-Martinez June

©L. Gi l ©L. 2018 Eradication of the Mediterranean Fruit from the Dominican Republic Using Nuclear Technology The Mediterranean fruit fly (or medfly), The International Atomic Energy for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). capitata Wied., is considered Agency (IAEA), FAO and the United In July 2017, the Caribbean country a major agricultural worldwide States Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared officially that it is free of the because of its direct damage to fruit and immediately joined hands to assist invasive pest, only two years after an vegetable production, and restrictions the country in establishing a national outbreak led to considerable damage to imposed to commercialization of horti- monitoring network to delimit the its agricultural industry. cultural commodities by countries free distribution of the outbreak and initiate an The Dominican Republic has eradicated of the pest. The attacks several eradication campaign with support from the medfly by using an integrated varieties of fruit and vegetable, and the , Mexico, USA Moscamed approach that includes the sterile insect spreads very fast. Programme and regional organizations, technique (SIT) - an environmentally- The presence of this pest was officially such as the International Regional friendly and effective method to suppress reported in the Dominican Republic in Organization for Plant and Health or eradicate selected insect populations - March 2015. (OIRSA) and the Inter-American Institute applied on an area-wide basis.

Effective Mediterranean Although about 200 km away from the main horticultural Fruit Fly Eradication production areas, an immediate import ban on several An outbreak of the Mediterranean fruit fly was reported for the first agricultural products, including avocado, citrus fruits, papaya time in March 2015 in the Dominican Republic, near the tourist city and peppers, was placed by major trading partners, severely of Punta Cana, and rapidly spread to an area of 2000 km2 in the east affecting the country’s main source of income after tourism of the country. Investigations indicate that the Mediterranean fruit - agricultural exports. The ban resulted in an estimated loss of fly probably entered the country inside a tourist’s luggage. about USD 40 million in fruit and vegetable exports alone in the

Food Chain Crisis | Emergency Prevention System | information sheets KEY FACTS Eradication of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly from the Dominican Republic Using Nuclear Technology Joint FAO/IAEA Programme

A MEDFLY OUTBREAK IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC RESULTED IN AN EXPORT BAN -Martinez OF HORTICULTURE PRODUCTS ©L. Gi l ©L. WITH AN ESTMATED LOSS OF USD 40 MILLION following nine months of 2015, putting and release facility to manage the sterile thousands of jobs at risk. male transported weekly as pupae THE IAEA AND FAO IN CLOSE While most flies were initially detected from El Pino, Guatemala. From October COOPERATION WITH THE in non-commercial almond trees along 2015 until May 2017, over 4 billion sterile USDA, THE MOSCAMED the coast, there was a fear that they might flies were released in the affected areas. PROGRAMME, OIRSA also invade commercial fruit and vegetable A Technical Advisory Committee of AND IICA, PROVIDED farms. international experts, chaired by the Joint TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO FAO/IAEA Division, was fundamental THE GOVERNMENT OF THE Nuclear Technologies in providing technical guidance to the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC to Contain and Eradicate Ministry of Agriculture in the Dominican the Pest Republic. As an emergency response, the MEDFLY WAS ERADICATED Government of the Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic FROM THE DOMINICAN through its Ministry of Agriculture, Medfly Free REPUBLIC USING THE STERILE established the Moscamed Programme- As a result of this major effort, the last INSECT TECHNOLOGY DR, and made the required financial Mediterranean fruit fly was detected in and operational support available to January 2017 and official eradication was perform all required monitoring and declared six months later in July 2017. OFFICIAL ERADICATION control activities. Local personnel were Export markets have since reopened WAS DECLARED IN JULY 2017. immediately trained in establishing a and net revenues of the rapidly growing EXPORT MARKETS HAVE surveillance network throughout the horticultural sector have been re- SINCE REOPENED AND NET country to detect and identify the fly, and established. REVENUES RE-ESTABLISHED in complementary pest control methods, Phytosanitary activities are now carried such as pruning of host trees, the out by 117 inspectors, including the use of destruction of potential fruit hosts and the X-ray machines in the Dominican Republic’s THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC use of selective insecticide bait-sprays. maritime ports, airports and border points IS NOW ON THE LIST OF IAEA and FAO, in close cooperation with to minimise the risk of entry of the fly and COUNTRIES THAT HAVE the USDA and the Guatemala-Mexico-USA other invasive pests. SUCCESSFULLY ERADICATED Moscamed Programme, provided technical The Dominican Republic is now on the THE MEDITERRANEAN assistance to the Dominican Republic to list of countries that have successfully FRUIT FLY suppress and eradicate this major invasive eradicated the Mediterranean fruit fly. It pest and to implement the SIT as the main has successfully developed the capabilities eradication tool. Other organizations that for area-wide application of the SIT and participated in this major effort to assist the has become a source of training and Dominican Republic were OIRSA and IICA. technology transfer for other countries in Joint FAO-IAEA Programme Through its Technical Cooperation the region that are increasingly exposed to Programme, the IAEA also provided invasive pest incursions due to increased e-mail assistance through emergency funds, travel and trade. Had this devastating [email protected] conducting capacity building actions, pest been allowed to establish itself, the and deploying a long-term expert on-site whole Caribbean Region and all its trading Websites to train staff and implement the SIT to partners would have been at severe risk of http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/index.html eradicate the pest. A facility in the town devastating outbreaks and huge losses in 2018 o, http://www.fao.org/food-chain-crisis a CA0148EN/1/06.18 of Higuey was adapted as a fly emergence export revenue. © f

fcc-empres | information sheets | June | 2018