Exchange of experiences in fruit flies marks Brazil-Thailand cooperation

A delegation of Brazilian researchers is in Thailand providing training on the monitoring system for fruit flies, which are organisms of economic and quarantine importance for both countries. Part of the program includes lectures and courses that deal with fruit flies and also the integration of technologies for their management. In total, around 20 lectures will be held with Brazilian experts.

Among the members of the delegation of researchers are the president of Moscamed, Dr. Jair Virgínio; the project manager, Dr. Maylen Gomez, the research and field technician, the agronomist Fabricio Almeida; and researcher Dr. Regina Sugayama, director of Oxya Agro e Biociências.

“This training is built by Moscamed with the Department of Agriculture and Extension of Thailand and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency. We formatted training close to the International Course on Fruit Flies of Quarantine and Economic Importance held annually by Moscamed in Brazil, adjusting to the reality of Thailand that combats fruit fly species: Bactrocera dorsalis and Bactrocera curcubitae”, he says. the president of Moscamed, Dr. Jair Virginio.

The partnership between Brazil and Thailand must go beyond running the course. With the support of Moscamed, the two countries will build a plan to monitor and control fruit flies. “The idea was born when Thai experts visited Moscamed, in 2012, and learned about our fruit fly monitoring and control program”, reports the entity’s president.

The course is also understood as a learning opportunity for Brazilian specialists. "There are in Thailand a series of fruit flies and other quarantine pests for Brazil. Knowing in the field the pests that we only knew from the literature reinforces the concept that it is always better to adopt preventive measures than to bear the consequences of an introduction of a quarantine pest", comments Dr. Regina Sugayama, who has worked with this group of pests for over 20 years. "We have been witnesses to a real invasion of pests in Brazil in recent years, which has caused billions of dollars in losses for our agriculture", adds Regina.