California has an exotic fruit fly problem. Gavin Newsom proposes spending $22 million to fix it

A minuscule insect poses a big problem for California farmers, and Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced his intent to spend $22 million to address it.

The governor announced his plan to spend millions to combat the spread of exotic fruit flies — such as the Mediterranean fruit fly, the Mexican fruit fly and the Oriental fruit fly — in California.

“California is experiencing the largest fruit fly infestation in its history,” according to the governor’s 2024-25 budget, released Wednesday morning.

Newsom touted the spending proposal during a press conference Wednesday, and joked about whether young people know what a fruit fly is.

According to the Western Growers Association, the list of impacted crops affected by these exotic fruit flies includes blueberries, grapes, melons, peaches, pomegranates and strawberries.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has established seven active quarantines, as well as projects to trap the insects, across 15 counties in the state, according to the budget document.

“Given the magnitude of the infestation, increased detection and eradication efforts this year necessitate additional resources,” the budget document reads.

Thus, the governor proposes spending $22.1 million from the general fund to respond to the “potentially harmful and destructive” exotic fruit fly infestations across the state.

This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 12:18 PM with the headline "California has an exotic fruit fly problem. Gavin Newsom proposes spending $22 million to fix it."