WorldVeg welcomes Yun Ping Wang, new Deputy Director General – Partnerships

In May 2024, WorldVeg welcomed Yun Ping Wang as the new Deputy Director General – Partnerships. His main focus is to facilitate the transition of WorldVeg towards an open science center and help to mobilize a much greater share of global R&D efforts for nutritious foods, in particular vegetables. He will further strengthen partnerships with Taiwan’s public and private sectors, research institutions and universities and facilitate collaborative research activities focusing in particular on the development of super resilient, nutritious vegetable varieties and environment-friendly production systems. Yun Ping will also look after WorldVeg facilities at its headquarters’, that have just been completely renovated and modernized thanks to generous support from the Taiwan Government.

Yun Ping Wang introduces himself to staff at headquarters in Shanhua, Taiwan, and helps with the latest dispatch of seed from the International Vegetable Genebank to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Before joining WorldVeg, Yun Ping was the Deputy Director of the Technical Cooperation Department at the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), where he supervised technical missions overseas, collaborative projects, and worked with Taiwan’s research institutions to integrate innovative technologies into international agricultural development. Yun Ping has served in Taiwan’s Technical Missions in Central America and the Caribbean for more than ten years, based in Haiti and Nicaragua, and he worked extensively with Tainan DARES and Taoyuan DARES in Taiwan on crop breeding and biotechnology. He holds a Master of Science in Agronomy from National Taiwan University (NTU).

Yun Ping is dedicated to advancing agricultural innovation and sustainability, driving change, and building resilient food systems globally. “I am deeply honored to join the World Vegetable Center, an organization renowned for its significant achievements and contributions to enhancing vegetable production and consumption around the world” explains Yun Ping. “And I look forward very much to working with our dedicated team and partners to advance our mission of promoting more resilient vegetable production systems, more diverse nutritional intake, and improved livelihoods for smallholder farmers and the many other actors that intervene in the vegetable sector from seed to plate. Together, we will continue to build on the Center’s legacy of innovation and impact, and expand our outreach and impact.”

Marco Wopereis, WorldVeg Director General warmly welcomes Yun Ping. “We are very happy to welcome Yun Ping and especially at this important time, when we are working on a new center-wide strategy. His experience, energy and enthusiasm are just what is needed, and I am certain that with his skills and support, we can make a quantum leap forward.”