The WorldVeg collection of African vegetables expands and is more widely shared

In 2021, the World Vegetable Center held about 2,700 accessions of about 60 species of traditional African vegetables, of the 400 documented species of vegetable crops traditionally used in Africa. A groundbreaking 2021 study led by Maarten van Zonneveld of WorldVeg established that the biodiversity of these crops is poorly conserved and more than 60% are not represented at all in genebanks. Six vegetable biodiversity hotspots were also identified (see below) and the conservation gaps were established.

This guided WorldVeg interventions from 2021-2024, in which 17,000 new accessions were collected in collaboration with national partners, under the Taiwan Africa Vegetable Initiative (TAVI) project. Of these, more than 6,000 are already conserved in Africa’s Vegetable Genebank at the WorldVeg regional center in Arusha, Tanzania, than was entirely upgraded and inaugurated in early 2024 as part of the TAVI project.

The genebank currently conserves 5,623 accessions and another 6,000 newly acquired accessions that are being multiplied and tested before they can enter the collection. The genebank has also established a training hub in Arusha Tanzania whereby over 200 national genebank staff and professionals across Africa have built capacity on different aspects of genebank operations and quality management. This also complements the International Vegetable Genebank based and WorldVeg headquarters in Taiwan. Together, these two genebanks maintain an active collection of more than 60,000 accessions of vegetable species and their wild relatives.

Handing over of collected seed samples by national partners in Benin (left) and Tanzania (right)

WorldVeg also partnered with the African Union Commission and the Global Crop Diversity Trust to develop the African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan 2025-2035, that was officially launched on 2 September 2024 at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. Its development was also supported by the TAVI project with the support of more than 40 contributors from across the continent, and beyond. This Rescue Plan has four strategic objectives.

(i) Rescue and conserve genetic resources of African vegetables for germplasm exchange and use by current and future generations.

(ii) Support the development of integrated seed systems of African vegetables, through the characterization, documentation, and sharing of germplasm, and support its sustainable use in research, breeding, and cultivation by farmers.

(iii) Conduct innovative research and networking to develop and share adapted and improved vegetable varieties that meet the needs of farmers, traders, and consumers.

(iv) Enhance human resource capacities and raise awareness of the values of and demand for African vegetables, and their mainstreaming into existing national and regional policies and programs in Africa.

The African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan, and its official launch in Rwanda in September 2024

Africa’s Vegetable Genebank has also been instrumental in providing increased access to vegetable germplasm for research and breeding and for direct cultivation by farmers to improve health, income, and climate resilience. For example, WorldVeg scientists have developed improved varieties of amaranth, a popular leafy green vegetable, that research has shown improves yields by more than 6 tonnes per hectare, and that are being adopted by an ever larger number of farmers, especially in East Africa. Also, over the past decade, some 500,000 seed samples of nutrient-dense traditional vegetables have been distributed for farmers to evaluate and grow themselves. These have reached farmers and consumers in more than 20 countries across Africa.

So, what can be so very clearly seen here, is that with support from its partners, the World Vegetable Center is having a massive impact in rescuing, conserving, and using vegetable biodiversity, especially of traditional African crops, for the benefit of farmers and consumers, today, and for future generations.

Seeds distributed to farmers and consumers, and some of the resulting produce