Ministry of Agriculture officials receive training in Colombia to control banana fusarium wilt

Photo Credit: MAFSE

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: Six Ministry of Agriculture officials recently received training in Colombia to control banana fusarium wilt.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE) said the six officials from the Ministry and the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA), including Ina Sanchez, Manager of the Research, Development, and Innovation Center in Central Farm and Elsner Campos, Stann Creek District Agriculture Coordinator, participated in training on Fusarium Tropical Race 4, the TR4 fungus which affects bananas, also called banana wilt, at the Manuel Mejia Foundation in Pereira, Colombia.

“The training focused on the biosecurity plan before, during and after an outbreak of TR4, the need for a robust contingency plan to manage the disease and the use of satellite imagery to assist in field surveillance,” MAFSE said.

According to the Ministry, the training, which was sponsored by the Fusarium Prevention Project between the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) and the Regional International Organization for Plant Protection and Animal Health (OIRSA), was conducted by a panel of experts from research institutions and public and private sector organizations.

“The contingent returned to Belize with a better understanding of how serious this threat is to the region including Belize, and how to implement prevention strategies to keep Belize free from this devastating disease of banana and plantains,” MAFSE said.

The training was also attended by representatives from EL Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico.