is associated with the main cropping season and harvest.
In areas with irrigation or stable water sources, there are opportunities to grow two additional crops in the year, especially for rice crops. A second cropping season potentially begins in August with a harvest in late November, and a third begins in late October with a harvest in early March.
The annual cropping year is a calendar year, running between January 1 and December 31 of the year. It is usually described with a one-year notation, as in 2018.
Sugar production figures are sometimes reported using a two-year notation (e.g. 2013/14) as their growth occurs in the first year and the harvest begins in the December to June period of the second year. All other crop statistics compiled in the FDE are annual data for crops harvested between January 1 and December 31.
Production systems
Three production systems are reported for some crops:
Milpa, or small-holder farms
Mechanized, for larger and often commercially-oriented farming systems
Mechanized irrigated, for commercially-produced, and often export-oriented crops
Other facts
The FEWS NET database contains Belize crop statistics from 2000 onward at the Admin 1 level of spatial resolution and contains more than 60 crops.
Prior to 2004, maize/corn was not reported by “yellow” or ”white”.