A Multi-Faceted Needs Assessment of the Belizean Agriculture Industry

Agriculture is vital to the economy of Belize as it provides approximately 71% of the country's total foreign exchange earnings and represents 29% of the total labor force (U.S. Department of State, 2011). Until now, there has been a lack of knowledge pertaining to the educational needs of those involved in the agricultural industry of Belize. The purpose for this qualitative study was to conduct a needs assessment to determine the areas of research that should be focused on so that future educational programming and collaborative work in the form of workshops, internships, and grant proposals can be created.
Case study methodology was used to address the following objectives: 1) determine what barriers prevent the agricultural industry of Belize from being more successful, 2) determine what the agricultural industry of Belize, as a whole, needs in order to be more successful, and 3) determine what the educational needs are for the agricultural industry of Belize. A variety of needs assessment techniques were used to collect data for this study: individual interviews, group interviews, and observations. A team of eight researchers from Texas Tech University traveled to Belize to meet with representatives from a governmental agency, the citrus industry, the poultry industry, the banana industry, the beef industry, the shrimp industry, and the restaurant/tourism industry. All interviews were digitally recorded and observational notes were taken. Upon return from Belize, the audio and video data were transcribed, then analyzed through the use of NVivo 10 for common themes. The results revealed several major themes that spanned across the entire agricultural industry. For Research Objective 1, the barriers identified for the Belizean agriculture industry were related to government, energy, oil, boat transportation, disease, weather, illiteracy/lack of technology, and unemployment. For Research Objective 2, general agricultural needs were identified for the citrus, beef, poultry, restaurant/tourism/agritourism, banana, and shrimp industries, and also the agricultural health authority for Belize. For Research Objective 3, several agricultural education needs were identified: the need for a link with other universities, the need for more government assistance in terms of education, the need for better collaboration with the Mennonite culture, the need to focus on extension education more, and the need for a better information dissemination system. The researcher identified several recommendations for future research. First, a demographic questionnaire should be distributed so that more rich and in-depth descriptions can be provided about the interview participants. Second, all of the interview participants for this study hold leadership positions within the Belizean agriculture industry; therefore, it would be beneficial to examine the perceptions of those who do not hold leadership positions within the industry. Third, it is recommended that the perceptions of government officials be examined in regard to the country’s agricultural industry. Fourth, a more in-depth examination of the needs of Belize’s Mennonite population should be examined, due to the fact that they represent a significant contribution to the agricultural industry. Fifth, a more extensive amount of time should be spent in Belize in order to thoroughly examine the country’s agricultural industry. The last recommendation is to begin developing workshop content based off the needs determined in this needs assessment.