Fusarium Tropical Race 4 Training

Six professionals from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise and the Belize Agricultural Health Authority, participated in training from December 05 to 09, 2022 on Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (TR4 fungus affecting bananas, also called banana wilt), at the Manuel Mejia Foundation in Pereira, Colombia.

The training was sponsored by the Fusarium Prevention Project between the Taiwan ICDF and OIRSA. The training focused on the biosecurity plan before, during and after an outbreak of TR4, the need for a robust contingency plan to manage the disease and the use of satellite imagery to assist in field surveillance.

A panel of experts consisting of research institutions, public and private sector stakeholders and the NPPO provided the training. The contingent returned to Belize with a better understanding of how serious this threat is to the region including Belize, and how to implement prevention strategies to keep Belize free from this devastating disease of banana and plantains. All biosecurity measures were taken by the participants while in Colombia.