CITRUS GREENING THREATENS BELIZE'S CITRUS INDUSTRY

UNCLAS BELMOPAN 000314

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CEN (JENNIFER VANTRUMP)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON BEXP EAGR PGOV BH
SUBJECT: CITRUS GREENING THREATENS BELIZE'S CITRUS INDUSTRY

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Summary
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1. In May 2009, the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA)
confirmed the presence of citrus greening in Belize. This disease
represents a serious threat to an industry which significantly
contributes to the Belizean economy in terms of foreign exchange
earnings and employment in the rural southern communities. The
industry has sought to implement a wide range of responses to
control the spread of the disease; however, it is constrained by
internal conflicts among major industry representatives, a degree of
reluctance by GOB authorities to regulate on behalf of the industry,
and lack of adequate resources to implement certain measures.

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Citrus Greening in Belize
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2. Citrus greening, also called Huanglongbing (HLB) or yellow
dragon disease, is one of the more serious diseases affecting the
citrus industry in the Western Hemisphere. It is spread by the
insect Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri. This insect
sucks fluids from infected plants, reproduces the citrus greening
bacteria inside itself, and then propagates the organism to all
trees on which it feeds. The symptoms of citrus greening include
yellowing of leaves, distorted fruit, bitter juice, and a greening
of the fruit after it has ripened. After contracting the disease,
the health of a citrus plant diminishes to the point that, within
five to eight years, the tree barely produces usable fruit. There
is no cure for citrus greening.


3. To date, the citrus industries in Brazil, Florida, and more
recently in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, have been affected. In
the U.S., the disease was first detected in Southern Florida in 2005
and has now spread through most of the Florida panhandle. As a
result, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has expanded its citrus
greening quarantine zone to include the entire state of Florida.
Florida growers have worked with BAHA and the Citrus Growers
Association (CGA) to assist in their efforts to control the spread
of this disease.


4. In Belize, a survey undertaken by relevant authorities resulted
in a declaration in May 2009 by BAHA, confirming the presence of
citrus greening. While the disease has been detected country-wide,
it is predominantly found in the southern district of Stann Creek,
particularly the Hopkins area. This concentration presents a
serious threat to Belize's economy, as most commercial citrus farms
are located in the southern districts.

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Proposals to deal with citrus greening in Belize
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5. Education and testing: The CGA is undertaking initiatives to
educate growers countrywide to recognize the symptoms of the
disease. In addition, CGA has recently purchased a PCR (polymerase
chain reaction) machine to conduct testing of citrus plants in
Belize; in anticipation of the machine's arrival, the CGA
accumulated 957 samples for testing. This machine commenced testing
the week of July 20th. The Association has also proposed that
Belize provide other countries with regional testing services.


6. Managing nurseries: One of the issues of contention that has
emerged is how to deal with contamination affecting citrus
nurseries. In June 2009, Organismo Internacional Regional de
Sanidad Agropecuaria (OIRSA) wrote a short report on the situation
in Belize, which expressed serious concerns that nurseries in
Dangriga and Punta Gorda have been compromised. The report informs
that all the nurseries in these areas tested positive for the
presence of the citrus greening psyllid, that none are screened, and
that most lack adequate agronomic and phytosanitary management.


7. Internal politics in the industry has further complicated the
response with respect to nurseries, since two of the largest citrus
farms are also nursery growers. Their nurseries are in the middle
of infected areas, and they believe that any of the proposed
responses to the disease would lead to a loss of revenue and
investment in the short- to medium-term. These same farms sustained
serious damage in the 2008 floods, which has heightened fears of
further revenue loss.


8. The recommendation from the Citrus Greening Committee, and the
CGA, is to stop the sale of nursery stock until these nurseries have
been tested for citrus greening. Based on this recommendation, the
GOB has recently implemented a two-month moratorium on the sale of
nursery plants across the country.


9. Destroying infected trees: BAHA, along with industry
representatives, has also informed growers that infected trees do
not have a chance of survival. Growers are being advised to destroy
infected trees. While there have been proposals that GOB intervene
to require the mandatory elimination of infected trees countrywide,
some commercial growers are resisting. Many are concerned that such
a requirement would cause a significant loss of investment to
nurseries and commercial growers. However, if infected trees are
not removed from groves, the disease will spread, potentially
leading to larger losses of revenue in the long-term.


10. Psyllid control: Another avenue being contemplated is psyllid
control and screening. Since 2005, CGA has tried biological control
of psyllids. This method involves reducing or mitigating pests and
pest effects through the use of natural enemies. Preliminary
research has shown that there are biological controls in Belize, but
these have not been fully identified or quantified. CGA's research
branch (CREI) is working with the Caribbean Agricultural Research &
Development Institute (CARDI) to identify which biological control
agents currently found in Belize are the most effective at helping
to keep the populations of infected psyllids low. This stronger
biological agent would be complemented with the physical
screening-in of nurseries to prevent psyllids from entering and
infecting healthy plants. To kill the psyllids and prevent further
contamination, spraying of citrus groves and nurseries has been
proposed.


11. Biological and nutritional methods: Research is being done
outside Belize, including in Florida, Mexico, and Brazil, on other
measures to prevent the spread, and minimize the impact of citrus
greening. While no cure has been found for the disease, there has
been some success in identifying a more resistant species of tree.
For example, emerging research is seeking to engineer seemingly
naturally-resistant trees in China, by inserting disease-resistant
genes from spinach into citrus chromosomes. Others are developing
high-speed orchards, which produce trees that bear fruit earlier,
before greening can kill them off, thus allowing growers to profit
more from trees that are infected by the disease. There is also
some research to suggest that by adding nutritional supplements,
such as Keyplex 1000, to citrus groves the immune system of trees is
strengthened, prolonging their production life, even if infected.
Many growers are hopeful that this research will produce viable
results, as these methods seem to prove less costly than culling
diseased trees or spraying.


12. Financing: In addition, CREI along with a Citrus Greening
Committee has prepared a short-term work plan with a budget of
approximately BZ$400,000 (US$200,000) to address the problem. The
matter of how the funding would be raised failed to be addressed at
CGA's 41st Annual General Meeting in June 2009. A Special CGA
General Meeting is scheduled for September 2009 to deal specifically
with the matter of citrus greening. The CEO of the CGA has
indicated that he will recommend an increase in growers'
contributions to aid in its response to greening. He will propose
that contributions be increased by BZ$0.10 (five cents U.S.) per box
of grapefruit and oranges.


13. Regional and international initiatives: Given the importance of
the industry to the Belizean economy, industry representatives have
also started to lobby the GOB for central government assistance and
its support in lobbying regional and international organizations.


14. In response to concerns about the disease spreading north,
Mexico has been working with the industry and has proposed the
creation of a buffer zone in the northern districts of Belize. The
zone could be funded by Mexico's portion of OIRSA funding, in a
one-time contribution of US$700,000; however, no agreement has yet
been signed. Unfortunately, even if this proposal is adopted and
funded, most of the commercial citrus groves in Belize are located
in the south of the country, so it remains to be seen if this will
help to contain the disease within Belize, or if it will only
prevent it from spreading to Mexico.


15. In addition, industry experts and researchers have visited
Belize. A technical assistance initiative is proceeding with
Brazilian counterparts who have experience with citrus greening and
has resulted in further research and technical exchanges. However,
there is little prospect that this initiative will translate to
grants to implement an adequate response to the disease.

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Comments
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16. Not only is the citrus industry a significant employer in the
southern districts of Belize, but it also represents a major source
of exports and foreign exchange earnings. In 2009, revenues
generated from the export of citrus juices amounted to BZ$89.7
million and were surpassed only by those of petroleum exports. The
presence of the citrus greening disease presents a serious threat to
the viability of this industry, and by extension, to the already
weakened Belizean economy. The disease comes at a time of global
crisis, where the international price of citrus products has
decreased to some of the lowest levels in ten years, while the costs
of fertilizers and other farm inputs are skyrocketing.


17. Locally, the industry is seeking to rebound from damages caused
by flooding in June 2008. Also, Belize's industry is comprised of
approximately five hundred smaller growers who make up about ninety
percent of the industry. These farmers would be especially
threatened by the impact of citrus greening, since they would have
tremendous difficulty in implementing measures to combat this
disease.

DIFFILY