Promotion of PI in Latin America

A virtual workshop on the technical and economic feasibility for the implementation of the use of ionising radiation for phytosanitary purposes was held on 5-9 September 2022 under Project RLA1021 of the Technical Cooperation Programme of the IAEA. This project aims to encourage the use of phytosanitary irradiation in the Latin America and Caribbean region. The objectives of this regional project include:

1) Providing advice and support for government decisions regarding the use of irradiation for quarantine purposes,

2) Strengthening ties between the technical sector, decision makers and the private sector,

3) Developing a technical-economic feasibility study in each participating country in the region,

The first meeting was held during in March 2022.

The workshop was attended by participants from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Presentations on feasibility were made by Yves Henon (iia), Suresh Pillai and Oscar Acuna (Texas A&M).

The meeting revealed very different stages of advancement between the different countries regarding the potential use of phytosanitary irradiation in the coming years.

In September 2022, the iia just published a document providing an insight on the development of radiation processing in Latin America and the Caribbean Region.