Smart Mediterranean Fly Management in Mexico

For more than 30 years, the inhabitants of the Francisco Sarabia ejido, municipality of Chiapas, in the state of Independencia, Mexico, carried out their agricultural activities without major difficulties, but the presence of an exotic fly triggered the health alert and transformed the area into a a battlefield against insects located in some fruits.

The discovery of 198 adults and 291 larvae of the Mediterranean fly (Moscamed) triggered the alarms of Mexico's National Service for Health, Safety and Agro-Food Quality (SENASICA) and launched the National Emergency Device against the fly in 2016.

This device is provided for in the Moscamed Program, responsible for SENASICA and whose operation by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) helps prevent the pest from establishing itself in the national territory.

The presence of the insect also activated the participation of the inhabitants of that municipality of Chiapas in the program. 60% of the population is indigenous and dedicated to agricultural activities, mainly small producers of tomatoes, coffee, bananas and corn.

The population cooperates and follows the instructions of the Moscamed Program health personnel. Traps, samples, bait and even release sterile adult flies. The program started a campaign to publicize the problem, so that the population could support the authorities with the emergency device.

"We want to have good fruit and take care of our trees so that they are free from pests, such as the Mediterranean fly, because they are our means of subsistence and that is why we all cooperate," said Yeimi Albores, education promoter of the Francisco ejido Sarabia.

Many ejido residents practice subsistence farming, so crop protection is vital to their economic activity.

The eradication of the fly was a success and the residents of Francisco Sarabia were satisfied with the results obtained.

"When the technicians from the Moscamed Program need to come, we wait for them here, because we are very happy with the work they have done, as it allows us to obtain good fruits from the earth", said Herminio López, president of the Ejidal Commissariat.

One of the greatest benefits of implementing programs such as Moscamed and Moscafrut, which combat Mediterranean and fruit flies, is the support for food security, as it favors the harvest of healthy foods and takes care of Mexico's agri-food heritage. This element is vitally important given the current pandemic, which challenges food production and trade around the world.

Global recognition

The Moscamed Program was effectively operated by SENASICA in coordination with IICA. It is recognized worldwide as one of the first developed on the American continent for the control of Mediterranean flies and as the first program against fruit flies to be successful, at the continental level, with integrated management based on the sterile insect technique (TIE), which It has become an effective instrument of public policy and generated a public good for Mexico.

The phytosanitary status of a fly-free country in the Mediterranean, maintained uninterruptedly for the last 38 years, has benefited Mexican producers who grow fruits and vegetables, exporters and consumers, since the products are grown with less use of pesticides, which favors human health and the environment. Furthermore, it generates jobs in the fields and in agribusiness.

Currently, Mexico is recognized worldwide in the area of ​​health, safety and food quality, as it contains pests and diseases and has safe and harmless agricultural production, consumed in national and international markets. The country ranks 11th in world food production and eighth in exports of agri-food products.

Preliminary data indicate that in 2019 the agri-food sector generated foreign exchange worth approximately US$38 billion, of which around US$8 billion corresponds to fruit and vegetable products grown in 7% of the national agricultural area, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Information System. Fisheries (SIAP).

According to a study carried out by IICA in 2009 on the economic impact of the Moscamed Program during its first 30 years in Mexico, the initiative has been highly profitable for the country, which is why its launch and maintenance were a success for the Mexican Government.