The 17th Steering Committee Meeting of the ASEAN-AVRDC Regional Network for Vegetable Research and Development (AARNET) was held on 29-30 May 2023 at Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB), Brunei Darussalam. The meeting brought together esteemed committee members from nine ASEAN member countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam), who are experts and stakeholders in the field of vegetable research and development.

Delegates were welcomed by Poh Bee Ling, Director of the Agri-technology and Food Innovation Department, who also serves as the AARNET Chairman. This was then followed by the opening remarks given by Syazana Abdullah Lim, Director of the Center for Research on AgriFood Science and Technology (CrAFT). Delphine Larrousse, Regional Director of the World Vegetable Center-East and Southeast Asia, also shared her remarks with the attendees.

At the 17th meeting, the committee members actively participated in constructive discussions regarding various aspects of vegetable research and development. The meeting centered around multiple agendas, including updates on the AARNET project proposal, the identification of significant challenges encountered in the vegetable sector within the ASEAN region, the exploration of innovative solutions, and the establishment of partnerships to effectively tackle these challenges.

The meeting received updates on the completed project ‘Update on improved coordination and strengthened capacity to deal with the invasive insect pest Tuta absoluta in mainland Southeast Asia’, and heard presentations on the status and priorities of vegetable research and development in different countries. Yann-rong Lin, WorldVeg Deputy Director General, Partnerships, presented the committee with the use of germplasm, and WorldVeg proposed a project to build a platform for vegetable disease monitoring in the region, and introduced the Taiwan Asia Vegetable Initiative Project (TAsVI).

The meeting concluded on the second day, where committee members reached a consensus on a set of recommendations to strengthen the operations of the network and its impact in the ASEAN region and create future initiatives to fulfill the ever-changing demands of the vegetable industry. The meeting recommended to emphasize the search for pest resistance in tomato breeding, sustainable and eco-friendly protected vegetable cultivation, and promoting biocontrol-based integrated pest management strategies for safer vegetables in the ASEAN countries

The two-day meeting concluded with a site visit to Tungku Agricultural Development Area and Rimba Agricultural Development Area, Gadong where the committee members witnessed firsthand agricultural initiatives and innovative practices implemented in these areas.