Tunisia-Cochineal insect in Tunisia…history of its appearance and mechanisms to limit its spread

Member of the National Executive Office of the Peasants’ Union and responsible for biological agriculture Adel Karim noted that the cochineal insect emerged in Tunisia for the first time in the delegation of Sawassi in Mahdia in August 2021. The Ministry took immediate steps to fight this insect by uprooting and filling approximately 300 km of the infected prickly pear area.

Karim told Tunisie Numérique today, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, after that the transition to the treatment stage took place, but the rapid spread of this insect prevented limiting its spread in the delegations adjacent to Souassi, reaching areas in Kairouan, Sfax, Sousse, Monastir, and Mahdia, which registered a 100% infection the area.

He furthermore stated that currently there are 10 governorates in Tunisia contaminated with the cochineal insect, so all efforts are directed to protect the governorate that represents the largest producer of prickly pear, Kasserine, and which includes huge investments in this fruit, about 120 thousand kilometres. Recalling that Tunisia ranks fourth in the world in terms of the area of planted prickly pear. And second place in exports.