The 2024 Farmers of the Year

Three farmers will be honored on Friday at the opening ceremony of the National Agriculture and Trade Show. They are Sara Chub, the female farmer of the year, Maura Escobar, the junior farmer of the year and Nandy Aldana, the senior farmer of the year. All three farmers were bestowed with the esteemed title after a rigorous vetting process by personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture. Here are a few words from all three farmers, courtesy of the Government Press Office.

 

Sara Chub, Female Farmer of the Year

“Every time my two kids and husband tell me the same thing, mommy you nuh tired? I tell them we need to be out there. Sometimes I was in a program that was training us to have some organic stuff.. it actually helped. Once you put your mind and hear to it you will get ahead, because I believe agriculture is a very important sector in Belize. During COVID, you know what happened, everything was on lock down. I was surviving on agriculture, instead of sitting home doing nothing. I could provide extra income to my family. I will not depend on husband salary, not depend on this one and that. God give us two hands and I believe we can use them for the correct purpose.”

 

Maura Escobar, Junior Farmer of the Year

“My Name is Maura Escobar. I am twenty-four-years-old. I was born here. I am Belizean. I was born in 2000 in the fifteenth of May and I am a farmer. I am a single mother. I have two kids and it was hard for me to be independent at first. But since I already knew about farming, I launched myself into farming and I began to work hard and I want to say that we can get ahead in life without support from anyone else. If you focus on what you want, you can achieve your objectives. You cant pay attention to other people. Sometimes we need advice from someone else, but those people may just come and tell you, “No, you cant do it”, but you have to tell yourself that you can. I wake up at five-thirty a.m every day. I make some coffee, put the stuff in the car and then I go to look for the young man who helps me at the farm.”

 

Nandy Aldana, Senior Farmer of the Year

“My name is Nandy Aldana. I am from Concepcion Village and I am twenty-seven-years-old. I can say I belong to a family of farmers because my father was a farmer too and now, I continue to be a farmer. I have been farming full-time for fifteen to sixteen years and my passion for farming started when I was small, learning from my father. That is when I discovered that I wanted to be a farmer too. That is where everything started.”