Christopher Nesbitt, a farmer who 36 years ago set out to restore degraded lands in Belize and developed an integrated crop-livestock-forestry system that combines production and environmental conservation, has been recognized as one of the “Leaders of Rurality in the Americas” by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
In recognition of this, Nebitt will receive the “Soul of Rurality” award, part of an initiative by the agency specializing in agricultural and rural development to highlight men and women who are leaving their mark and making a difference in rural areas in the Americas, which are essential for food and nutritional security and environmental sustainability on the planet.
Nesbitt is from the United States and arrived in the smallest Central American country at the age of 19. His plan was to spend some time there, but he never returned to his homeland. In Belize, he bought an old farm with degraded soils that was used for citrus cultivation and cattle production, covering only 70 acres, and over time he developed a system that combines forest maintenance with various crops and animal husbandry. The system has yielded great results in both economic and ecological terms.
“Agrosilvopastoral” systems combine crops, livestock and forestry, keep the soil covered, preventing erosion, and help capture carbon. Experts agree that they are an efficient way to achieve greater food production and, at the same time, mitigate the effects of climate change.
His production unit, called Maya Mountain Research Farm, is located in the town of San Pedro Columbia, in the Toledo district, whose population is mostly indigenous and of Mayan descent. The farm has become a reference for sustainability, visited by hundreds of young people and highlighted by several organizations for its educational value.
The unit is home to hundreds of species of native plants and fauna and produces food for the population of this country with a coastline on the Caribbean Sea. It also has a biogas plant, which produces its own energy.
For its work, which is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Nesbitt received the Commonwealth Innovation Award in 2019, as Belize is one of the nations with historical ties to the United Kingdom.
“Belize’s food security depends almost entirely on the arrival of containers with food from abroad. This is not sustainable. This is a problem we see throughout the Caribbean region. All the islands suffer from this and we suffer too, even though we are not an island and are part of Central America,” explains Christopher.
The “Rurality Leaders of the Americas” designation is a recognition of those people who play an irreplaceable dual role: being guarantors of food and nutritional security and at the same time guardians of the planet’s biodiversity through production under any circumstances. The recognition also serves to highlight the ability to promote positive examples for rural areas in the region.