A joint PNG-Australia expedition visited remote Treaty Villages in PNG’s Western Province last week to discuss and help manage one of the world’s worst horticultural pests, the Oriental fruit fly.
The team of Australian and PNG officials, a PNG national PhD candidate and local rangers began stakeholder engagement on a fruit fly management program proposed for the villages later this year.
With only about 6km separating the two countries, the project seeks to reduce the impact of fruit fly and improve food security in PNG whilst also reducing the risk of this devastating pest reaching mainland Australia.
Oriental fruit fly was last detected on mainland Australia near Cairns in 1995. This incursion cost at least $33 million to eradicate and another $100 million in lost trade and associated costs, according to the National Fruit Fly Council.
Deputy Secretary of Biosecurity Justine Saunders said the project was important to both countries.
“We already have Queensland fruit fly, but Oriental fruit fly would be much worse in terms of impact to production and trade, as recognised by its listing on Australia’s National Priority Plant Pest List," Ms Saunders said.
“This trip established foundational relationships with the village communities, which the team hopes to strengthen further on a return trip in May 2025. The next phase is to trial control strategies in the hope of reducing the number of fruit flies in the Treaty Villages to assist our neighbours with food security.
“The program has employed and trained more than 30 South Fly rangers since 2022 to trap the insects, collect samples and manage data.
“It builds on more than two decades of collaboration in plant health initiatives between DAFF and NAQIA. The results of this work could have benefits to share across PNG and with our neighbours in the Pacific.”
The Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) attacks more than 400 different plants, including staples in PNG such as mangoes, pawpaws, bananas and guavas.
The villages of Berr, Buzi, Jarai and Mari, where the trial is proposed, rely heavily on the food they grow. Damage to crops has serious health and social implications for villagers.
The delegation consisted of 3 officers from PNG’s National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA), 3 from DAFF, a PhD student, delivery partner INLOC and the South Fly rangers.
INLOC and the South Fly rangers coordinated the trip’s logistics, which involved liaising with Treaty Village leaders and community members, long boat rides, camping and unpredictable tides.
Photos: Darrol Williams
