Science and innovation for enhanced vegetable production and consumption in a rapidly changing world
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.
Launching Vegetables4Life: Bold USD $300m fundraising drive will target vegetable biodiversity hotspots worldwide
Launching Vegetables4Life: Bold USD $300m fundraising drive will target vegetable biodiversity hotspots worldwide - 05 December 2025 - A market trader in Arusha, Tanzania, with bundles of amaranth leaves [...]
Improving harvests, improving lives: Pepper breeder Derek Barchenger’s acceptance speech in full
Improving harvests, improving lives: Pepper breeder Derek Barchenger’s acceptance speech in full - 12 November 2025 - Photo by World Food Prize Foundation Derek Barchenger, Senior Scientist and [...]
A Decade of progress and future promise: Advancing multi-disease and insect-resistant tomato lines
A Decade of progress and future promise: Advancing multi-disease and insect-resistant tomato lines - 28 October 2025 - Tomato species Solanum galapagense (left); Results from current breeding program – [...]
Africa
The Iron giants of Tanzania: New mungbeans promise faster harvests and improved nutrition
The Iron giants of Tanzania: New mungbeans promise faster harvests and improved nutrition - 30 October 2025 - Tanzanian farmers are set to benefit from two new mungbean varieties that [...]
Tackling the crisis of neglect: Scientists call for urgent action on traditional African vegetables
Tackling the crisis of neglect: Scientists call for urgent action on traditional African vegetables Amaranth from Africa's Vegetable Genebank growing in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. Pic by Neil Palmer for [...]
“The soil is healthy, the crops are happy – and so are we” — Reviving Eswatini’s traditional foods through the Taiwan–Africa Vegetable Initiative
“The soil is healthy, the crops are happy - and so are we”: Reviving Eswatini’s traditional foods through the Taiwan–Africa Vegetable Initiative They were once seen as ‘poor man’s food’ [...]
WorldVeg’s Offices in Africa: 📍 Eastern & Southern Africa Office – 📍 West & Central Africa Office (Dry Regions) – 📍 West & Central Africa Office (Humid Regions)
Asia
27th International Pepper Conference: Four fiery days in Bangkok set to ignite crop research
27th International Pepper Conference: Four fiery days in Bangkok set to ignite crop research Things are heating up with the 27th International Pepper Conference just a few months away. For four fiery days [...]
Overcoming cereal fatigue: Why vegetables and legumes can offer farmers, soils, and consumers a boost
Overcoming cereal fatigue: Why vegetables and legumes can offer farmers, soils, and consumers a boost Diversifying rice-based farming with vegetables and legumes offers a powerful opportunity to boost incomes, restore soil health, and [...]
South and Central Asia
South and Central Asia - From Annual Report 2024 - Selected highlights In rooftop garden soils and surface garden soils in urban and peri-urban areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh, a study analyzed microbiome [...]
WorldVeg’s Offices in Asia: 📍 Headquarters in Taiwan – 📍 South & Central Asia Office – 📍 East & Southeast Asia Office
Latin America / Caribbean
Promoting vegetable diversity and productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean, with more tolerant varieties
Promoting vegetable diversity and productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean, with more tolerant varieties Cahabonero chili pepper in Alta Verapaz now being improved for resistance to viruses, phythophtora blight and fusarium [...]
Evaluating vegetable varieties in the Caribbean
Evaluating vegetable varieties in the Caribbean The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the vulnerability of food supply chains in Caribbean islands, especially for important commodities such as fresh fruit and vegetables. With the support [...]
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.
Growth Habit
Perspectives to expand your view of vegetables
MY SUCCESS
RECENT RESEARCH
Visit HARVEST, the WorldVeg digital document archive:
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.