BSCFA - Belize Sugar Cane Farmer's Association

Sugar cane production and exports make up about 60 percent of Belize's agricultural sector. An estimated 6,000 farmers grow sugarcane while many others are involved in the processing and packaging phases. In northern Belize, where most cane is grown, about 85 percent of the population relies on the sugar industry. Many farmers are smallholders with very little land and face a series of challenges, including Hurricane Dean in 2007 which devastated many of the plantations. The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) joined the Fair Trade movement in 2008 to benefit their farmers. In addition to rebuilding infrastructure after the hurricane, the cooperative used its Fair Trade premiums to develop a variety of social programs that would benefit the community.