To protect U.S. crops from invasive pests, the USDA employs various phytosanitary treatments, including fumigation, cold, heat, and irradiation. These methods, particularly cold treatment, are highly effective in neutralizing pests while minimizing harm to both the environment and the commodities (fruits and vegetables). To support the tracking of these treatments, USDA APHIS initiated the Commodity Treatment Information System (CTIS) modernization program in collaboration with KGS, aiming to develop a system accessible to U.S. Port Officers and international partners.

First Stop: Peru

Recently, KGS successfully rolled out cold treatment training in Peru, enabling trade partners to use CTIS effectively and ensure the safe import of produce into the U.S. Peru, which exports roughly 80% of its grapes to the U.S., was a critical training location. The training team, comprising 8 members-2 of whom are KGS employees- and 6 USDA officials, flew to Lima and spent two weeks traveling across the country to train 300 National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) inspectors.

“It was a great experience,” says Kelsey Razee, KGS senior program manager, CTIS IT Services. “We’ve been working on this project for three years, and to finally see cold treatment in action was so gratifying.”

This new, complex modern system was built from scratch for USDA APHIS Plant Protection Quarantine (PPQ) by the development team using a combination of Azure and AWS platforms. It replaces their legacy system, which was developed many years ago in collaboration with North Carolina State University. This user-friendly system will enhance the workflow of U.S. Port Officers and external partners, as well as track and monitor the treatment of commodities scheduled for arrival in the U.S. The cold treatment module go-live is scheduled for January 1, 2025.

Despite the two weeks in Peru being exhausting, with the training staff venturing into remote areas and working 12-hour days, Kelsey couldn’t have been more pleased.

The USDA and KGS Partnership

“This is such a great project. When we were in Peru, it wasn’t a customer and contractor relationship; we were true partners. Together, we’re doing great things for the U.S. by mitigating invasive pests.”

Peru was just the beginning. Currently, the U.S. has 21 partner countries utilizing USDA cold treatment requirements and future visits are planned.

To learn more about this project, contact Kelsey Razee krazee@koniag-gs.com.