PHOTO OP — December 2021

GREAT TALK

At the November 2021 SEAVEG2021 conference, Dr. Lourena Maxwell, WorldVeg Postdoc Plant Pathologist, received the Best Oral Presentation Award for her talk on the seedling method to screen for biocontrols against bacterial wilt. The hybrid event attracted hundreds of participants across Asia and beyond to focus on vegetables for resilience and healthy diets. Well done, Lourena, and thanks to the plant pathology team!

A FINE WORLDVEG FELLOW

Dr. Srinivasan Ramasamy has been awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Entomological Society of London. The fellowship is awarded to those who have made a substantial contribution to entomology, through publications or other evidence of achievement. Fellows are entitled to make use of the title “Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society” and the suffix “FRES” is regarded as an academic qualification.

WORLDVEG GOES LOCAL

The Eastern and Southern Africa team joined the Local Seed and Food Fair in Karatu, Tanzania from 25-27 November 2021. A showcase of local seeds and recipes made from locally grown crops, the fair explored the potential these crops have to provide tasty and nutritious food for consumers and generate income for farmers. Partners IDP/Iles de paix, MVIWAARUSHA, RECODA Farm Radio, ECHO, and TARI were on hand to introduce local seeds, plants, and products to the more than 700 visitors who attended the event.

SCREEN TIME

The World Vegetable Center Board of Directors convened their 60th Meeting via videoconference on 1-2 December 2021, checking in from diverse places (and time zones!): Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Nigeria, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA, and Zimbabwe. We thank them for sharing their time, advice, and good humor on behalf of WorldVeg!

POWER PROMOTERS

WorldVeg West and Central Africa – Coastal & Humid Regions staffers Paul Zaato and Jessica Baidoo welcomed visitors to learn about WorldVeg activities in the region during the 37th Annual Farmers’ Day Agricultural Fair, 1 – 3 December 2021 at Adisadel College Park on Ghana’s Cape Coast. The event was organized by The Ministry Of Food And Agriculture Ghana, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, and the Ghana Cocoa Board.

RECEIVING AAA FROM AAT

The Agricultural Association of Taiwan recently bestowed its Agricultural Academic Award on Dr. Yann-Rong Lin, WorldVeg Deputy Director General – Partnerships, for her outstanding achievements in and contributions to the field of crop genetics and molecular breeding. Dr. Junne-Jih “JJ” Chen, Chair of the association’s Board of Directors, (and also WorldVeg Board Chair) presented the award.

GROWING INNOVATION

On 2 December 2021, the Department of Plant Protection Sanitary and Phytosanitary of General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) in collaboration with WorldVeg and Grow Against the Flow project partners East-West Seed Foundation and iDE-Lors Thmey organized the launch of an Innovation Platform to introduce safe and off-season technologies for vegetable production. Government institutions, private companies, and NGOs working on safe and off-season vegetable production and value chains in Cambodia attended the meeting.

BEST OF THE BEANS

WorldVeg Regional Director for South Asia Dr. Ram Nair reports vegetable soybean variety ‘Karune’ was among 35 crop varieties recently released by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and dedicated to the people of India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ‘Karune’ was developed from WorldVeg line GC-00209-4-1-1. ICAR plant breeders began working with the line in 2004. Now they have bred the country’s first variety of soybean having a green pod suitable for consumption. ‘Karune’ produces beans with 16-17.5% protein and the plant can be harvested in 60-70 days, compared to regular soybean, which is ready for harvest in 110-120 days.