New WorldVeg office for Korea

A Memorandum of Arrangement between the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration (RDA-NIHHS), Republic of Korea and the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) regarding the establishment and operation of a WorldVeg – Korea Office was signed by NIHHS Director General Hwang Jeong Hwan and WorldVeg DG Marco Wopereis on 21 January 2019. NIHHS is committed to developing a variety of horticultural and herbal crops, production technologies and added value creation, based on the convergence of information and communication technology and biotechnology.

The new office will strengthen collaboration among the two institutions on the exchange and utilization of vegetable genetic resources, plant breeding, development of cultivation techniques, and other areas of mutual interest, including capacity building and the exchange of scientists.

Korea was among the countries that signed the charter establishing the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (now WorldVeg) in 1971. A sub-center for vegetable research was opened there in 1975. The new office will build on those previous collaborations to explore and conduct joint research projects.