Managing Director Zoe Zetina address to stakeholders on BAHA’s efforts to protect Belize’s banana industry from devastating Fusarium Wilt Race 4

Contributed by Zoe Zetina, BAHA’s Managing Director: It is a pleasure to direct a few words to this group of experts, regulators, technical staff and industry stakeholders, all equally concerned about the threat of introduction of Fusarium Tropical Race 4 into the banana industries in our region.

It is a consequential threat to our economies because of the potentially serious impacts to the production and trade of musaceaes as well as to food security. With the presence of the disease now in three countries of South America, we must pool our resources and collaborate even more intensively to delay further spread into the American continent.

We at BAHA are appreciative of the ongoing collaborative activities being organized and delivered by our partners OIRSA and Taiwan ICDF.  Together we are creating awareness, and building the capacity of our staff and the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and the industry.  Our partners are providing critical support in specialized equipment for diagnosis and the associated training. We now feel prepared to detect an early outbreak, conduct the preliminary diagnosis for the disease and respond effectively to eradicate any early detection.

This week’s activity is evidence of our collaborative effort and highlights the iterative nature of simulation exercises, the need to consistently practice until perfected, and the requirement to fight Fusarium TR4.

The banana industry in Belize is small compared to our counterparts in Central America but it is economically highly significant to Belize.  This industry constitutes a major pillar of the agricultural sector, generating significant foreign exchange and providing livelihoods to thousands of workers in southern Belize.  Other musaceaes such as plantains and apple bananas contribute significantly to our food security and diets.

As small as our industry may seem on the international scale, an introduction of Fusiaruim TR4 will be devastating for us. We are still grappling with the heavy devastation to our citrus industry by HLB, and the equally expensive recovery efforts. There is no doubt that Fusarium TR4 would be equally devastating, albeit in a shorter timeframe than HLB in citrus.

We want to assure our colleagues from the OIRSA region, the industry and farmers, that we are committed to the common cause of keeping the disease out of our country, our industry and the region.  We are becoming technically prepared and are being vigilant.  We are cooperating with all industry stakeholders and our developmental partners and we thank them for their unwavering support over all these years.

We are gradually putting in place all the elements that are needed to prevent the introduction of the disease. But let us be mindful that prevention will always be better than any available cure.

Of course, our approach to prevention starts at the point of regulating planting material for the industry and preventing the introduction of non-essential material.

For this reason, only authorized sources, that have been evaluated through the risk analysis process, can supply planting material. Our principal point of entry at the Phillip Goldson International Airport has, for many years, been using sanitary mats at the point of entrance. With the assistance of OIRSA, we have strengthened the inspection process at the airport by establishing non-intrusive inspection methods and implementing x-ray machines and canine units.

Meanwhile, in the fields, staff are being supported with teledetection capacity at a pilot level for surveillance, courtesy of TASA-Taiwan.

The industry is likewise vigilant and reporting cases.

The Plant Health Laboratory can now detect the disease using Conventional PCR and Lamp and is gradually incorporating protocols for other diseases such as Erwinia and Ralstonia for differential diagnosis. Our technical field staff continue to take advantage of courses and related activities to build capacity in various aspects.

The draft regulation is now being reviewed and should soon go through the legislative process for approval and implementation.

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