USDA Pays $1.6 Million to Producers for Oriental Fruit Fly Program

FLORIDA CITY, Fla., May 13, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced more than $1.6 million under the Oriental Fruit Fly Program will be issued to producers affected by the Oriental fruit fly quarantine in Miami-Dade County from 2015 to 2016.  

“We know this quarantine had tremendous impacts on Florida producers, and these payments offset the losses suffered by producers who helped us stop the spread of this very dangerous pest,” said Deborah Tannenbaum, State Executive Director for FSA for Florida.

The Oriental fruit fly, which affects 478 fruits and vegetables, was detected in Miami-Dade County in August 2015. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) implemented a quarantine in the Redland area of Miami-Dade County from Aug. 28, 2015, to Feb. 13, 2016, due to Oriental fruit fly detections. The quarantine, covering 98.65 square miles, was necessary to eradicate the Oriental fruit fly and prevent its spread to other parts of the state. Crops that might have otherwise been harvested during either the 2015 or 2016 crop growing seasons were affected by the quarantine but those losses are now being compensated under the Oriental Fruit Fly Program. 

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov. 

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