The United States is experiencing an unusually high number of invasive fruit fly detections. According to USDA APHIS Deputy Administrator for the Plant Protection and Quarantine Program Mark Davidson, it is the worst of its kind in 70 years.

To address this threat, The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has released “Fruit Fly Exclusion and Detection Program Fiscal Years 2024-2028 Strategy.” APHIS worked with members of the National Plant Board to develop a unified roadmap for the USDA and its partners to protect American agriculture from the threat of invasive fruit flies and measure our progress along the way.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently released $103.5 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation to fund APHIS’ supplementary emergency response activities. These funds allow APHIS to reach beyond what the agency’s appropriated funding would be able to accomplish over the next few years.

Read more about the USDA’s strategy to protect crops from invasive fruit flies here.