World Vegetable Center
Prossy and her family with nutritious amaranth, Uganda
Building an evaporative cooler, Tanzania
Transplanting Ethiopian mustard, Tanzania
Growing tomatoes in the Philippines
| Coordinating Organisation | World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) |
|---|---|
| Organisers/Type of Organisation | International nonprofit research and development institute |
| Initiative Type | Research and development activities to realize the potential of vegetables for healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods |
| Field of Science Involved | Horticulture (including vegetable breeding, biotechnology, genetic resources, entomology, pathology, postharvest engineering), human nutrition, social science |
| Target Audience(s) | Vegetable farmers and agricultural communities, public and private sector organizations, relevant groups and individuals |
| Reach | local, national, regional and global |
Main Objectives
WorldVeg strives to achieve faster, greater and lasting positive impact on the nutritional status, incomes, and well-being of people—particularly in Africa and Asia—based on quality, long-term complementary partnerships in vegetable science and development.Description of work
The World Vegetable Center conducts research, builds networks, and carries out training and promotion activities to raise awareness of the role of vegetables for improved health and global poverty alleviation. Vegetables can alleviate poverty by creating new jobs and new sources of income for farmers and landless laborers, improve health by providing essential micronutrients lacking in diets, enhance learning and working capacities of adults and children through improved diets and health, and improve the sustainability of food production practices by diversifying cropping systems. The Center’s research and development work focuses on breeding improved vegetable lines, developing and promoting safe production practices, reducing postharvest losses, and improving the nutritional value of vegetables.
The World Vegetable Center:
- holds the world’s largest public collection of vegetable seed;
- has a long-term focus on climate change research;
- emphasizes nutrition as well as productivity;
- supports reducing pesticide misuse;
- has a close and productive relationship with the private sector;
- is the global leader in promoting vegetables for development.
WorldVeg implements its science-for-development agenda through three outcome-oriented ‘flagship programs’:
and one cross-cutting flagship program:
These flagship programs bring together WorldVeg staff and partners from the public and private sector, from research and development organizations, and from farmer organizations and civil society.
Support for World Vegetable Center activities is provided by project donors and the following core funders: Republic of China (ROC), UK Aid, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Germany, Thailand, Philippines, Korea and Japan.
Results
- In eastern and southern Africa, 50% of tomato and 98% of African eggplant seed sold commercially in the region were varieties developed by WorldVeg;
- Two-thirds of Myanmar’s farmers plant WorldVeg virus-resistant mungbean, benefiting about 425,000 farm households;
- Each year WorldVeg trains thousands of trainers in Asia and Africa in farm management, agribusiness skills, nutrition, and food preparation. These trainers go forward to train farmers, young people, and other community members to apply these important skills for their own benefit;
- WorldVeg’s expertise in household and school gardens has had particular impact in Bhutan, Cambodia, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, the Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
Resources used or generated
Publications on the website include:
- Annual Reports
- Strategy
- Recent Research
- Proceedings and Scientific Reports
- Manuals
- Production Guides
- Recipes
Some of the publications are available in languages other than English:
Français, 中文, tiếng Việt, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, Swahili, Khmer, Myanmar, ภาษาไทย, हिन्दी भाषा, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ, தமிழ் மொழி, తెలుగు, 한국어, Española, العربية, русский, Fulfulde, नेपाली and বাংলা
HARVEST - the WorldVeg library catalog and document archive, containing over 53,000 records.
| Contact Details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Principal Contact | Maureen Mecozzi - Director, Communications | |
| Address | ||
| Headquarters: | Shanhua, Taiwan | Regional offices: | East and Southeast Asia/Oceania – Bangkok, Thailand |
| South Asia – Hyderabad, India and Central Asia – Tashkent, Uzbekistan | ||
| Eastern and Southern Africa – Arusha, Tanzania | ||
| West and Central Africa – Dry Regions – Bamako, Mali | ||
| West and Central Africa – Coastal and Humid Regions – Cotonou, Benin | ||
| Maureen Mecozzi | ||
| Website | avrdc.org | |
| Social Media | Facebook - World Vegetable Center Twitter - @go_vegetables YouTube | |