The billion-dollar bean
Mungbean research creates economic gains of US$ 1.4 billion for smallholder farmers in Myanmar.
Mungbean research creates economic gains of US$ 1.4 billion for smallholder farmers in Myanmar.
Four generations of pumpkin producers in Myanmar hold the diversity needed to improve this valuable crop now and into the future.
After two years of testing cucurbit lines in Myanmar, the Department of Agriculture Research organized a Cucurbit Open Field Day on 7 September 2017 to showcase WorldVeg improved bitter gourd and pumpkin lines.
Despite 90 years of awareness, indigenous vegetables are poorly represented in the global conservation system. The authors argue for the importance of safeguarding agrobiodiversity in its centers of diversity, using tropical Asia and Myannar as a case study.
As the country's horticulture sector begins to develop, WorldVeg and partners find new openings for growth.
AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center recently received funding from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan for a three-year project, "Selection of tropically-adapted lines of vegetables to improve productivity of the vegetable value chain in Southeast Asia." Vietnam and Myanmar are the target countries. Project collaborators include the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute (FAVRI), Hanoi, and the Vegetable and Fruit Research and Development Center (VFRDC): Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Department of Agriculture (MOAI-DOA), Myanmar. This project focuses on chili pepper, pumpkin, bitter gourd and tomato, which were selected because of their commercial importance in Southeast Asia and the success of AVRDC’s tropically adapted inbred lines.
With solid support from the highest levels of government and new projects soon to start, AVRDC is ready to extend its expertise in a nation emerging from isolation.