If the first draft of the budget for the Sterile Insect Release program is followed, local taxpayers could actually see a decrease in what they pay towards the program, because of growth in the tax base. Members of the SIR board agreed Friday to direct Harold Reay to bring in a budget with a three per cent increase on land values and a three per cent increase in the parcel tax rate paid by farmers, with the idea that would sustain the program. Directors also voted instead of showing it as an operating surplus, to allocate capital reserve funds in the budget for replacement of the gamma cell used for irradiating moths and ATVs used by staff to release those moths in orchards. The SIR program uses sterilized moths to mate ineffectively with wild moths in order to control the population of codling moths in valley orchards so that pesticides don’t have to be applied for control. The codling moth is a devastating, non-native pest of apple and pear trees because consumers object to the presence of the larva stage of the insect in their fruit.
Reay told directors if the program could come up with some commercial opportunities to provide a revenue stream, it would make a big difference to the budget, and tax increases might not be needed in future. Board chairman Kevin Flynn said the board is exploring business opportunities which could use the sterile insect technology developed here and they may apply for some funding to explore new initiatives for the SIR program. Since the program began 15 years ago, its success has resulted in a decrease in the reliance of orchardists on chemical pesticides, until now, in most areas of the valley, no chemical sprays are used to control codling moth. However, the program must continue at a less-aggressive level, as a maintenance program to monitor hotspots in the valley and deal with them by releasing sterile moths, so the board is now looking at a sustainable five-year budget plan.The board is made up of members of the regional districts throughout the Okanagan and Shuswap.
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