100+ Join One Health Workshop on Poultry Disease Prevention

More than 100 participants, including students and backyard poultry producers from Belize’s southernmost districts, recently gathered for a One Health workshop focused on immunisation against Newcastle Disease. This training initiative, a collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Belize’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise, aims to enhance biosecurity practices in the poultry sector under Belize’s Agriculture Sector Policy.

The workshop, led by the Belize Agriculture Health Authority (BAHA) and local One Health partners, centred on immunisation techniques and biosecurity measures to prevent disease transmission among rural poultry populations. By equipping backyard poultry farmers with these practices, the program aims to safeguard both local food security and livelihoods.

Aligned with Belize’s broader agricultural strategy, the initiative prioritises the diversification and resilience of Belize’s agriculture. In the wake of the pandemic, the Belizean government has also shifted its agricultural focus towards digital farming, export growth to Latin America, and climate adaptability to bolster sector resilience.

As backyard poultry rearing has expanded, so has the movement of birds across Belize, increasing the risk of outbreaks of highly contagious diseases such as Newcastle Disease (vND) and Avian Influenza (AI). Disease control and monitoring in the poultry sector, alongside other priorities like quality seed production and Indigenous farming protections, are now core elements of Belize’s agricultural agenda.