Project Name：Regional project for the Prevention and Control of Fusarium TR4 of Banana in Central America

Project status：Projects in Operation

Cooperating Country：Guatemala, Belize, Central America

Project Description：

The purpose of the project is based on the multilateral cooperation framework, using the existing prevention and inspection mechanism between OIRSA and the plant health units of Central American countries, to promote regional prevention and control of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) that affects banana cultivation, thus ensuring the development of banana production in Central America.

OIRSA and the three partner countries are to develop the capacity to control Fusarium TR4 and improve the resilience of regional banana production, which has a production value of US$1.8 billion. The partner countries that will contribute to and benefit from this project are Guatemala and Belize.

Executing Agency：

TaiwanICDF、 Organismo Internacional Regional de Sanidad Agropecuaria(OIRSA)、、Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación (Guatemala)(MAGA)、Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise (MAFSE)

Implementation Progress：

To the end of March 2024, the following activities have been completed:

1. Established of the technique for diagnosis and detection of banana fusarium wilt pathogen (Foc R4T) in the national phytosanitary laboratory of Guatemala and Belize.

 2.Conducted a training program on Banana Fusarium wilt in Colombia, with the participation of 20 participants from government, academia, and industry. Also, organized a quarantine training program in Taiwan, with the participation of 12 government officials and technical personnel.

3. Established of 20 satellite monitoring sites (208.2 hectares) The total area of banana plantation monitoring reached 5,077.05 hectares in both countries, conducting field surveys 43 times, reporting a total of 251 notifications of abnormal circumstances, and conducting five consultation meetings with experts from the Taiwan Space Agency.

4. Introduced the Foc R4T resistant varieties Formosana developed by Taiwan in Belize and conducted the trial to evaluate its adaptability in Central America.

5. Hosted two regional forums, with a total of 252 participants, and one international forum, with 180 participants, to share experiences on the prevention and control of banana Fusarium wilt and satellite monitoring in the project. Also, organized two simulations with a total of 280 participants to improve the effectiveness of the emergency response of collaborating countries in dealing with banana Fusarium wilt.

6.Conducted a total of 31 farmer training sessions with 829 participants (21 in Guatemala and 10 in Belize).

7.Produced 81 promotional reports on the prevention and control of banana Fusarium wilt and participating in five promotional events and exhibitions.

Project Contact：MAX CHEN

Phone：02--28886139

E-mail：j.j.chen@icdf.org.tw

Signing Date：2022-11-07

Status：ongoing project