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31 January 2013 www.avrdc.org
AVRDC tomato and eggplant
on display at the Taiwan
Council of Agriculture’s Seed
Improvement and Propagation
Station in Sinshe, Taichung
page 10
Regine Kamga, Research Assistant in Cameroon, explains improved onion nursery management methods to workshop participants in Maroua.
Knowledge to meet Africa’s need for seed
(...continued on page 2)
From Cameroon to Mali, workshops and field days engage growers and seed producers, building the foundation for a stronger seed sector
December 2012 saw
AVRDC – The World
Vegetable Center staff in
Africa out in the field
and in the classroom,
demonstrating improved
onion production
methods with farmers
and discussing
management skills with
small-scale seed
producers. Through
these and other
activities, AVRDC aims
to ensure a steady
supply of good quality
vegetable seed reaches
Africa’s farmers at the
right time for planting.
2
(...continued from page 1)
AVRDC’s expertise benefits onion growers in Cameroon
A training workshop for trainers in
all aspects of onion production was held from 4-6 December 2012 in
Maroua, located in the northern
region of Cameroon, with the aim
of building capacity to increase access to onion seed through local
farmer-based seed production and
delivery systems. Activities were organized and implemented by
AVRDC – The World Vegetable
Center and funded by the
Commodity Value-Chain Development Support Project
(PADFA) through the
International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD).
Ten women and 10 men from onion production areas attended the
workshop, along with resource
persons from PADFA and AVRDC, including Albert Rouamba,
Albert Abang, Regine Kamga
and Ronal Chendjou. In a series
of presentations, the participants
were introduced to improved
methods for bulb and seed production, discussed storage
issues, and examined possibilities
for onion processing and
commercialization. A seed distributor from Semagri, a
multinational seed company with
operations in Cameroon, delivered a module on business practices. The
group learned teaching techniques
for successful information
dissemination and skill-building to apply during future training
activities. Results from recent
AVRDC onion trials also were shared with participants.
Practical sessions covered
identification of onion diseases and pests, appropriate treatments for
control, production techniques
suited to the region, and various marketing methods for onion bulbs
and seeds.
Participants developed personal
action plans to facilitate the
application of the knowledge and
skills they acquired during the training, and each was given a
complete file with training
materials, which can be used when
training other farmers in the future. All received certificates of
participation. The trainees
expressed their desire to use their new teaching skills to share what
they had learned with other onion
growers to help them increase
production and generate more income through higher sales.
(l): Trainees surround the trainers with their certificates of participation. In the center (l to r): Guy Ngameny, Regional Coordinator, Commodity Value-Chain Development Support Project (PADFA) and Albert Rouamba, AVRDC Vegetable Breeder.
(r): Albert Rouamba (left side, in blue shirt) introduces training workshop participants to the benefits of establishing onion nurseries.
(...continued on page 3)
3
(...continued from page 2)
(...continued on page 4)
Onion Field Day in Gazawa, Cameroon
On 10 December 2012, a total of 70
farmers (51 female and 19 male) attended an Onion Field Day
organized by AVRDC’s Cameroon
Liaison Office at Gazawa, in the far
north region of the country. Funded by the Commodity Value-Chain
Development Support Project
(PADFA), the event gave farmers the opportunity to compare
improved technologies on onion
production with their traditional
practices. Selected and improved AVRDC onion lines were
showcased alongside onion
varieties from seed companies and farmer-saved seeds. Eight onions
were part of the demonstration: five
lines introduced from AVRDC Mali
(Air Violet, Jan Iri, Yaouri Kurgri, FB01BF and Violet de Galmi), two
cultivars (‘Belami’ and ‘Actarus’)
sourced from Semagri, a private seed company in Cameroon, and
one local variety, Goudami, served
as the check.
Farmers participated in the
establishment of the onion demonstration plot, which helped
to create awareness and enhance
demand for onion lines with
desirable traits. These farmers then explained what they had learned
about nursery care, field
preparation, and irrigation to other farmers from neighboring villages.
Farmers found AVRDC’s onion
nursery method allowed for easier
weeding, fertilization and irrigation that their traditional practices.
(l): Habiba Alahdji Moussa (white foulard) explains the differences between traditional onion nurseries and the AVRDC nursery. (r): Farmers visit the onion field.
(l): A representative from the Commodity Value-Chain Development Support Project (PADFA) takes notes on different onion varieties.
(r): Onion Field Day participants at Gazawa council.
4
Strengthening capacities of vegetable seed companies in West and Central Africa
(...continued from page 3)
Managers of twelve vegetable seed
companies from Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, Gambia and Mali
received training in “Strategic Seed Business and Marketing
Management” from AVRDC staff
in Bamako, Mali from 17-21 December 2012. The director of the
National Agricultural Research
Institute of Mali officially opened the training session, which aimed
to enhance the skills and knowledge
of seed entrepreneurs operating in
West and Central Africa. The vegetable seed sector in West and
Central Africa remains
underdeveloped compared with East and South Africa.
During the four-day course,
international seed business experts shared their knowledge and
experiences in vegetable seed
production registration and regulation, seed contract farming,
seed processing, organizational
behavior of seed companies,
economic decision-making and effective leadership.
Participants also learned how to use Hortivar, a horticultural
database maintained by the Food
and Agriculture Organization
(FAO). Hortivar (http://www.fao.org/hortivar/) addresses
the needs of producers, seed
companies, and horticultural
research centers for information related to crop cultivars in different
agroclimates. Practical exercises
online allowed the participants to discover performance data about
different vegetable varieties grown
throughout the world.
The leaders were energized and
inspired by what they learned
during the course. It is hoped they will apply their newly acquired
knowledge to build viable vegetable
seed companies and make good
quality vegetable seeds available at affordable prices for growers in
West and Central Africa.
Albert Rouamba (l), AVRDC Vegetable Breeder based in Mali, explains expectations for the workshop to the press.
(left, top and bottom):
Demonstration of pepper
seed extraction during the
seed business training course in Bamako.
(r): Maîmouna Coulibaly,
Director General of Faso
Kaba, a seed company in Mali, enjoying the fruits of
an AVRDC chili pepper
plant.
(...continued on page 5)
Mentoring links AVRDC and African NARES
(...continued from page 4)
5
Mentoring young scientists is one of several ways AVRDC supports
national agricultural research and extension services (NARES) in West and Central Africa. Dr. Albert Rouamba, AVRDC Vegetable Breeder,
supervised the thesis of Vianney Tarpaga, a scientist with the National
Agricultural Research Institute of Burkina Faso (INERA) and attended the
defense at the University of Ouagadougou on 14 December 2012. Vianney’s thesis was entitled: “Contribution to the study of premature bolting of
tropical onion varieties (Allium cepa L.): Case of Violet de Galmi cultivated
in northern Burkina Faso.” Bolting constitutes a major constraint for onion production in West Africa; Vianney’s thesis highlighted progress on
premature bolting for the popular variety. Three scientific articles from this
work already have been published in peer-review journals.
Vianney Tarpaga’s jury was satisfied with the supervision and outcomes: (l to r) Prof. Tamini Zoumbiesse, University of Ouagadougou; Prof. Jean Didier Zongo, University of Ouagadougou; Prof. Justin Yatti Kouadio, University of Abobo - Adjamé; and Dr. Albert Rouamba, Vegetable Breeder and thesis supervisor, AVRDC Mali.
(clockwise from left):
Habiba Alahdji Moussa, Ronal Chendjou, and Regine Kamga answer participants’ questions. Habiba Alahdji Moussa demonstrates how to set up an onion plot. Onion Field Day, Gazawa, Cameroon.
The Center in the news
Danielle Nierenberg and Ellen
Gustafson, the co-founders of Food Tank, a new food policy think tank,
noted the importance of focusing on
vegetables to address micronutrient
deficiencies worldwide and mentioned the Center’s work in Tanzania in their
essay, “13 resolutions to improve the
world’s food supply in 2013” published in the Christian Science Monitor, Los
Angeles Weekly, Business Day Live,
Bloomberg Businessweek and other
media outlets.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2012/1220/13-resolutions-to-improve-the-world-s-food-supply-in-2013
Food Tank
http://www.foodtank.omrg/
6 CORNUCOPIA
Reporter Louise Preece
interviewed Joko Mariyono, AVRDC Project
Coordinator in Indonesia
and Deputy Director General-Research Jackie
Hughes about the Center’s
activities to improve
vegetable production in Bali and East Java for Stock &
Land, an agricultural
newspaper published in Victoria, Australia.
Recent publications
Holmer R. 2012. Vegetables Go to School in Southeast Asia: Promoting Food and
Nutrition Security through School-based Approaches. International Conference on
Educating for the Future We Want: A Green Southeast Asia, 11-13 December 2012,
Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines. http://www.seameo-innotech.org/contents/
view?id=2012ic_papers
Ramirez M, Ortiz R, Taba S, Sebastián L, Peralta E, Williams DE, Ebert AW, Vézina
A. 2013. Chapter 2 – Demonstrating Interdependence on Plant Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture. In: Halewood M, López Noriega I, Louafi S (Eds.). Crop
Genetic Resources as a Global Commons – Challenges in International Law and
Governance. Series Issues in Agricultural Biodiversity. Bioversity International.
Routledge, Oxon, UK and New York, USA. pp. 39-61.
Praneetvatakul S, Schreinemachers P, Pananurak P, Tipraqsa P. 2013.
Pesticides, external costs and policy options for Thai agriculture. Environmental
Science & Policy, 27:103-113.
Shih SL, Tsai WS, Lee LM, Kenyon L. 2013. Molecular characterization of
begomoviruses infecting Sauropus androgynus in Thailand. Journal of
Phytopathology, 161(2):78-85.
http://203.64.245.61/fulltext_pdf/Openaccess/oa0009.pdf
Seminars
7 CORNUCOPIA
Pepijn Schreinemachers, AVRDC Agricultural Economist, reviewed
different methods of impact evaluation and the pros and cons of each in a seminar on “Experimental vs. non-experimental methods of impact
evaluation: When to use what?” on 10 January 2013. He noted two challenges
for accurate evaluation: First, studies must correctly attribute observed
changes in outcomes to an intervention, and second, findings must be representative of the eligible population. Non-experimental designs include
baseline and follow-up surveys (before-and-after comparisons), or surveys of
adopters and non-adopters (with-and-without comparisons). Quasi-experimental techniques such as statistical matching methods, instrumental
variables and the “double difference” method are more robust than non-
experimental designs, but are limited by selection bias, spillover effects and
sample size. Randomized control trials solve the problems of selection bias and attribution; however, sample size is critical and variables such as access
to a technology must be carefully controlled.
On 24 January 2013, Christian Genova II, AVRDC Consultant for
Monitoring and Impact Evaluation Studies, presented results of a study on “The adoption and impact of tomato grafting technique: the case of Vietnam”
to colleagues. Tomato is one of the most important crops in Vietnam, but
growers must contend with bacterial wilt, which causes severe losses. Tomato
grafting, a disease management strategy useful when resistant varieties are not available, was introduced in Vietnam by extension staff trained at AVRDC
in the late 1990s. By 2007, about 4000 hectares of grafted tomato was being
grown in Lam Dong province, in southern Vietnam. In 2012 AVRDC researchers interviewed 225 farmers in the province; all had adopted tomato
grafting. Further north in the Red River Delta, out of 75 farmers interviewed,
nearly half had adopted tomato grafting. Results indicate grafting increased
yield by 30% and grafted tomato fetched higher prices in the market. Although production costs are higher for grafted tomato, the method
generates more sales and higher profits for farmers.
Suk-Ha Lee, Professor in the Laboratory of Crop Genomics, Seoul National
University, Korea, spoke to AVRDC staff about his research on soybean and mungbean genomes and comparative genomics on 28 January 2013. A
common ancestor diverged into Glycine soja and a G. soja/G. max complex
about 270,000 years ago. Dr. Lee’s research indicates modern soybean (G.
max) was domesticated from the G. soja/G. max complex about 9000 years ago in what is now northern China, Korea and Japan. He also noted
mungbean is a good model crop for understanding the development of the
soybean genome, and discussed some of his comparative studies involving the two crops.
8 PEOPLE
Welcome
Dirk Overweg is the Center’s new Director of Finance. Dirk, a native of The Netherlands,
previously served as Chief of Finance and Officer-in-Charge for Human Resources for the Mekong River Commission in Laos, and as the Regional Manager for Administration and
Finance for Asia for Belgian Technical Cooperation in Vietnam. His consulting work includes
service as a financial expert for the Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat. Dirk holds a PhD from
Leuven University in Belgium in Applied Economic Sciences, and brings a strong IT background to the position.
David Sarakikya, new Senior Finance Officer at the Regional Center for Africa in Arusha,
Tanzania, holds an MBA from Tumaini University, Tanzania and is currently acquiring his CPA. He has 11 years of experience in Finance and Administration, mostly on donor-funded
projects and programs. David worked as a program accountant and administrator for the
World Wide Fund for Nature in Tanzania for 8 years, helping to implement WWF’s Integrated
Water Resources Management project in the Great Ruaha River Catchment, Iringa, Tanzania.
Tsvetelina Dimitrova Stoilova joined AVRDC’s Regional Center for Africa as a Scientist in
Genetic Resources. Tsvetelina specializes in the conservation and multiplication of landraces, primitive forms and introduced accessions, and in the characterization and evaluation of
genetic variability in ex situ, in situ, and on-farm conservation collections. She holds a PhD
from the Institute of Tobacco and Tobacco Goods, Plovdiv, Bulgaria and has served as an
agronomist at the University of Agriculture in Plovdiv, and as a senior research scientist at the Institute of Plant Genetic Resources in Sadovo.
Srinivasulu Rajendran, a postdoc in Agricultural Economics, is the newest member of the
AVRDC Socioeconomics team. Srini is based at the Regional Center for Africa. He holds a PhD in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. His prior experience includes
work as an agribusiness research analyst at the International Food Policy Research Institute,
and consultancies on poverty mapping with the International Water Management Institute
and econometric analysis with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Dang Thi Van, Visiting Scientist from the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute (FAVRI) of
Vietnam arrived at AVRDC headquarters on 21 December 2012 for a four-month stay. She is the Deputy Head of Biotechnology at FAVRI, and works on the application of biotechnology in
tomato breeding. Dr. Dang will develop markers for marker-assisted selection in tomato
breeding under the supervision of Drs. Jaw-fen Wang and Peter Hanson.
Natenapit Jitlam, Research Fellow in the Genetic Resources and Seed Unit, from Chia Tai
Co., Ltd. Thailand, will wrap up a four-week internship on 4 February 2013. Natenapit is learning about all aspects of germplasm management, including regeneration,
characterization, seed extraction and processing, seed storage, and documentation under the
supervision of Dr. Andreas Ebert.
9 PEOPLE
Welcome
Hsin-Yu Wu, Graduate Student in Virology from the Graduate Institute of Entomology,
National Taiwan University, Taipei will complete a one-month internship at headquarters on 8 February 2013. Hsin-Yu is working on the project “Monitoring for changes in the tomato-
infecting begomovirus populations in Taiwan and evaluating the reactions of tomato lines
carrying different combinations of leaf curl resistance (Ty) genes to different begomoviruses
in Taiwan and Southeast Asia” for a study entitled “The interaction of tomato yellow leaf curl virus with its insect vector whitefly” in the Virology Lab under the supervision of Dr.
Lawrence Kenyon and his associates.
Lolita M. Dolores, Research Fellow in Virology from the Institute of Plant Breeding - Crop
Science Cluster (IPB-CSC), College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines, completed a two-week internship at Center headquarters on 24 January
2013. Lolita studied the generation of infectious cDNA clones for virus resistance screening
under the supervision of Dr. Lawrence Kenyon and his associates.
Another milestone in managing Maruca: Robert Holmer, Regional Director East and Southeast Asia, awarded Sopana Yule, Research Assistant in Entomology with a Certificate of Recognition signed by Director General Dyno Keatinge for her outstanding research work in identifying a species-specific parasitoid for the legume pod borer (Maruca vitrata) and setting up a pilot production system. Sopana expressed gratitude to her team members for all their hard work on the project.
(left to right) Chuanpit Khumsuwan, Technical Assistant Entomology; Sopana Yule; Roungphet Songkrasin, field worker; Daenpen Pornnapalai, field worker; Robert Holmer.
Action plans progress in Taiwan: Sheila de Lima, Administrative and Training Officer, AVRDC East and Southeast Asia, met Taiwanese alumni of the 31st International Vegetable Training Course in Taipei, Taiwan on 15 December 2012 to discuss the status of their development actions plans. Participants write the plans to apply what they learned in the course. Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture (COA)supported participants Hsiu-fung Chao of the Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (“Introduction of waterlogged vegetable varieties in Taiwan for summer production”), Min-li Liu, Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (“Home garden cultivation in Kaohsiung, Taiwan”), and Wei-chen Tang, Department of Science and Technology, COA, Taipei (“Improving the performance management of Agricultural Research & Development Projects in Taiwan”) in the course. The group visited the campus of National Taiwan University, and viewed the whole city of Taipei from the top of Taipei 101, the world’s second tallest building.
(left to right) At National Taiwan University: Wei-chen Tang, Sheila de Lima, Hsiu-fung Chao, Min-li Liu.
10 CORNUCOPIA
40 years of service to tropical agriculture
Laura Johnson, from Upper
Arlington, Ohio, USA served as
an intern at AVRDC - World
Vegetable Center in 2006 as
part of the Borlaug-Ruan
program of the World Food
Prize. A 2010 graduate of
Cornell University, she
currently works as a Business
Development Advisor for the
Syngenta Foundation for
Sustainable Agriculture’s
Kilimo Salama project, in
Nairobi, Kenya.
The Borlaug-Ruan internship
launched me into a career with an international focus on agricultural
development. My internship in
Taiwan was both a fascinating
research opportunity and a springboard into future
international positions.
While at Cornell, I earned professional internships in
Denmark (radical innovation
at a dairy cooperative) and
Switzerland (portfolio assessment with Syngenta Foundation) because
I had demonstrated in Taiwan that,
at 18 years of age, I could deal with challenges and flourish in a foreign
setting.
All these occurrences have led me to my current position as Business
Development Advisor for Kilimo
Salama (meaning “safe agriculture” in Kiswahili) in Nairobi. Kilimo
Salama, an agricultural insurance
project, currently insures over
64,000 farmers in Kenya and Rwanda, allowing them to mitigate
their weather risks so they can
invest more in quality inputs to
raise productivity and improve food security.
This position and the rest of my
international development
experiences over the last six years all firmly had their foundation in
my Borlaug-Ruan internship
through the brilliant colleagues and
mentors I came to know at AVRDC and the World Food Prize
Foundation's sponsorship.
(Excerpted from the December 2012
World Food Prize newsletter)
100 years of improving Taiwan agriculture on display: The Taiwan Council of
Agriculture’s Seed Improvement and Propagation Station (TSIPS) in Sinshe,
Taichung has held an annual flower show for the past seven years. At the 2012 show in December, TSIPS took the opportunity to showcase its work over the past century.
Tomato and eggplant released by AVRDC for the Taiwan market and selected by TSIPS
for seed propagation were part of the display.
Street food vendor survey
11 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
Do street food vendors play a major
role in providing the population of Bangkok with vegetables as an
important source of nutrition?
This is the one of the research questions that Katrin Stippich, a
master’s student from the
University of Freiburg, Germany based at AVRDC East and
Southeast Asia, is attempting to
address in her MSc thesis entitled
Resilience and Food Security as part of the Deutsche Gesellschaft
für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
(GIZ) funded project, “Understanding Urban and
Periurban Vegetable Production
and Marketing Systems through
GIS-based Community Food Mapping in Greater Bangkok,
Thailand.” The project is a joint
undertaking of the University of Freiburg, AVRDC, and Kasetsart
University.
Together with Office Assistant
Pishayapa Thongmalai and IT/Communication Assistant Sorawit
Limsiriwat, Katrin conducted a
series of interviews with street food
vendors and consumers in central Bangkok and in the periurban areas
of Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi
on food preferences, with particular focus on vegetable consumption
and sources of vegetables used in
the meals. All data were geo-
referenced for the creation of GIS maps.
Katrin’s stay in Bangkok is supported by a grant from GIZ’s
Advisory Service on Agricultural
Research for Development
(Beratungsgruppe Entwicklungsorientierte
Agrarforschung).
(l to r): AVRDC East and Southeast Asia staff Sorawit Limsiriwat, Information Technology and Communication Assistant, Pishayapa Thongmalai, Office Assistant, and Katrin Stippich, a master’s student from the University of Freiburg, Germany with a street food vendor selling sticky rice at Wat Mun Jindaram, Thanyaburi, Pathum Thani.
Street food vendors in Thailand prepare tasty local dishes for a quick snack or take-away meal. But can they influence vegetable consumption among their customers?
Educational innovation in Southeast Asia
AVRDC East and Southeast Asia
Regional Director Robert Holmer presented the plenary
speech, Vegetables Go to School in
Southeast Asia: Promoting Food
and Nutrition Security through School-based Approaches at the
Southeast Asian Ministers of
Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation
and Technology (SEAMEO
INNOTECH) conference entitled
“Educating for the Future We Want: A Green Southeast Asia,”
held from 11-13 December 2012 in
Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines. The biennial forum for
the exchange of ideas and
experiences in educational
innovation and technology was officially opened by Benigno S.
Aquino III, President of the
Philippines, and Philippine Education Secretary Br. Armin
Luistro. Education leaders,
managers, researchers, scientists,
policymakers and practitioners from different Southeast Asian
countries attended the conference.
Although significant progress has
been achieved over the past 30 years in reducing the proportion of
malnourished children in
Southeast Asia, malnutrition
persists, affecting large numbers of children. The socioeconomic cost of
malnutrition continues to remain
high, resulting in unnecessary child deaths, lower cognitive outcomes in
children and lower adult
productivity. While Southeast Asia
continues to deal with the problems of infectious diseases and
undernutrition, it is at the same
time experiencing an upsurge in noncommunicable disease risk
factors such as obesity and
overweight, particularly in in
rapidly increasing urban settings.
Robert shared and discussed
AVRDC’s approach on vegetable school gardens, which are a cost-
effective and culturally appropriate
school-based intervention to
alleviate malnutrition. School gardens have the potential to link
resources for education, health,
nutrition, and sanitation at one
venue and increase the likelihood of long-term sustainability.
During the conference, Robert had
the privilege to make the acquaintance of Kesz Valdez, the
2012 International Children’s
Peace Prize awardee. Thirteen-year-old Kesz formerly lived on a
dump site in the Philippines and
struggled to stay alive. He now
educates thousands of children living on the streets about personal
hygiene such as tooth brushing and
handwashing, and promotes proper nutrition through growing and
consuming healthy vegetables.
Conference papers and presentations http://www.seameo-innotech.org/contents/view?id=2012ic_papers Kesz Valdez http://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=player_embedded&v=M_bjFY4
ZXV4
12 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
(l to r): Robert Holmer and Kesz Valdez, the 2012 International Children’s Peace Prize awardee.
Robert Holmer, AVRDC East and Southeast Asia Regional Director, presents the plenary speech at the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology conference.
31st training course reaps another outstanding harvest
Sixteen participants from
Bangladesh, Cambodia, India,
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam
successfully completed Module 3:
Vegetables for sustainable development in AVRDC’s 31st
International Vegetable
Training Course on 30
November 2012 at AVRDC East and Southeast Asia’s Research and
Training Station, located on the
Kamphaeng Saen campus of Kasetsart University, Thailand.
The course increased the
participant’s awareness of the ways vegetable research and
development contributes to
achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals, and their
understanding of how vegetables
link with other sectors and
complement different development initiatives. The training equipped
the participants with the necessary
knowledge and skills to conceptualize and implement
research and development
activities.
Community development
approaches and cooperative
innovations were discussed by Anselmo Mercado, former
director of the Southeast Asia Rural
Social Leadership Institute in the
Philippines. Maureen Mecozzi, Head, AVRDC Communications
and Information, discussed the
importance of crafting and delivering audience-appropriate
messages for development
communication. Climate change
and food security were discussed by Ed Sarobol, Vice Dean of the
Faculty of Agriculture, and
Parichart Promchote, Department of Agronomy,
Kasetsart University Bangkhen
campus. Biotechnology's
contribution to food and nutritional security was discussed by
Sermsiri Chanprame, assistant
professor of the Department of Horticulture, KU Kamphaeng Saen.
Pepijn Schreinemachers,
AVRDC’s agricultural economist, facilitated discussions on project
proposal writing, monitoring and
evaluation.
All participants presented
Development Action Plans to
panelists Sermsiri Chanprame and Kiatsuda Longwelai,
professors from Departments of
Horticulture, Kasetsart University,
Kamphaeng Saen campus. Upon completion of the module, the
participants gleefully received their
certificates from AVRDC’s Narin Senapa, Teresa Liang and
Katrin Stippich.
13 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
(...continued on page 14)
Registration now open for IVTC 32
Enhance your technical, scientific
and managerial vegetable
production skills. Register today:
32nd International Vegetable Training Course
16 September – 6 December 2013
AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center East and Southeast Asia
Bangkok, Thailand
Read more: http://avrdc.org/?
page_id=1439
(...continued from page 13)
31st International Vegetable Training Course Module 3: Vegetables for Sustainable Development
14 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
Name Country DevelopmentActionPlan
MohammadMazharulKarim
Bangladesh Year‐roundhomesteadvegetableproductioninKhagrachariHillDistrict,Bangladesh
Md.RabiulIslam Bangladesh
DevelopmentofhighyieldingheattoleranttomatoinManikganj,Bangladesh
TaslimaJahan Bangladesh
Technologydevelopmentforproductionofseedlessteaslegourd(Momordicadioica)inBangladesh
AnVannak Cambodia Off‐seasontomatograftingon‐farmtrialinKingdomofCambodia
TilakGajmer India
AssessmentandevaluationofcarbonsequestrationunderdifferentorganicproductionsystemsinSikkim,India
YusufDawam Indonesia
ImprovedchiliproductioninKepungDistrict,KediriRegion,EastJava,Indonesia
PutuBagusDaroini Indonesia
SustainablefoodinhomegardensystemforfoodsecuritydevelopmentinPuhjarakVillage,KediriRegion,EastJavaIndonesia
AkberMaulad Indonesia
SchoolgardenprototypedevelopmenttoincreasevegetableconsumptioninIndonesia
HarisAkhmad Indonesia
SchoolgardenprototypedevelopmentwithfoodsafetyeducationinIndonesia
PhathanaSengOunkeo
LaoPDR LaotraditionalCapsicumsp.germplasmcollectionandconservation
UTheinNeng Myanmar
IntegratedfarmingsystemsforNayPyiTawcouncilarea,Myanmar
TinTinWai Myanmar
PromotingIntegratedPestManagementtechnologiestofarmersinNayPyiTawcouncilarea,Myanmar
JuanAraojo,Jr. Philippines
SustainingvegetablegardensinpublicelementaryandsecondaryschoolsinthePhilippines
AngelineCalatan Philippines
Sustainableschoolvegetablefeedingprogramamongpublicschoolgrade1tograde3pupilsinBenguet,Philippines:Abridgetogoodhealthandnutrition
Wei‐chenTang Taiwan
ImprovingtheperformanceevaluationofagriculturalresearchanddevelopmentprojectsinTaiwan
KhuyenThiBui Vietnam
MonitoringofpesticideresidueinfreshvegetablesinNorthVietnam
Name Country DevelopmentActionPlan
15 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
Vegetable R&D network celebrates success, plans for the future in Central Asia and the Caucasus
More than 35 participants attended
the Fifth Steering Committee Meeting for the Central Asia and
the Caucasus Vegetable System
Research and Development
Network (CACVEG) in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan on 11-13 December
2013. The committee discussed national reports on variety trials
and issues related to sustainable
vegetable production in each of the
eight member countries.
The announcement that 28
varieties of 7 crop species including tomato, sweet and hot pepper,
vegetable soybean, mungbean,
yard-long bean and cabbage have
been released in the region in
(l): Ravza Mavlyanova receives certificates for new released varieties of hot pepper, soybean and mungbean from the Director of the Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Growing. (r): Sharing experiences in tomato grafting.
Participants of the Fifth Steering Committee Meeting, Central Asia and the Caucasus Vegetable System R&D Network. AVRDC’s Regional
Coordinator Ravza Mavlyanova is in the first row, far left.
(...continued on page 16)
recent years encouraged
researchers to continue their efforts to submit other new varieties to
national variety testing
commissions. Many of the new
varieties released are truly new to the region, such as vegetable
soybean and mungbean. Committee
members seek to improve seed multiplication facilities and seed
distribution to promote wider
cultivation of new varieties,
increase production, and open vegetable export opportunities.
Appropriate policy options to
diversify regional production, enhance micronutrient security,
develop a cool-season production
system, build more robust
distribution channels, and encourage the adoption of
improved postharvest technologies
were explored.
AVRDC – The World Vegetable
Center and the CGIAR Program Facilitation Unit for Central Asia
and the Caucasus presented Drs.
Gayane Martirosyan and
Gayane Sarkisyan, Armenia; Dr. Temirjan Aitbayev, Kazakhstan;
Acad. Dzhamin Akimaliev,
Kyrgyzstan; and Prof. Botir Azimov, Uzbekistan with
Certificates of Recognition for
disseminating improved genetic
resources and technologies in their countries.
A seminar, “Perspective on research directions in vegetable production
in Central Asia and the Caucasus”
was conducted during the meeting.
Fifteen young scientists presented results of their research in
vegetable germplasm evaluation,
breeding, improved cultivation
technologies and seed production.
A special session was dedicated to innovative technologies such as
tomato grafting. Participants also
received training in promoting
vegetables for dietary diversity, which included a cooking and
processing demonstration.
16 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
(...continued from page 15)
Committee members sampling a salad made with vegetable soybean. Mungbean and vegetable soybean are promising new crops that can help
diversify and expand the agricultural sectors of countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
17 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
AVRDC Legume Breeder Ram Nair attended the Fifth International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables in Dharwad (Karnataka) and Goa, India from 7-11 January 2013.
Ram presented a paper on “Vegetable soybean: a crop with potential to improve human nutrition and diversify cropping systems in northeast India” to symposium participants. The group also explored breeding and genetic factors affecting bioactive compounds, the role of fruit and vegetables in brain and eye health, and the isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds, among other topics.
Fruit, vegetables and human health
Editor: Maureen Mecozzi Graphic design: Kathy Chen Photographic guidance: Ming-Che Chen
Contributors: Fayzulla Abdullaev, Takemore Chagomoka, Sheila de Lima, Robert Holmer, Regine Kamga, Yulia Kopilova, Ildar Mavlyanov, Ravza Mavlyanova, Albert Rouamba, Katrin Stippich, Wen-shi Tsai, Lydia Wu
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www.avrdc.org Fresh, 31 January 2013
Fresh is published bi-weekly by:
AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center P.O. Box 42 Shanhua, Tainan 74199 Taiwan
