CARIBVISTA | IAGRO SAT CARIBBEAN
BZ
BELIZE AGRICULTURAL ACTIVATION BRIEF
Belize has 489,137 hectares of grassland on a 50% food-import-dependent nation with the lowest population density in Central America.1
The first complete satellite land census of Belize — every 10-metre pixel classified — reveals that grassland covers 8.7× more land than active cropland. With sugarcane and citrus dominating a narrow export base, Belize's food security depends on activating idle land for diversified production.
Total Land (ha)
2.71M
ESA WorldCover v200, 10m
Grassland (ha)
489,137
18.0% of land area
Cropland (ha)
55,910
2.1% of land area
Tree Cover (ha)
1.95M
71.8% of land area
Complete satellite land census. ESA WorldCover v200 classifies every 10m×10m pixel across Belize into 9 land cover classes. At 271 million pixels, this census covers all 6 districts. Despite being the only English-speaking nation in Central America with vast land reserves, Belize imports half its food — primarily from Mexico and Guatemala.
ESA WORLDCOVER v200 // 10m RESOLUTIONSENTINEL-2 L2A // NDVI 10mFAO/GAUL 2015 // 6 DISTRICTS
GEE-COMPUTED DISTRICT CENSUS
Land Cover by District
ESA WorldCover v200 pixel counts at native 10m resolution, clipped to FAO/GAUL district boundaries. Every bar segment is a real hectare count.
Cropland
Tree Cover
Grassland
Built-up
Other
Orange Walk
451K ha
NDVI 0.66
Cayo
531K ha
NDVI 0.70
Toledo
467K ha
NDVI 0.72
Stann Creek
249K ha
NDVI 0.69
Belize
439K ha
NDVI 0.67
Corozal
192K ha
NDVI 0.64
55.9K ha
Cropland (2.1%)
1.9M ha
Tree Cover (71.8%)
489K ha
Grassland (18.0%)
11.2K ha
Built-up (0.4%)
KEY FINDING
Grassland exceeds cropland by 8.7x
WorldCover classifies 489,137 ha as grassland vs. only 55,910 ha as active cropland. Belize's agriculture is heavily concentrated in sugarcane (Orange Walk) and citrus (Stann Creek), leaving vast tracts of grassland across all 6 districts underutilised. With only 430,000 people on 2.7M hectares, Belize has the lowest population density in Central America and the highest per-capita land availability in the Caribbean basin.
Orange Walk
NDVI 0.66
125K ha
grassland / 18.5K ha cropland / 451K ha total
Sugarcane heartland -- large grassland areas between cane fields
Cayo
NDVI 0.7
105K ha
grassland / 8.2K ha cropland / 531K ha total
Western highlands -- cattle ranching and fallow land
Belize
NDVI 0.67
88K ha
grassland / 5.2K ha cropland / 439K ha total
Coastal district -- mangroves, wetlands, and idle grassland
MOST CULTIVATED
Orange Walk — 4.1% cropland
18,500 ha cropland | 125,000 ha grassland | Sugarcane dominant | BSI sugar mill
MOST FORESTED
Toledo — 79% tree cover
370,000 ha tree | 7,800 ha cropland | 72,000 ha grassland | NDVI 0.72 (highest) | Cacao production
SATELLITE EVIDENCE
What Our Platform Sees
Cloud-free classified maps from ESA WorldCover v200 and Sentinel-2. Every pixel is a real 10m×10m classification across all 2.7 million hectares.
THE FULL PLATFORM PRODUCES
Monthly NDVI monitoring
Continuous vegetation tracking per pixel across all 6 districts
Hurricane damage assessment
Automatic detection via IBTrACS + pre/post NDVI delta
Crop classification
ML-powered spectral classification of sugarcane, citrus, cacao at 10m
District-level census
Every land cover class quantified per administrative boundary
Change detection
Pixel-level vegetation gain/loss over any time window
Financial modelling
IRR, NPV, sensitivity analysis calibrated to satellite data
All capabilities demonstrated in the 30-section intelligence dossier — available through formal engagement.
THE PROPOSAL
Two Entities, One Mission
A for-profit technology company and a proposed non-profit land trust, working together to activate idle farmland at scale.
Caribbean Development Bank
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE
TA Grant + Pilot Funding
CLT
CaribVista Land Trust
PROPOSED NON-PROFIT
Leases idle farmland from MAFSE/national lands
Employs & trains local farmers
Manages crop production
NOT YET INCORPORATED
SAT
IAGRO SAT Caribbean
FOR-PROFIT TECHNOLOGY
Satellite monitoring & analytics
Crop health intelligence
Yield forecasting & risk models
Brazilian origin -- South-South transfer
CaribVista Land Trust pays IAGRO SAT for monitoring services → profits reinvest into technology & expansion
South-South Transfer: IAGRO SAT developed for Brazilian agriculture (18M+ properties). Brazil is a CDB non-borrowing member with Board voting rights — CDB 55th Annual Meeting hosted in Brasília, June 2025.
BELIZE OPPORTUNITY — LOWEST POPULATION DENSITY IN CENTRAL AMERICA
$250M
Annual Food Import Bill
50% import dependency
489K ha
Idle Grassland
8.7x more than cropland
MAFSE
Key Partner Agency
Min. of Agriculture
Belize has 6.3 ha of land per person — highest in CARICOM. Sugarcane (Orange Walk) and citrus (Stann Creek) dominate the narrow agricultural base. Cacao production in Toledo is emerging as a high-value export crop. Diversification away from sugar is a government priority.
NEXT STEPS
The Ask
STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY
BSI/ASR sugar restructuring opens diversification window
Belize Sugar Industries (BSI) and American Sugar Refining restructuring creates an opportunity to diversify Orange Walk and Corozal beyond sugarcane monoculture. Combined with the EU-CARIFORUM EPA duty-free access, Belize can become a food exporter to both CARICOM and European markets.
Phase 1 — Q2 2026
Validation
Ground-truth satellite census, MAFSE stakeholder mapping, 6 districts
Phase 2 — Q4 2026
Pilot
300 ha Orange Walk/Cayo activation, 75 farmers, diversified crops
Phase 3 — 2027
Scale
2,000 ha, Toledo cacao expansion, cooperatives, export channels
Phase 4 — 2028+
Regional
Full programme, CARICOM food export, self-sustaining Land Trust
01
STEP 1
Exploratory Meeting
Present satellite intelligence to CDB Agriculture Division. Validate data, discuss MAFSE partnership, identify co-financing with Belize government.
02
STEP 2
TA Grant
Technical Assistance to fund ground-truth validation, legal structuring of CaribVista Land Trust, and detailed feasibility study.
03
STEP 3
Pilot Funding
$1.8M
$900K TA grant + $900K concessional loan.
Year 1: 300 ha pilot, 75 farmers, Orange Walk + Cayo.
$900K TA grant + $900K concessional loan.
Year 1: 300 ha pilot, 75 farmers, Orange Walk + Cayo.
ALSO AVAILABLE
Agriculture Feasibility Study
Real setup costs, crop economics, seasonal risk analysis, year-round production methods, and how IAGRO SAT monitors every hectare at a fraction of plantation-scale costs.
View feasibility study →DUE DILIGENCE
Proof Annex — Source Traceability
Every number in this brief traced to its source. Satellite data reproducible from GEE scripts. For CDB due diligence review.
View proof annex →Entity Structure & Governance
Dual entity model, board composition, service agreement pricing, 5-year revenue trajectory, and the Caribbean food network vision.
View entity structure →ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
This executive brief summarises findings from a comprehensive 30-section satellite intelligence dossier backed by real GEE-computed data. The full dossier, live platform access, and ongoing monitoring capabilities are available through formal engagement.
CARIBVISTA | IAGRO SAT CARIBBEAN // FEBRUARY 2026
Contact: partnerships@iagrosat.com|IAGRO SAT Caribbean
© 2026 IAGRO SAT Caribbean. All rights reserved.
CaribVista Land Trust is a proposed entity — not yet incorporated.
Data: ESA WorldCover v200 (10m) + Sentinel-2 L2A (10m) via Google Earth Engine.
District boundaries: FAO/GAUL/2015. Computed 2026-02-23.
1 FAO/GIEWS Country Brief, Belize. Belize Statistical Institute food import data.
CONFIDENTIAL — For named recipients only. Do not redistribute.