INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND PRODUCERS FROM ECUADOR, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA AND MEXICO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES IN MANAGING FUSARIUM TR4, A PEST THAT POSES A THREAT TO THE BANANA INDUSTRY AND GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY
The private sector, international organizations, and producers from Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico shared their knowledge of banana management and Fusarium oxysporum cubense Tropical Race 4 (Foc TR4), a pest that threatens banana production. They also stressed the need of food sector stakeholders agreeing on pathogen management strategies.
At a forum organized by the Global Alliance Against TR4 and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), panelists agreed that the sector should focus on prevention and training, plant breeding to mass-produce disease-resistant bananas, and control methods to increase plant resistance and prevent fungus transmission.
The Tropical Race 4 (TR4) Fusarium fungus causes deadly wilt by attacking roots. Infected planting materials or soil particles on shoes, clothing, farm tools, cars, and drainage and irrigation water can spread the disease.
Since banana agriculture is one of the most profitable and extensively distributed agroecosystems in Mexico, having plantations in 15 states, this infection poses a major danger.
Diego Montenegro, IICA Representative in Mexico, said that banana production puts all food chains at risk unless coordinated action is taken, thus all food industry stakeholders must exchange fungus control experiences.
“Creating alliances and spaces for stakeholders to communicate and share experiences is crucial. Collaboration is the best way to fight this regional banana production pandemic, he said.
Gabriel Rodríguez Marqués, Executive Secretary of the Global Alliance Against TR4, provided a global overview of Fusarium TR4 and emphasized the need for small farmers to be trained in disease control strategies to boost output.
Acceptance of contemporary genetic research in food production and training small farmers in disease control strategies to boost crop productivity are crucial. Better farm biosecurity is crucial for all crops as climate change spreads illnesses, he said.
Given free movement of people over the borders with Colombia and Peru, Marianella Ubilla, President of the Board of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE), stressed the need to protect banana crops in her country at high risk of TR4 fungus infection. She stressed the need for financial products to help growers fight pests.
Given the unrestricted mobility of people across the border with Guatemala, Román Octavio Pacheco Gómez, a specialist from the Soconusco Agricultural Association of Banana Growers (Chiapas, Mexico), highlighted the significant risk of Foc TR4 infection in banana plantations in his region.
Jorge Sauma, General Manager of Costa Rica’s National Banana Corporation (CORBANA), explained the current state of banana plantations at high risk of infection in his country, while Sebastián Zapata, Director of the Colombian Banana Research Center (CENIBANANO) of the Colombian Banana Growers Association (AUGURA), discussed Foc TR4 management in Colombia.
