Destroy investments worth 13 billion dollars.. What is the red palm weevil?

The red palm weevil is a serious pest affecting date palms, ornamental palms and coconuts. It also attacks about 40 species of palms in more than 50 countries, causing widespread damage and losses to palm trees and other crops, threatening crops, reducing production and negatively affecting the living conditions of farmers and the environment.

Threatening investments estimated at about $ 13 billion

Ahmed Abdel Magid, director of the Plant Protection Research Institute of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, says that the red palm weevil threatens investments estimated at about $13 billion worldwide.

He pointed out that the number of date palms currently planted in Egypt reaches about 21 million, of which about 16 million are fruit trees over an area

It covers more than 150,000 acres, and produces 19.8% of the global production of dates, which places it in the first place in the world.

The locations of the red palm weevil

This insect is spread in many parts of the world, while the transfer of offshoots, palm trees and its waste is considered one of the most important factors in the spread of infection in different regions, in addition to the ability of the insect to fly a distance of 900 meters per day.

There are ideal conditions for the insect to multiply, such as high humidity, heat, and density of palm cultivation, and the failure to conduct periodic inspection continuously and increase irrigation rates, which makes the palm tissues soft and easy to infect.

 Steps to combat palm weevil

The palm weevil appeared in the New Valley for the first time in 2005, specifically in: "Bir al-Balad and "Deir al-Balad in Farafra", then it was discovered for the second time in 2008 in the Kharga Center in the Tarikha area, Al-Kharga 1, and the Nakhil Ain Abu Saleh area," and its presence has continued until today. It threatened production representing 20% of the cultivated area in the governorate, and about 90% of the source of income for its people, according to what the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture in the New Valley, Dr. Majd al-Mursi, explained.

In order to face the expected scale of damage caused by the "red weevil", the branch of the Agricultural Research Center in the New Valley formed teams to examine and treat palm trees. To support the efforts of the Directorate of Agriculture in the province.

Highlighting the dangers of the red weevil

Ahmed Abdel-Meguid referred to the dangers of the red palm weevil during a regional workshop in Aswan for farmers’ field schools on the red palm weevil, in the presence of representatives and experts from 6 North African countries, to be held by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), for a period of 4 days, from 20 to 24 November.

The regional workshop, in which officials from Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania participated, aims to train relevant facilitators to enhance the participation of farmers in finding sustainable solutions capable of overcoming non-traditional problems facing their agriculture and the presence of alien pests in their environment, and protecting food security in the region.

After the regional workshop in North Africa for Farmer Field Schools, a meeting of the FAO Red Palm Weevil Project Steering Committee will be held, in the presence of members of the Project Steering Committee, members of the Technical Advisory Committee, and leaders of technical working groups and cooperation agreements within the framework of the project.

Where the progress made in the program will be reviewed and evaluated, the development of the red palm weevil situation and the efficiency of the program at the regional level will be reviewed and the meeting will discuss the activities that have been accomplished and the coordination of ongoing activities among the project partners.