In an interview with El Día, Jorge Navarro, regional director of the service, reported that since the beginning of the summer season to date, the presence of Ceratitis Capitata in a load of peaches and oranges has been warned. Meanwhile, he said that the control of the lobesia botrana pest has developed successfully.

Despite the low arrival of tourists to the Coquimbo Region during the summer season, compared to last year, the Livestock Agricultural Service (SAG) has intensified its border controls at the Agua Negra pass, Coquimbo Port and La Florida Aerodrome.

To date, 1.169 risk products have been intercepted (total 647 kilos), of which 889 are of agricultural origin and 280 are livestock. As a result of the inspection, the presence of the dangerous plague Ceratitis Capitata, better known as the fruit fly, was detected in the luggage of passengers from Argentina.

As detailed to El Día, the regional director of SAG, Jorge Navarro, was a shipment of peaches and oranges, of which 13 and 19 larvae were isolated respectively. "The main intercepted products are fruits, such as apples, oranges, bananas, lemons and cheeses," he said.

At this point, he valued the important work of the service, argued that “if the seizure had not been carried out in Agua Negra we should have activated a campaign, since the fruit fly is in its time, there are all the conditions for it can reproduce and it would have generated a big problem for us

"The main products intercepted are fruits, such as apples, oranges, bananas, lemons, and cheeses (...) So far we have investigated 32 larvae at the Agua Negra border crossing," Jorge Navarro, SAG Regional Director

Navarro explained that it is vital to take the necessary safeguards, since the trans-Andean country does not have any type of control. “We have to take care of our borders and protect our heritage. In San Juan there is an important plague of Ceratitis Capitata, ”he said.

In the same vein, he added that “although we have natural barriers, such as the mountains, sea, desert and ice, with the increase in means of transport and the decrease in travel costs, the flow of tourists has increased, therefore we have to be more attentive ”.

In this regard, the authority took the opportunity to remind travelers that if they do not declare products of plant or animal origin, which they carry in their suitcases, they risk a fine. "They are being infringed because the risk is very high, that's how it works throughout Chile," he said.

Comparative advantage

Recall that Chile was declared a country free of fruit fly in 1995, which has meant an extremely important advantage in the global economic scenario. And it is that within the American continent, we are the only country that boasts of that category.

When the insect enters the national territory, as happened in 2015, the SAG activates immediate campaigns in order to avoid an outbreak. On the other hand, it also has bilateral agreements in this area with the NPPOs of countries such as Argentina and Peru.

Botanical lobesia eradication

On the other hand, Jorge Navarro, regional director of the SAG, referred to the results obtained in the last campaign of control of lobesia botrana, ensuring that the evaluation in the region has been positive. Recall that the hosts of the plague are three: grapes, plums and blueberries.

“Last season we had 13 regulated areas where the presence of the pest was reported and fortunately today it was reduced to seven, six in urban and rural areas. In this sense, we have had an improvement, so it is good news, ”he said.

As for the traps that are deployed in the cities, he explained that there are a total of 2.677, of which 744 are installed in the Province of Elqui, 1.647 in Limarí and 286 in Choapa. It should be noted that last year the investigation threw 52 positive traps, and in the current season only 15 are recorded.

In this regard, the professional said that “we have had a low, which makes us predict that we will have a better year 2020, with certain possibilities of eradicating in the near future the botanical lobesia of the Coquimbo Region, with all the benefits that it bring with it ”.

2020 Challenges

-What are the objectives of the SAG for this year?

“We will continue to control the botanical lobesia pest, but we will also place emphasis on the Gradient Soil Recovery Program. In this last point we have two important news, the first is that we advance three months and the second is that we increase the available resources.

In 2019, we delivered $ 1.015 million and this year will be $ 1.135 million, with the aim of recovering the productive potential of agricultural soils and maintaining the levels of improvement achieved in the Coquimbo region. They are tools to face water scarcity and drought. ”

The figures of the season

• To date, 10.631 passengers and 3.193 transport have been inspected at the Agua Negra pass.
• 1.169 risk products have been intercepted, total 647 kilos; of these 889 are of agricultural origin (465 kg) and 280 are risk products of livestock origin (182 kg).
• As a result of the action of SAG inspectors at the border, to date, 32 fruit fly larvae have been investigated.