OIRSA alerts region of the presence of Giant African Snail in Costa Rica

Posted: Friday, August 6, 2021. 4:58 pm CST.

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: As if the African Swine Fever weren’t enough, the International Regional Agricultural Health Organization (OIRSA) is also alerting countries in the Central American and Caribbean region that the Giant African Snail, an agricultural and garden pest, is now present in Costa Rica.

Luis Pook, Communications Director at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and enterprise said the Giant African Snail eats over 500 species of plants, it reproduces prolifically, and can threaten agricultural crops. Pook said that people sometimes take them as pets.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE) in turn has alerted all its staff and they are alerting the farmers and the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) to have all its containment protocols in place at the country’s entry points.

Recently OIRSA held a phytosanitary workshop that featured presenters from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and the United States to develop awareness and contain the disease in Costa Rica.

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