Harvesting Resilience Part 1 – Introduction

Agriculture in Belize is a major part of the economy, contributing approximately BZE$500 million a year. Key export crops including banana, citrus, and sugarcane accounted for 4.6% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022.

Agriculture in Belize faces many challenges including climate variability and outbreaks of pests and disease. It is therefore vital to understand where these pressures are occurring and also to identify where in the country drought and water stress are becoming increasingly significant.

The Government of Belize launched the Climate Resilience and Sustainable Agriculture project (CRESAP) to support the agriculture sector build resilience against climate change and increase productivity. The GDA AID Agriculture activity has been supporting CRESAP by developing Earth Observation based tools, in collaboration with the World Bank, and local experts within the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE), the Belize Social Investment Fund (BSIF), the National Meteorological Service (NMS), the Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute (SIRDI) and the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA).

A number of EO tools were developed, including:

• Crop type classification – using state-of-the-art satellite imagery to pinpoint the precise locations of sugarcane, citrus, and banana in the Orange Walk, Cayo, Stann Creek, and Toledo districts.
• Drought monitoring – offering real-time insights into meteorological anomalies that threaten Belize’s agriculture.
• Deforestation analysis – integrating Global Forest Watch data with land‑cover maps and crop type classification to identify hotspots and quantify forest loss.
• Irrigation and vegetation‑health diagnostics – combining water‑source information with VCI and VHI indicators to highlight areas where drought stress and low vegetation productivity require targeted intervention.

In this video, you will hear from Belizean farmers, government officials and a World Bank specialist explaining how satellite‑based tools are strengthening climate‑resilient agriculture.

Related resources and websites

• GDA Story: Harvesting Resilience: Integrating EO in Belizean Agricultural Development  – Read more about this case study on the GDA website
• Climate Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture Project (CRESAP) – Find out more about CRESAP

Featured Imagery

Crop type classification leveraged from state-of-the-art satellite imagery, in Belize

Source: GDA AID Agriculture Consortium

Average annual precipitation map of Belize, highlighting drier northern and wetter southern regions.

Source: GDA AID Agriculture Consortium / GDA Impact Sphere