Calls to extend Mediterranean fruit fly programme

FruitFly Africa has requested that the per hectare statutory levy for the Mediterranean fruit fly ( Ceratitis capitate) control programme be continued and expanded to other areas when the current four-year levy period comes to an end in September.

Nando Baard, manager of FruitFly Africa, said farmers in the Hex River Valley, Langkloof, Tulbagh, Wolseley, Warm Bokkeveld and Elgin Vyeboom, Villiersdorp, and Grabouw regions had been subjected to a statutory levy until now, whereas farmers in the Orange River Valley contributed voluntary levies for the monitoring of Mediterranean fruit fly on table grape vineyards. The Orange River Valley farmers could then pay for aerial releases of sterile insects as needed. Farmers who had experienced some of the benefits of the programme had indicated that they would now like to participate in the full programme.

“Mediterranean fruit fly is a phytosanitary pest, which can result in a rejection of fruit or even the closure of certain markets. Chemical control used to be the go-to management method, but farmers are switching to integrated pest management to reduce their impact on the environment, and preserve chemical measures as a last resort,” Baard said.

FruitFly Africa, jointly funded by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the fruit industry, played a significant role in the management of this pest by engaging in area-wide monitoring, the promotion of sound tree sanitation, and the sterile insect technique.

Through the sterile insect technique, the company released about 56 million sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies annually. About six million of these were released from the ground, whereas the rest were released in the air from a helicopter over an area of about 39 000ha in the different production regions, of which about 15 000ha were commercial orchards. About 15 million fruit flies could be released at a time, which helped to keep the costs low, he said.

The National Agricultural Marketing Council said in a media statement that it supported the request for the statutory levy, as it was in line with the objectives of the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (as set out in Section 2 of the Act). – Glenneis Kriel