Interview with agronomist Wilson Edwards in view of the detection of Lobesia botrana in Northern Patagonia

Abstract

The Upper Valley of Río Negro and Neuquén was shaken in November 2022 with the detection of Lobesia botrana in its vineyards, a pest of quarantine importance for Argentina that is under official control. In this interview, Wilson Edwards, Plant Protection Supervisor at the Northern Patagonia Regional Center of the National Agri-Food Health and Quality Service (SENASA), explains how they worked with his team - made up of three agronomic science professionals, an entomologist and three monitors - to circumscribe the pest. In this sense, he highlights the support they received from a professional team from the Cuyo Regional Center, enhancing the phytosanitary task. Edwards's testimony confirms that operational decentralization through regionalization strengthens SENASA's sanitary management capacity. His story is a chapter in a cultural change that, by increasing the quality of management, legitimizes the federal character of the Agency.