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Featured Institution

When it comes to rice research, we have the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) based in the Philippines. For fish, it's the World Fish Center in Malaysia, agroforestry at the World AgroForestry Centre in Africa, water and water management at the International Water Management Institute (IMWI) in Sri Lanka and livestock at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya and Ethiopia.

For vegetables, we have the Asian Vegetables Research and Development Center (AVRDC) - The World Vegetable Center in Taiwan, which sets the trends and priorities for vegetable R&D and vegetable-related issues.

Mission beyond vegetable
Vegetable is important. This is the standing campaign of the AVRDC. Vegetable is vital for a strong economy, significant for a healthy diet, and generally, an imperative component for a productive human life.

Economy-wise, the vegetable industry is the “engine” for growth particularly among developing countries. It provides jobs, supports agribusiness industries, and diversifies farm income.

As an important food-source, vegetables are essential for human health and survival. Even though people in the developing countries live mostly on rice, wheat, and cereals these are not enough to achieve the essential micronutrients needed by our body. Vegetable is not only cheap, it is also renewable and sustainable.

Those who eat vegetables, grow healthy and strong. This sounds like a passé catchphrase for a government ad campaign, but this practically summarizes the basics of healthy living. As AVRDC succinctly puts it, “a diet rich in vegetables is an essential first step in helping a poor family to live a productive life and break the vicious cycle of poverty.”

But beyond vegetable is a mission that AVRDC puts to heart: alleviate poverty and malnutrition in developing countries through improved production and consumption of vegetables.

AVRDC at a glance
The World Vegetable Center, one of the 15-member alliance centers of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), is based in Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan. But it has regional centers in Thailand, India, and Tanzania and outreach project offices located in Mali, Lao PDR, and Uzbekistan.

It was established in 1971 as a non-profit international agricultural research institute which is supervised by a management team that reports to a board of directors and whose members come from various countries. Its principal partners are national agricultural research and extension systems (NARS) and non-government organizations (NGOs) in developing countries.

With its approximately 30 internationally recruited professional staff and over 300 locally recruited researchers, technical, and administrative staff, the Center is committed to develop and disseminate technologies that increase people's access to safe and affordable vegetables.

The Center's four major research themes include: 1) Innovative germplasm enhancement for greater productivity, consumer acceptance, and biofortification; 2) Year-round supply of safe and nutritious vegetables; 3) Indigenous vegetables for biodiversity, healthy diet and marketing opportunities; and 4) Interactive, user-friendly information management for vegetables in developing countries.

AVRDC and BAR on vegetable R&D in the Philippines
The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), with vegetable as one of its R&D priority areas of concern, has always been in close coordination with The World Vegetable Center.

The indigenous vegetable garden at the AVRDC Headquarter in Taiwan.

Currently, BAR is supporting two major researches geared towards poverty alleviation, nutrition improvement and livelihood opportunities for those in the rural areas. These researches are: 1) Promotion of Indigenous Vegetables for Poverty Alleviation and Nutrition Improvement of Rural Households in the Philippines and; 2) Performance Evaluation of Promising Lines of Vegetables in the Ilocos Region.

The foreign-assisted project, “Promotion of Indigenous Vegetable for Poverty Alleviation and Nutrition Improvement of Rural Households in the Philippines,” aims to strengthen food security, improve nutrition and the income-generating capacity of the rural poor while at the same time conserving the biodiversity of Philippine vegetables. It is coordinated by BAR of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in collaboration with DA-Regional Field Units (RFUs), the National Nutrition Council (NNC) and the local government units (LGUs).

Specifically, the project aims to: 1) gather information on existing indigenous vegetables and their utilization in the target areas; 2) introduce at least 20% of the farmers and rural households in the target areas to potential income opportunities offered by indigenous vegetable cultivation; 3) introduce indigenous vegetable varieties that will contribute to better nutrition and healthy diet in the target areas; 4) improve nutrition of resource-poor households in the target areas through increased consumption of indigenous vegetables and dissemination of technologies for their production; and 5) train at least seven NARS staff on strategies to promote utilization of indigenous vegetables for them to be trainers in indigenous vegetable production and utilization.

Meanwhile, the project on “Performance Evaluation of Promising Lines of Vegetables in the Ilocos Region” is supported by BAR through its National Technology Commercialization Program (NTCP) and is coordinated by AVRDC in collaboration with DA-RFUs.

Among the vegetables being tested are tomato, garlic, eggplant, Chinese cabbage and sweet pepper. According to Dr. Marlowe U. Aquino, NTCP coordinator, who accompanied the AVRDC mission team during their trip in the Philippines to conduct vegetable evaluation in November 2006, these vegetables are evaluated for regional adaptation to support the vegetable R&D and later on the vegetable industry for sustainability of quality vegetable. He said further that, the current partnership strategy between the Center and the Philippines is now the model to be introduced by the AVRDC to its partner agencies and country representatives especially in Asia, Africa, and the Latin American regions to make their vegetable programs efficient and effective globally. Likewise, this evaluation activity is part of the technology sourcing and validation activities that determine whether the introduced technologies are properly accepted, utilized, and adopted for wide-scale application. In this case, vegetable varieties are initially tested prior to distribution for farmers' utilization.

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Sources:
1.  The World Vegetable Center official website. http://www.avrdc.org
2.  Promoting Utilization of Indigenous Vegetables for Improved Nutrition of Resource-poor Households in Asia. AVRDC Annual Technical Report, January 1 to December 31, 2005.
3.  “AVRDC team conducts vegetable R&D evaluation” by Dr. Marlowe U. Aquino. BAR Chronicle, Vol.7 No. 11. November 2006 issue.