Strengthening regional fruit fly surveillance and control in Latin America and the Caribbean through the integration of the Sterile Insect Technique
International Atomic Energy Agency
(
United Nations / Multilateral body
)
#SDGAction33415
Description
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the presence of endemic and invasive fruit flies, such as the medfly and the Bactrocera scutellate, has taken a toll on the fruit and vegetable industry. These pests reduced the production volume by up to 30% and increased costs for control measures and treatments required for exports, resulting in considerable economic losses. In 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), launched a three-year project to strengthen existing efforts to control fruit pests in the region through the integration of the sterile insect technique (SIT) with other control methods.
The project has been identified in close engagement with IAEA Member States in the Latin America and the Caribbean region that are parties to the Regional Cooperation Agreement for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL) in response to the Regional Strategic Profile 2016-2021, ARCAL’s mid-term strategy document. The planning and implementation of the project involved national plant health institutions, linked to the Ministries of Agriculture of 19 IAEA Member States in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean. IAEA assistance addressed common regional needs and obstacles, while simultaneously responding to the unique capacity building requirements of each participating Member State. Between 2016 and 2019, 19 expert missions, 11 regional meetings and two regional training events were held across the region to embed processes and harmonize technical procedures in the region, which underpin the area-wide integrated pest management approach with an SIT component. Additionally, participating countries were provided with geolocation and specialized laboratory equipment to support effective fruit fly surveillance and identification systems. To ensure surveillance and control measures were deployed in a timely manner, a Trapping Model based on existing risk factors, as well as a Regional Database on Fruit Fly Surveillance using specific traps were made available in strategic sites within infested areas. Action Plans against Invasive Fruit Fly Species and a Guide for the Identification of Major Fruit Fly Species were disseminated for regional coordination.
Five areas were declared fruit fly free or ‘low prevalence’ areas. Overall, fruit fly surveillance systems were strengthened in 90% of the participating Member States. The consolidation of a regional surveillance network has enabled the participating Member States to detect any incursions by invasive fruit fly species quickly and accurately, and to respond rapidly to prevent or address outbreaks. The Mediterranean fruit fly was eradicated in the Dominican Republic in 2017, after the official reporting of its presence in 2015, benefitting the national horticultural industry and protecting the plant resources of the whole Caribbean region and neighbouring mainland countries (Mexico and the USA). The export market in the Dominican Republic was reopened with a return to pre-outbreak export levels. Additionally, the Bactrocera pest was eradicated within seven months. A total area of 473,000 hectares of cultivated hosts is presently protected from Bactrocera scutellata in Colima, Mexico.
The Agency has regional/cooperative agreements with specific groups of Member States and within regions to strengthen and enlarge the contribution of nuclear science and technology to socioeconomic development. One of the key aims of these agreements is to enhance self-reliance in the use of nuclear science and technology in the regions and countries through strengthened collaboration, exchange of experience and support among members that are part of the agreement. One of these agreements is ARCAL, that addresses crucial development priorities in the region.
Fruit pest problems are transboundary and require an integrated pest management approach. The integration of the SIT is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly control method to suppress and, in some cases, eradicate fruit fly populations and can be replicated elsewhere. The SIT is a birth control technique – when sterile males mate with fertile wild females, there is no reproduction. When the sterile males are released continuously over a long period of time, the population is reduced until it eventually disappears. Integrated with other control methods, the SIT has been successful in controlling a number of high-profile insect pests, including fruit flies (Mediterranean fruit fly, Mexican fruit fly, oriental fruit fly, melon fly); tsetse fly; New World Screwworm; moths(codling moth, pink bollworm, false codling moth, cactus moth, and the Australian painted apple moth); and mosquitoes.
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Beneficiaries: local producers and exporters of fruit and horticultural products Key stakeholders and partners: Ministries of Agriculture of participating Member States, Moscamed Program in Guatemala/Mexico, SENASICA-MAGA-USDA, FAO Office in the Dominican Republic, International Regional Organization for Plant and Animal Health (OIRSA), Interamerican Institute of Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
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Sonja, Programme Management Assistant
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