DFC attended this year’s International Day of Cooperatives event which was held on Friday, July 3, 2020 at Nagobank, Maskall in the Belize District.
‘Cooperatives for Climate Action’ was this year’s theme. Mr. Armin Cansino, Branch Manager, Central, and Mr. Jeffy Gomez, Credit Officer, attended the session following outreach to the Belize District Agricultural Officer to engage with the farming community. Mr. Cansino and Mr. Gomez, presented to the group of farmers and stakeholders from key agricultural offices such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Cooperatives, on DFC’s Agriculture & Livestock Financing and DFC’s Climate Resiliency Financing.
Several needs were identified and DFC’s Belize district team will continue to engage with the Agricultural officers and the Nagobank Cooperative membership.
The International Day of Cooperatives is celebrated internationally on the first Saturday of every July, to increase awareness on the importance of Cooperatives and highlights the complementary goals, objectives, and contributions of the United Nations and the international cooperative movement.
An excerpt from the International Cooperatives Alliance (ICA) website states: “No country is immune from it – Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 50 percent higher than it was in 1990, and global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our climate system which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not act. Climate change severely impacts people’s livelihoods around the world, especially the most disadvantaged groups such as small-scale farmers, women, youth, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, who have to cope with extreme natural disasters and degradation of natural resources.
This is why Cooperatives for Climate Action was chosen as this year’s theme to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action and focus on the contribution of cooperatives towards combating climate change.”
Special thanks to Mr. Jose Tillett, District Agriculture Officer as well as to Mr. Gareth Murillo, Registrar, Dept. of Cooperatives for organizing the event and welcoming the DFC to engage with the Cooperative membership.
Learn more about the ICA here: https://www.ica.coop