By Maile Matsimela
In a strongly worded media statement, the Department of Agriculture has categorically rejected reports by FreshPlaza Media claiming detection of the oriental fruit fly (OFF) in the Grabouw region of the Western Cape’s Overberg District Municipality.
The Department has labelled these reports as “false, misleading and malicious”, emphasising that the Oriental fruit fly is not present in the Western Cape province, including Grabouw. According to the statement, the pest had previously been detected in the area but has since been successfully eradicated.
The Department highlighted that proper pest detection and reporting falls under the jurisdiction of the National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa (NPPOZA), which follows strict international protocols. Any pest presence would be officially reported through the International Phytosanitary Portal, which has not occurred in this case.
Officials noted that FreshPlaza Media cited “The Star Media” as its source for the report, but the Department could not confirm the existence of such a publication.
The Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) is classified as a pest subject to official control according to the Agricultural Pests Act of 1983 and South Africa’s Bactrocera dorsalis Action Plan.
The Department provided clarification on the current status of the pest across various provinces:
- Areas where the pest is present: Parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
- Areas under official control: Certain municipalities in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng.
- Areas where the pest has been eradicated: This includes the Overberg District Municipality, where Grabouw is located.
This clarification is crucial for farmers and agricultural exporters in the Western Cape, as false reports about pest presence can significantly impact market access and international trade relationships.
The Oriental fruit fly is considered one of the world’s most destructive agricultural pests, capable of causing extensive damage to a wide range of fruit crops.
On Monday, FreshPlaza published an article on the detection of the Oriental fruit fly in Grabouw. The article was taken from a source, but it was completely overlooked that this source had published the message seven years ago. They have since retracted the article.
* Factually correct information is vital for any farmer. You can trust African Farming to bring you trustworthy, fact-checked information.
