Celebrating ‘seed homecoming’ in Thailand

Decades ago, WorldVeg and national partners across Southeast Asia, collected thousands of vegetable seed accessions, which were stored at the genebank at WorldVeg headquarters in Taiwan. Now, the time has come to return many of these samples to their countries of origin, so they can be used to help improve nutrition, and for breeding improved varieties, and in 2023, the Taiwan-Asia Vegetable Initiative was born.

As part of this, 19 September, was a significant milestone for the Taiwan Asia Vegetable Initiative (TAsVI), generously funded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The activities of TAsVI in Thailand have been led by Assistant Professor Dr Chutchamas Kanchana-udomkan, Director of the Tropical Vegetable Research Center (TVRC), Department of Horticulture, Kasetsart University Faculty of Agriculture at the Kamphaeng Saen campus. Here, 80 participants gathered in Kamphaeng Saen to celebrate the return of more than 400 vegetable seed accessions, half of them are tomatoes and chili peppers.

This special event brought together key representatives from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), the Department of Agriculture (DOA), Kasetsart University (KU), and various seed companies. Ms Delphine Larrousse, WorldVeg Southeast Asia Regional Director, and Director of Business Development, reported on the project background on the essential role of preserving vegetable diversity.

Dr Chongrak Wachrinrat, the President of Kasetsart University, welcomed all participants and emphasized the diversity of vegetables as key to building a resilient and sustainable future. He also highlighted the power of partnership between countries to deliver tangible benefits to farmers, before formally opening the event.

Mr Jerry Chou, representing the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), shared, “In this special moment, we are not only witnessing seeds returning to their origins, but also celebrating our collective commitment to protect biodiversity and support agricultural resilience.” He further expressed gratitude to all partners who helped make this event possible, and offered opening remarks.

After the opening remarks, a panel discussion followed, where experts, shared a vision of building strong partnerships between the public and private sectors to maximize genebanks’ potential — conserving, maintaining, and revitalizing seeds. Dr Ya-ping Lin, WorldVeg Omics Breeder, said, “As a plant breeder, the most important question is where to source seeds, so I’m very happy to see the TAsVI project conserving Southeast Asia’s vegetable biodiversity.” Dr Lin also expressed her anticipation for a second phase that would support further research of aspects such as a crop’s morphological traits. Associate Professor Dr Buncha Chinnasri from Kasetsart University and Dr Margaret C. Yoovatana, Senior Expert in Policy and Strategic Planning at the Department of Agriculture, echoed the significance of the project on enhancing crop biodiversity.

In a symbolic ceremony, traditional Thai vegetable seeds made the final leg of their journey back home, transported by ship from Taiwan to Thailand — a gesture reminiscent of Noah’s Ark.

The event continued with a visit to regeneration field trials, of chilli and tomato accessions received from WorldVeg, being grown at a TVRC field trial site on Kampaeng Sean campus of Kasetsart University, A round-table discussion among scientists and private sectors were organized to ensure the benefit of chilli and tomato characterization for future use.

On 20 September, the event continued with a hands-on training workshop led by WorldVeg scientists, with Mr Yan-Kuan Chan focusing on data management and strengthening genebank capacity. Associate Professor Dr Chanate Malumpong, Deputy Dean for Research, Academic Services and International Affairs, Faculty of Agriculture at Kamphaeng Saen, provided opening remarks and referred to the workshop as a unique platform for exchanging ideas, developing new skills, and fostering collaboration. During this workshop, 30 participants gained valuable skills to advance their work in genebanks. Assistant Professor Dr Wachira Imsabai, Head of Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture at Kamphaeng Saen, concluded the workshop by encouraging participants to apply knowledge to ongoing efforts in germplasm conservation,

Mr Tassanai Chaipech, Agriculture Research Officer at TVRC, highlighted the importance of improving data management skills for genebank operations, noting, “It’s time to fully transition paperwork to online systems, which will better support breeders’ global seed requests.”

Ms Suwannee Laenoi, a Plant Breeding Specialist based at WorldVeg’s regional center in Thailand, attended the workshop to review and improve her work assisting breeders through growing, collecting, and packing germplasm. She added, “By understanding what is crucial for genebank germplasm data, I can refine my strategies and better support seed requesters.”

In summing up, Delphine Larrouse of WorldVeg concluded: “Over the years, thousands of vegetable seed samples have been lost from their countries of origin. Thanks to TAsVI, beside seed sent being sent back to Thailand, we have also identified and packaged more than 3,000 accessions, which have already been returned to the Philippines and Vietnam, with more soon heading to Malaysia—restoring vital genetic resources and strengthening genebanks across Southeast Asia.”

Similar events are planned for the other TAsVI partner countries – the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. There will also be a final international symposium to held in Taiwan in early December, and that will assess trends and current status across ASEAN countries, leading to the development of a roadmap for a wider Southeast Asia vegetable biodiversity rescue plan

TAsVI is funded by the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is implemented by the World Vegetable Center, in partnership with the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) National Plant Genetic Resources Center; Malaysia Agriculture Research and Development Institute (MARDI) Horticulture Research Centre; University of the Philippines Los Banās (UPLB) Institute of Plant Breeding, and Bureau of Plant Industries (BPI), the Philippines; Kasetsart University, Tropical Vegetable Research Center (TVRC), and Department of Agriculture Horticulture Research Institute national genebank, Thailand; and Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute (FAVRI), and Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) Plant Resource Center (PRC), Vietnam.