The soils classification of Belize has not been updated for many decades. The last known update was done between the years 1986-1993 by the Natural Resources Institute, and its predecessors in the Overseas Development Administration of the UK Government. Therefore, the country is in great need to update the soils data, including information on soil carbon. It is necessary however to take a multidisciplinary approach taking into account the demographic, social, economic and institutional aspects of agricultural development as well as physical land resources. An updated soils data (profile, expanding the georeferenced database, mapping and characterization) are essential to carry out rehabilitation of land and soil degraded areas including integrated landscape management and restoration, providing agricultural planning tools for the country; to build resilience against natural disasters and climate change as well as to enhance food systems and alternative livelihoods. In this sense, a request was made for support in creating capacity and skills among the technical team of the Ministry of Agriculture. This training will equip technicians with requisite knowledge and skills to carry out essential field work in soil profiling and characterization. Collectively, these initiatives will contribute to a proposed initiative to update national soils data and are in line with the Ministry of Agriculture’s interest to adopt ICTs for providing key services to the farming community.

To build the capacity of agricultural extension agents and offer guidance to professionals on the key steps involved in articulating the processes and knowledge required to produce digital tools, using the latest technology, for the management of soil resources.