— Healthier lives, more resilient livelihoods through greater diversity in what we grow and eat —
Our Featured Projects
Engaging women and youth in vegetable production and distribution networks to close the ‘vegetable gap’ and improve livelihoods and nutrition in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Sustainable and climate-smart agricultural and post-harvest practices to increase vegetable consumption in urban and peri-urban areas of West Africa.
Conserve and use African vegetable biodiversity to address malnutrition by increasing the production and consumption of nutritious vegetables.
The World’s Largest Public Vegetable Genebank
The World Vegetable Center genebank maintains a large collection of public domain germplasm for the current and future use of all humankind. We distribute seed samples of our germplasm accessions and advanced breeding lines worldwide.
With 65,152 accessions encompassing germplasm of 133 genera and 330 species from 155 countries, the World Vegetable Center genebank includes globally important vegetables such as tomato, onion, peppers and cabbage as well as more than 10,000 accessions of traditional vegetables.
Each year the Center distributes about 10,000 seed samples to researchers across the globe. Over the past four decades this has led to the release of hundreds of new vegetable varieties with particular impact in developing countries.
WorldVeg’s Global Presence and Impact
Center researchers lead and participate in projects throughout Asia and Africa. We have about 400 staff engaged in this spread of activities, and seek to partner with governments, nongovernmental organizations, universities, research institutes, and the private sector to promote prosperity for the poor and health for all.
Africa
The future of African vegetable biodiversity ensured through a new genetic resources ‘rescue plan’
The future of African vegetable biodiversity ensured through a new genetic resources ‘rescue plan’ Representatives of plant genetic resources networks from across Africa validated a new African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan in [...]
A quiet agricultural revolution is happening, in Zanzibar…
A quiet agricultural revolution is happening, in Zanzibar… Download the booklet There are now 1.8 million Zanzibarians, and with the population growing fast, there will be more than two million in only [...]
Seeds of Change: Enhancing availability of improved vegetable varieties in Tanzania
Seeds of Change: Enhancing availability of improved vegetable varieties in Tanzania The One CGIAR Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH) Initiative aims to use an end-to-end approach to increase fruit [...]
WorldVeg’s Offices in Africa: 📍 Eastern & Southern Africa Office – 📍 West & Central Africa Office (Dry Regions) – 📍 West & Central Africa Office (Humid Regions)
Asia
Report of the 9th External Program and Management Review
Report of the 9th External Program and Management Review (Download VOLUME 1) [...]
CIMMYT and WorldVeg strengthen collaboration in the midst of the climate crisis to increase their impact
CIMMYT and WorldVeg strengthen collaboration in the midst of the climate crisis to increase their impact New global agreement builds on successful partnership in Southern and Eastern Africa On 9 December 2023, [...]
INTERNATIONAL MUNGBEAN CONGRESS 2024
Date: 5-7 March 2024 ｜ Venue: Maruay Garden Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand BACKGROUND Mungbean, also known as green gram is a grain legume crop cultivated over 7 million hectares, [...]
WorldVeg’s Offices in Asia: 📍 Headquarters in Taiwan – 📍 South & Central Asia Office – 📍 East & Southeast Asia Office
Latin America / Caribbean
CARDI and WorldVeg sign MOU to strengthen fruit and vegetable value chains in the Caribbean
Sustainably developing production and distribution of produce to benefit people across the Caribbean.
Media, Events & Networks
[Video] PROJET NUTRIFOOD: Dr. Marco WOPEREIS visite le jardin scolaire de Goulo-Sodji à Zè (French)
AgricoTV, April 2022
Low-Cost Solar Dryers Yield Sustainable Incomes to Marginal Farmers of Koraput District in Odisha.
ICRISAT Happenings Newsletter, April 2022
Audience au Ministère de l’Agriculture, de l’Elevage et de la Pêche du Benin: World Vegetable Center porte le projet d’un symposium (French).
Benin ODD TV, April 2022
Team of scientists from Taiwan visits Nagaon
The Sentinel, April 2022
Interview with Edmond Totin, WorldVeg Project Manager for SAFEVEG on Climate Change in Africa (French)
UN News, April 2022
Why Seedbank Aren’t Just for Doomsday
BBC Future
The scientists helping farmers kick the chemical habit
AFP, March 2022 – Published in France24, RFI, MSN, Global Times and others
Sharing Knowledge for Self-Sufficiency – International Aid in Fruit and Vegetable Production
Taiwan Panorama, February 2022
Pressing for policies that promote “forgotten foods”
Grow Further, 9 December 2021
Cherry tomatoes
KU Research Weekly, 2 December 2021
The fight of mushrooms in farmland. Biotechnology at the service of humanity
Spark Chronicles, 29 November 2021
Asia and Pacific Seed Association (APSA) recognizes 2021’s five ‘most influential’ seed scientists in Asia-Pacific
Seed Quest, 19 November 2021
Un plan mundial para conservar la diversidad de frutas y hortalizas
A en verde, 10 November 2021
European donor delegation discusses partnerships for greater impact delivery in Malian agriculture
ICRISAT Happenings, 15 October 2021
Asia-Pacific Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2022 (online).
22-24 March 2022
Asian Development Bank
11th Organic Seed Growers Conference
4 – 11 February 2022
Organic Seed Commons virtual platform
IHC2022: 31st International Horticultural Congress
14-20 August 2022
Angers, France
Growth Habit
Perspectives to expand your view of vegetables
Do home gardens increase vegetable consumption in Africa?
Analysis of the impact of home gardens in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya shows the importance of carefully identifying local barriers to growing and eating vegetables at home.
Data and farming innovations aid crop pest risk prediction and management
Alert systems can empower farmers and other plant health system stakeholders with low-cost solutions to mitigate risk.
Adding more greens to Africa’s Green Revolution
The vegetable seed sector in sub-Saharan Africa has received little attention in the development agenda. World Vegetable Center scientists teamed up with experts and managers of leading vegetable seed companies in Asia and Africa to define a way forward.
Lower prices, less nutritious food: How COVID-19 is changing the livelihoods and diets of vegetable producers in India
As part of the Nutrition Connect blog series on opportunities for building back better food systems and nutrition, WorldVeg's Jody Harris and Srinivasan Ramasamy explain how COVID-19 has impacted the livelihoods and nutrition of vegetable farmers in India, and what this means for the affordability, availability and consumption of vegetables.
- Global rescue plan needed for fruit and vegetable diversity: UN Food Systems Summit Brief sets out a 10-year plan to conserve precious genetic resources for future food crop options.
Fruits and vegetables for healthy diets: Priorities for food system research and action: UN Food Systems Summit Brief reviews the academic literature on food systems issues.
Leveraging data, models and farming innovation to prevent, prepare for and manage pest incursions: A UN Food Systems Summit / AIRCA paper shows how alert systems can empower farmers and other plant health system stakeholders with low-cost solutions to mitigate risk.
- 2020 Annual Report: Take a look at our R&D activities in the 2020 Annual Report and you’ll discover that WorldVeg’s commitment to healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods has never been stronger!
Vegetables and Climate Change: Pathways to Resilience. With 50 years of experience in adapting vegetable varieties and production systems to the high temperatures and weather extremes in tropical and sub-tropical regions, WorldVeg is well-positioned to develop climate change adaptation and mitigation options along the vegetable value chain.
International vegetable breeding: A strategy to create development impact at scale. How the World Vegetable Center’s breeding research can contribute to realizing the potential of vegetables for healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods.
Tapping the economic and nutritional power of vegetables: Vegetables are essential for food and nutrition security. Vegetable consumption must be nurtured through a combination of supply-side interventions and behavioral change communication.
RECENT RESEARCH
Schreinemachers, P.; Lin, M. 2022. Use of World Vegetable Center breeding lines among seed companies in Asia in 2021. World Vegetable Center, online.
Anitha, S.; Afari-Sefa, V.; Kalumikiza, Z.; Mhango, K.; Mosha, I.; Muzanila, Y.; Mwangwela, A.; Ochieng, J.; Okori, P.; Tsusaka, T. 2022. Improved household nutrition through home-grown produce and consumption of nutritious and healthy products. In: Sustainable agricultural intensification: A handbook for practitioners in East and Southern Africa. / ed. by Bekunda, M.; Hoeschle-Zeledon, I.; Odhong, J.; Wallingford, UK: CABI. p. 119-133.
Ayenan, M.A.T.; Danquah, A.; Hanson, P.; Asante, I.K.; Danquah, E.Y. 2022. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) genotypes respond differently to long-term dry and humid heat stress. HORTICULTURAE. 8(2):118.
Depenbusch, L.; Schreinemachers, P.; Brown, S.; Roothaert, R. 2022. Impact and distributional effects of a home garden and nutrition intervention in Cambodia. FOOD SECURITY. online.
Fischer, G. 2022. Weaving gender into sustainable intensification interventions. In: Sustainable agricultural intensification: A handbook for practitioners in East and Southern Africa. / ed. by Bekunda, M.; Hoeschle-Zeledon, I.; Odhong, J. ; Wallingford, UK: CABI. p. 1-12.
Kirana, R.; Hermanto, C.; Reflinur; Barchenger, D.W. 2022. Performance of introduced lines based on morphological markers for diversity enrichment of Indonesian chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) varieties. AIP CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS. 2462(1): 020036.
Melomey, L.D.; Ayenan, M.A.T.; Marechera, G.; Abu, P.; Danquah, A.; Tarus, D.; Danquah, E.Y. 2022. Pre-and post-harvest practices and varietal preferences of tomato in Ghana. SUSTAINABILITY. 14(3):1436.
Rubiales, D.; Khazaei, H. 2022. Advances in disease and pest resistance in faba bean. THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS. online.
Sáez, C.; Flores-León, A.; Montero-Pau, J.; Sifres, A.; Dhillon, N.P.S.; López, C.; Picó, B. 2022. RNA-Seq transcriptome analysis provides candidate genes for resistance to tomato leaf curl New Delhi Virus in melon. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE. 12:798858.
Visit HARVEST, the WorldVeg digital document archive:
MY SUCCESS
New disease resistant and market-preferred tomato varieties are developed in Benin
New disease resistant and market-preferred tomato varieties are developed in Benin Story and photos: Mathieu Ayenan | March 2023 Tomato is the most popular vegetable in West Africa. And more could be [...]
Vegetable innovations key to unlocking potential of women farmers
In Tanzania, exposure to best farming practices opens new opportunities for enterprising farmer Pendael Paulo.
Tiny, tasty, and packed with nutrients
Ms. Adolat Berdieva produces cherry tomatoes in a low-cost greenhouse she built herself.
Traditional vegetables ease farmers’ finances
Farmer groups pay down debt as demand for healthy traditional vegetables goes up.
WorldVeg’s Donors
Support for World Vegetable Center activities is provided by project donors and the following long-term strategic donors.
Thanks to UK aid from the UK government, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the governments of Taiwan, Germany, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Japan.
