The Government announced the launch of the last phase of the international protocol of the Program to Eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), in order to completely wipe out the source of infestation discovered in the area of Punta Cana, in the province of La Altagracia.
The administrative ministers of the Presidency and Agriculture, Jose Ramon Peralta and Angel Estevez, led a meeting at Punta Cana where they stated that the Government was going to release some 108 million sterile Medfly males by air, and some 40,000 specimens from land, so they could copulate with the possible remaining females at the focus of infestation; after having completing the previous phases of the international protocol established by the Medfly program, which consisted of placing traps.
Last March, the United States imposed a ban on imports of avocado, peppers and tomato from the Dominican Republic, after detecting an outbreak of flies in a radius of 22 km around the airport of Punta Cana.
Estevez said that, thanks to the support of international bodies and the early compliance with the eradication protocol, they had been able to confine the outbreak to the Punta Cana area, with a last sporadic capture last week in La Romana.
He said that since the discovery of the outbreak, the ministry of Agriculture had deployed and implemented the Protocol and that they hadn't made any new detection to date.
"We appreciate the support of the technicians from the United States Department of Agriculture and Guatemala's Medfly program, as well as the efforts of the experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Dominican Republic's Medfly program, for the speedy eradication of this pest. We must learn from this infestation to prevent further threats to the country," said Estevez.
Estevez said that Jorge Rizzo, an expert in releasing sterile males would be coming from Guatemala in the coming weeks for the last phase of the Protocol, to provide his expertise and support to the Medfly-RD program, and to implement the cooperation agreement for the acquisition of the same in the Central American country.
Meanwhile, the administrative Minister of the Presidency appreciated the effort made by the agricultural authorities to eliminate the fly quickly. He said the government of President Danilo Medina "will spare no effort to completely eliminate the bug."
In addition, on behalf of the Dominican Government he thanked the authorities of the United States and Guatemala for all of their support, as they had shared their knowledge and had established economic agreements for the elimination of the fly.
The meeting was attended by: the Senator from San Jose de Ocoa, Carlos Castillo (producer of avocado), the general director of Civil Defense, the general major, Rafael Emilio De Luna Pichirilo, the advisor of Executive Branch on foreign policy, José Manuel Trullols, the representative of the Department of Agriculture of the Embassy of the United States, Eric Hoffman, and a Commission of vegetable producers from San José de Ocoa, led by the President of the Association of greenhouse producers and the cooperative of Agricultural Producers from Rancho Arriba, Hector Gonzalez.
Source: 7dias.com.do