Costa Rica
Declares Emergency Over Rat Plague
The Costa
Rican government has declared a phytosanitary emergency in the north and
central Pacific regions of the country,
where a camp rat plague known as "Sigmodon
hirsutus" has been raging, the Phytosanitary
Service of the State said on Tuesday.
The camp rats affect sugar cane, rice, corn
and pineapple harvests in the region, and
the Costa Rican authorities have issued a
decree requesting the collaboration of local
farm owners in controlling the plague.
The phytosanitary service said it would take
harvest samples to determine the damage, and
conduct researches to decide the population
of the rats.
Luis Sanchez, head of the Servicio
Fitosanitario del Estado (SFE) for the
Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG) of the Guanacaste region, said regional
organizations and independent producers
would also join in the efforts to control
the plague.
Experts said that a long drought period in
humid regions or pouring rains in drought
areas have contributed to the plague by
killing many of the rat's less adaptable
natural predators.
The rats like to feed on the crops of rice,
corn and sugar cane of the Central and North
Pacific areas.
MAG officials say that a 4% rate is normal.
However the area is now showing a 8% to 12%
infestation rate and higher in some areas,
from reports of local farmers.
Marcos Chaves, manager of the Dirección de
Investigación y Extensión de la Caña de
Azúcar (Dieca), said that a sample in the
area of Filadelfia (Carrillo, Guanacaste),
showed a 44% infestation rate, more than 10
times the accepted limits.
The rat infestation is also a problem in the
areas of Nicoya, Santa Cruz, Hojancha and
Nandayure and though the infestation is
lower, also the areas of Bagages and
Abangares.
Rice growers of the area are have begun to
measure the damage effect by the rats and to
take radical measures to curb the
infestation.
Abel Chaves, representing the Cámara de
Productores de Piña, says that the rats so
far have not affected the Pineapple crops. |
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