MEPs demand more action on olive tree bacteria

As olive trees in southern Italy continue to be ravaged by a destructive bacterial infection, the European Parliament (EP) called Wednesday for more action to deal with it.

A non-legislative resolution passed by the EP in Strasbourg said the European Union (EU) must take effective measures to prevent the spread of Xylella fastidiosa bacteria beyond Italy.

Already the EU has restricted imports of plants from affected areas in other countries where the bacteria is believed to have originated, including the suspension of coffee plant imports from Costa Rica and Honduras.

MEPs welcomed these restrictions, but said more may be needed.

They also urged that growers be compensated for crop losses, and suggested that funding for research should be stepped up to combat the bacteria, which may attack other plants.

The occurrence of Xylella Fastidiosa in the EU was first notified by Italian authorities in October 2013. The area mostly affected by the organism is the southern Italian region of Puglia.

The bacterium kills infected plants by preventing water movement in trees, causing leaves to turn yellow and brown before falling off, followed by their branches. No treatment is currently available and affected plants tend either to remain infected for life or to collapse quickly.

To safeguard EU territory, the EU's official plant health check system should be reviewed and, if necessary, tougher import restrictions should be imposed, MEPs said.

Xylella has many hosts and could attack other plants, including almond, peach and citrus trees, ornamental plants and vineyards, warned MEPs. They stressed the need to run information campaigns in potentially affected areas and to alert not only farmers but also retailers of ornamental plants, gardeners and travellers to the threat.

Italian MEP Giovanni La Via, chairman of the EP Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, said the region of Puglia "is suffering dramatic losses with huge economic, environmental and social consequences".

Fellow centre-right MEP Esther Herranz, a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, added: "We need to give strong financial support to Italian farmers who are currently facing dramatic consequences of the epidemic which is provoking huge economic losses and harming the cultural heritage of olive oil production."

The EU is both the world's largest producer and consumer of olive oil, accounting for 72 percent of global production and 66 percent of consumption. Endit