Examining the Habanero Pepper beds at Cowpen Farms

Author: Connor O’Neill | Majors: Economics, Finance | Semester: Summer 2023

Hello everyone!  My name is Connor O’Neill, and I am about to start my senior year as an economics and finance major.  I spent the summer in Belize participating in an internship with a non-profit called Peacework.  While in Belize, we stayed in the coastal city of Dangriga, which is the largest city in the Stann Creek district.  The goal of this internship is to achieve community development through collaboration with local entities.  My team consisted of four students, and we worked alongside the Ministry of Agriculture in the Stann Creek district.  Ms. Heidy Cob-Canto and Mr. Edwardo Leiva were our contacts in the ministry, and they gave us multiple projects over the duration of the summer.  Initially, our project for the summer was to research habanero pepper production in Belize and find the cost of production of one pound of habanero peppers.  This task was given to us because there was no updated version of the cost of production since 2019.  The ministry of Agriculture wanted to know how much prices had increased since the pandemic.  To complete this task, we visited farms, found prices from agro-processing stores, and used the old cost of production information to formulate an updated cost of production for habanero peppers.  Our second project was to find the market availability and market awareness of Dragon Fruit in Dangriga.  To accomplish this task, we ethically surveyed fruit stands and consumers about the availability of Dragon Fruit, as well as their awareness of the types of Dragon Fruit, its health benefits, and their opinion on the taste of Dragon Fruit.  Next, the ministry of Agriculture had us work with Cooperatives who were trying to get back on their feet after the pandemic.  We were tasked with writing business plans for the Hopkins Farmers Cooperative and the Sandy Beach Women’s Cooperative.  By meeting with both cooperatives, we acquired a good idea of what they wanted to do, and we were able to give them recommendations on next steps for their cooperative.

Furthermore, Peacework wants students to grow in global intelligence through experiencing an extended stay in a new culture.  By growing relationships with people, eating the local foods, using public transportation, and travelling around the country, we were able to expand our global intelligence.  For example, I would often play basketball after work with the locals, and by the end of the summer, I had become friends with multiple guys in the town.  All the aforementioned work that we accomplished greatly aided my research.  However, all the problems that we encountered while working in a developing country also greatly aided my research.  Both the successes and failures of my team can be analyzed to form my thesis.  In terms of professional development, this internship calls for high levels of critical thinking and problem-solving, which are qualities that employees yearn for.  At nearly every step of the road, there was a new problem that had to be addressed before any development was to take place.  However, we did not have to face these problems completely alone, because we formed relationships with farmers and government workers who were experts in their field.  These farmers gave us tours of their crops and explained the farming processes involved in habanero production.  This allowed us to focus on the business side of the project, which is closer to our expertise.  With the official timeline of the internship over, and my arrival back to the United States, I will continue to analyze the data and situations we experienced while in Belize to form my thesis over the subject of community development.