The United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will be using emergency funding to respond to exotic fruit fly growing outbreaks.

The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture approved the allocation of 129.2 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation to APHIS to support the fight against the pest. 

"This funding will support critical efforts in the U.S. and buffer zones in Guatemala and Mexico to prevent the northward spread of these destructive pests," the organization said in a press release. 

The funds will be used to work with local, state, and international partners to eradicate exotic fruit fly outbreaks domestically and internationally to prevent the spread, bolstering surveillance systems to detect new incursions, and repairing sterile insect facilities in California and Texas.

Both the California and Texas Department of Food and Aagriculture are working together to combat the outbreak, “Fruit flies attack more than 400 different types of plants, destroying entire crops, disrupting trade, and causing major financial losses,” said Michael Watson, Administrator, APHIS.  “Dedicating emergency funds to address these outbreaks means the collaborative effort to protect U.S. agriculture from this unprecedented outbreak can continue. We are reinforcing prevention measures, investing in long-term solutions like improved sterile insect facilities, and bolstering our response to detections.”