About 260 thousand hectares between Ecuador, Colombia and Peru will be under active surveillance in the plan against Fusarium Race 4, in addition 8 thousand producers and agricultural workers will be trained in the management of the disease on banana farms and an agreement to fight it will be signed by all members of the network cooperation in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru.

These were the results of the symposium “Regional experiences in the management and prevention of Foc R4T”, which was developed in the province of El Oro by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Agency for Phyto and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control (Agrocalidad) with the support of the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ), the National Institute for Agricultural Research (Iniap) and the Technical University of Machala.

This is Formosana 218, a banana resistant to Fusarium race 4 that has been tested in two provinces of Ecuador

At the forum, national and international experts from countries such as Colombia, Peru, Mozambique, the Philippines and Ecuador spoke about issues related to pest control and management of the Formosana variety, a tolerant plant that is being tested in Ecuador from 2022 on the possible economic impacts of Foc TR4 of Ecuador and research initiatives in Colombia and Peru in the presence of plague, among other topics.

Bananas are considered one of the ten main foods in the world, and currently crops in this category are facing the threat of Fusarium Race 4 Tropical (Foc R4T), which has already been detected in the region in Colombia (2019), Peru (2021). ) and Venezuela (2023).

On the part of Ecuador, a country that is free from pests, the Agency for Phytosanitary Regulation and Control (Agrocalidad) guarantees that it continues to be active at control points and territory through surveillance and phytosanitary control, conducting monitoring, taking samples, diagnosing, disinfection, confiscation, implementation of measures biological security at the production sites of musaceae, among other activities that enable maintaining the phytosanitary status of the country.

Ecuador is strengthening its protocols and projects against Fusarium Race 4, in which it invests 9 million dollars a year

This event was held as part of the project ALER4TAwhich aims to increase resistance to the disease musaceae wilt caused by the fungus and is aimed at 3 lines of action:

1. Strengthen capacities that enable rapid identification and response to the suppression of new outbreaks of Foc TR4.

2. Expand and strengthen research projects to create short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions.

3. Stop existing Foc TR4 cases in Colombia and Peru to prevent its spread.