WorldVeg, Taiwan Council of Agriculture (COA) and partners are joining efforts to improve the multi-resistance of Solanaceae crops to address the damage caused by abiotic and biotic stresses.
National Chung Hsing University and the World Vegetable Center sign agreement to cooperate on international R&D activities.
Tomato, pepper, and pumpkin adapted to the specific climate and preferences of Taiwan vegetable producers and consumers demands ongoing cooperation and a focus on the latest research. A field day highlights the results.
The arrangement will focus on high-quality seed of selected climate-resilient and nutritious African vegetables and establish school and home gardens to diversify food consumption while strengthening the national school-feeding program.
Dr. Chung-hsiu Hung, Director General, Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park, Council of Agriculture (COA), Executive Yuan is the new country representative for Taiwan on the World Vegetable Center Board of Directors. Dr. Hung received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Agricultural Economics and Applied Economics from National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, in 1998 and 2004, respectively. He previously served as Director of the COA Agriculture and Food Agency and Director General of the COA Department of Farmers’ Service, where he guided leisure agriculture industry development, agricultural extension education, farmers’ welfare measures, and agricultural labor policy.  In 2017 he was appointed Director General, COA Department of International Affairs and made substantial contributions to exchanges and interaction between Taiwan’s agriculture sector and international trade, including production and marketing structures for small-scale farmers in São Tomé and PrÃncipe, supply chains for avocados in Honduras, and orchid supply chains in Paraguay. Dr. Hung has taught courses in global trade, business management and financial tax administration at the National Open University in Taiwan. Over the years he has published more than 90 papers in journals within and outside Taiwan.
Representatives from Taiwan's seed companies, universities and research institutes exchanged perspectives and progress in breeding research.
Mandy Lin discusses WorldVeg breeding work in cherry tomato. […]
On 1 August 2018, the World Vegetable Center and the College of Bioresources and Agriculture (CBA) of National Taiwan University (NTU), Taipei, Taiwan signed a Memorandum of Agreement for further research collaborations. WorldVeg Director General Marco Wopereis and Prof. Huu-Sheng Lur, Dean, CBA-NTU, signed the agreement on behalf of the two institutions.
Recognition for a great garden
In 2017, WorldVeg analyzed nutritional traits of 55 traditional vegetable species commonly consumed by the Ami, a Taiwan aboriginal group, before the current/modern food system became dominant over the past 50 years. The Ami traditionally collected edible plants from the wild in eastern Taiwan, a region with diverse plant communities. Phytonutrient values of Ami traditional vegetables were compared with the phytonutrient contents previously measured by our laboratory for 200 species of tropical Asian and African traditional vegetables, and 30 commonly consumed vegetables in Taiwan. The vegetable crops commonly consumed in Taiwan today tend to have less dry matter and high sugar content, reflecting consumer taste preferences. These crops are also lower in nutrients such as protein, beta-carotene, vitamin C, minerals, and antioxidants—implying that there may be fewer nutrients available from vegetables grown in modern food systems.