A multi-institutional approach to implement fruit fly low prevalence and free areas in Central America: Outcomes and constraints

Full text: For the purpose of boosting the fruit and vegetable exports of the Central American countries through fruit fly suppression/eradication actions, new approaches are used: - A multilateral alliance instead of isolated efforts. Thus, four international organisations, two donors Government institutions and the region's seven countries joined their efforts, coordinated by the IAEA; - A strategy of incremental enlargement of isolated low prevalence or free areas, instead of the old approach of attempting to eradicate the pest from the entire region; and - The use of pilot experimental areas, on which all elements that play a key role in a pest-free production-exports system are applied, instead of focusing only on some technologies in the field. Outcomes include the implementation of medfly-free areas in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and Panama is also in the process of doing so. Guatemala is presently negotiating with the Mexican Government the export of peach from its fruit fly-free zone in the Department of Quetzaltenango. Major constraints encountered are: - Weak alliances among the international organisations, - Troublesome coordination between Governments and the producers-exporters, - Insufficient trained civil servants in the Government and, - Insufficient funding to transfer the actions to bigger areas. (author)