Jamaica Wants to Use "Sterile Insect Technique" to Reduce Fruit Fly Population
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica's government says it is seeking to use the sterile insect technique (SIT) in a bid to reduce the fruit fly population.
Agriculture Minister Floyd Green, addressing the TWWH meetingThe technique involves the mass production and release of sterilised male insects into the wild, where they mate with wild females but produce no offspring, thereby reducing the overall population over time.
Agriculture Minister Floyd Green, speaking at the opening of the 11th Tephritid Workers of the Western Hemisphere (TWWH) meeting, said “we have seen this technique being deployed successfully all over the world and we believe it has tremendous potential to address the issue we have here in the Americas and some of our other regions”.
Green said that the ministry is also looking into genetic technologies, such as gene editing and ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference.
This approach offers new avenues for targeted and environmentally friendly pest control, as it targets key genes involved in fruit fly development and reproduction.
Through this method, scientists can potentially develop novel strategies to disrupt their lifecycle without harming beneficial insects or the environment.
“If we are to combat fruit flies, we cannot just take the traditional methods, and it requires integration of innovation, cutting edge technologies and our willingness to embrace new ideas and to harness the power of collaboration and technology to develop sustainable solutions,” Green said.
He said one of the measures in place is the systems approach, which involves a holistic and integrated strategy for pest management that takes into consideration the entire ecosystem and employs a combination of cultural, biological and chemical control measures.
Green said that the Ministry through the Plant Quarantine Produce Inspection (PQPI) unit and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) has already implemented several other fruit fly mitigation measures.
This includes the registration and training of farmers through farmer field school sessions, training and enhancement of the Ministry’s surveillance teams, implementing monitoring traps for fruit flies, particularly on mango farms, among other approaches.
Green said the meeting “is a priority for our Ministry, and should be for all stakeholders, as it is a significant milestone in our collective journey towards sustainable agriculture and plant health”.
The TWWH meeting is being held until Friday and is hosted by the Ministry, through the PQPI. It seeks to find best practices to mitigate the fruit fly problem in the region.
An estimated 110 delegates from 36 countries, including the United States and from Latin America and Europe, are attending the meeting.
