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Nuclear technology helps Mexico eradicate invasive insect pest |


Cooperation with IAEA and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Threatening farmers’ livelihoods

The Colima outbreak, detected in April 2021 in the country’s largest port, Manzanillo, poses an immediate risk to crops, including guava, mango, papaya and oranges.

If not managed in a timely manner, Mexico – the world’s seventh largest producer and exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables – may face quarantine restrictions imposed by these Pest-Free Countries.

This would be a blow to trade across the industry, which generates more than €8.8 billion, or more than $9.2 billion, annually for exports as well as millions of local jobs.

Ready to help

After receiving an urgent request for assistance in April, the IAEA and FAO immediately dispatched experts to help establish and evaluate how the SIT should be implemented.

FAO/IAEA entomologist, Walther Enkerlin Hoeflich, said: “This is an example that has been successfully used to prevent, contain and destroy invasive pests, contributing to security and Food Safety around the World” Past FAO Link / Center for Nuclear Engineering in Agriculture and Food.


Close-up of a perched fly, commonly known as a fruit fly.

Unsplash / Sahil Muhammed

Close-up of a perched fly, commonly known as a fruit fly.

Successful SIT

When female flies lay eggs in ripe fruit, the quality of the produce can be affected, rendering them inedible and unsalable.

To control the outbreak, Mexico designed and implemented an emergency action plan with the support of FAO/IAEA experts, implemented through IAEA Technical Cooperation Program.

Scientists released more than 1,450 million sterile male flies in Colima using the eco-friendly SIT insect control method, which uses irradiation to disinfect the insects.

When the males mate with wild females after release, no offspring are produced – ultimately leading to the eradication of the insects.

“Mexico has managed to maintain its status as a Mediterranean fly-free country,” said Francisco Ramírez y Ramírez, Director General of Plant Health for the National Service for Agricultural Product Health, Safety and Quality ( SENASICA) of Mexico at a pest eradication declaration event in the State of Colima.

Sterilization Lab

In partnership with FAO, the world’s second-largest Mediterranean fruit fly farming facility opened earlier this year with IAEA support in the Mexican state of Chiapas on the southeastern border with Guatemala.

It is the second largest company in the world with production capacity one billion flies per week to help keep the country’s growing agriculture pest-free.

It focuses on mass production of sterile insects and, together with the El Pino facility in Guatemala, helps maintain a barrier against the entry and spread of pests to northern Guatemala, Mexico and the United States.

The IAEA will continue to support and work with Mexico through national and regional technical cooperation projects, and through National Fruit Flies Program, an IAEA Cooperation Center.



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