1. No category

17 April 2015
Best
postharvest
practices
demonstrated in
Thailand
avrdc.org
VINESA graduates
call upon Maasai men
in their communities to
eat more vegetables
Page 18
Page 11
Door opens to Myanmar
With solid support from the highest levels of government and new projects soon to
start, AVRDC is ready to extend its expertise to a nation emerging from isolation
(left): Myanmar women hand-harvesting
black gram.
(right, l to r): AVRDC Director General
Dyno Keatinge, Deputy Director General Research Jackie Hughes, and Myanmar
Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation His
Excellency U Myint Hlaing in the shade of
a bottle gourd arbor.
For decades, Myanmar has been cut off from much of
the world, and travel there has been difficult. AVRDC’s
germplasm could get in, but not its senior management.
Then, from 16-20 March 2015, AVRDC Director
General Dyno Keatinge, Deputy Director General Research Jackie Hughes, Regional Director for South
Asia Warwick Easdown and Regional Director for
East and Southeast Asia Fen Beed were finally able to
visit Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar’s new capital, to explore
opportunities for new projects and staff placements in
the country.
Despite their isolation, Myanmar scientists have
(...continued on page 2)
2
(...continued from page 1)
produced eight new tomato varieties and hybrids based
on AVRDC germplasm. However, their greatest success
has been with mungbean, which is now a major cash
crop. Myanmar is one of the world’s largest exporters of
the legume, but this success is threatened by the spread
of Mungbean yellow mosaic virus.
AVRDC will soon start a five-year project to improve
mungbean breeding and seed production in Myanmar,
Bangladesh and India with funding from the Australian
Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
The AVRDC team spent a morning in detailed
discussions with the Minister for Agriculture and
Irrigation, His Excellency U Myint Hlaing, after
visiting a government demonstration vegetable farm.
“There is a new window for collaboration especially at
the technical level,” the minister said. He emphasized
Myanmar’s abundant natural
resources, the importance of
expanding vegetable production, and
the government’s strong commitment
to encouraging private sector
investment. He was extremely
supportive of AVRDC’s involvement in
strengthening the vegetable sector, and
later put this in writing with the
endorsement of the Vice President.
The visit also received national TV
coverage.
“We could not have asked for a more
(...continued on page 3)
(Clockwise from top left): AVRDC Director General Dyno
Keatinge and Deputy DG for Research Jackie Hughes viewing
vegetable displays in DAR genebank with Dr. Ye Tint Tun,
Director General of the Department of Agricultural Research.
AVRDC team and Myanmar hosts from the Department of
Agricultural Research.
Dyno Keatinge and Jackie Hughes discussing MYMV trials with
DAR Mungbean Breeder Dr. Kyaw Swar Win.
AVRDC Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia Fen Beed,
Regional Director for South Asia Warwick Easdown, and
mungbean seed growers in Yamethin District, north of Nay Pyi
Taw.
3
(...continued from page 2)
(l): Water boys at
model vegetable
farm.
(r): Dr Thant Lwin
Oo, Director of the
Food Legumes
Crop Section,
explaining
symptoms of
MYMV in black
gram.
positive start to our relationship
with Myanmar,” said Dyno
Keatinge. “Our hosts could not have
been more helpful.” While the
ACIAR mungbean project will lay
the foundation, Dyno said, “we are
also seeking additional projects and
are committed to having a
permanent AVRDC staff presence
in Myanmar in the very near
future.”
Hosted by Dr. Tun Shwe, Head of
the Food Legumes Crop Section,
and Director Thant Lwin Oo, the
AVRDC team visited black gram
and melon farmers around Nay Pyi
Taw. They also travelled north to
Yamethin district in the central dry
zone of Myanmar to visit mungbean
seed production fields run by the
Department of Agricultural
Research.
Dr. Shwe emphasized the
importance of mungbean as a cash
crop for farmers, “particularly in
this year, as many rice crops have
failed due to drought, and farmers
have changed their cropping
pattern.”
Myanmar vegetable production is
severely constrained by a lack of
skilled government
horticulturalists, with only 24
scientific staff to service the needs
of the whole country. The new
Director General of the Department
of Agricultural Research, Dr. Ye
Tint Tun, strongly endorsed the
growing relationship between
AVRDC and Myanmar, and
opportunities for both capacity
building of his staff as well as
technical collaboration.
A GLOBAL SYSTEM for SYSTEMS RESEARCH: The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) hosted the
global systems research and development community at the International Conference on Integrated Systems Research
for Sustainable Intensification in Smallholder Agriculture, 9-13 March 2015 in Ibadan, Nigeria. Social and agricultural
scientists participating in the conference stressed the importance of agricultural research to be done with a holistic systems
perspective, and for better links between research on improvements in specific commodities and natural resources
management. Participants advocated for strong partnerships and stakeholder involvement through mechanisms such as
Innovation Platforms, which are viewed as essential ingredients for enabling the scaling out of systems approaches to
benefit millions of farmers. The conference was organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the
Humid Tropics (Humidtropics, in which AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center participates), in partnership with the CGIAR
Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) and the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems
(Drylands). http://humidtropics.cgiar.org/international-conference-integrated-systems/
4
CORNUCOPIA
Chilies go for the burn
A new study has found that
capsaicin (the compound that
makes chili peppers spicy) might
help prevent obesity by stimulating
thermogenesis and energy burning.
Author Baskaran Thyagarajan,
PhD, Assistant Professor of
Pharmaceutics and Neuroscience at
the University of Wyoming (USA)
School of Pharmacy, decided to
research the benefits of chili pepper
extract based on existing research
that ties spicy foods to an increased
metabolism.
When lab mice ate pure capsaicincontaining foods, they were
protected from high fat dietinduced obesity, Thyagarajan says.
The capsaicin compound turned fat
-storers into fat-burners—and has
the same effect on humans. “In our
body, white adipocytes store energy
as fat and brown adipocytes expend
energy by burning fat. We have
discovered a novel mechanism by
which capsaicin-stimulated cellular
signaling triggers the conversion of
white to brown adipocytes,” thus
burning energy that would
otherwise be stored as fat,
Thyagarajan explains. “This is
associated with an increased
metabolism and energy
expenditure.”
preventing and treating metabolic
diseases like obesity, hypertension,
type II diabetes, etc.,” said
Thyagarajan.
While the study helps shed new
light on the benefits of spicy food,
the researchers also see it as the
first step toward developing an
antiobesity drug. “Capsaicin is an
ingredient from natural chili
peppers and is easily amenable for
development as a new drug for
New book from an old friend
AVRDC alumnus David
Midmore, Foundation
Professor of Plant
Sciences, Central
Queensland University,
Australia and Visiting
Professor, University of
Reading, UK, recently
published Principles of
Tropical Horticulture, a
book that leads the
reader through a
background of
environmental
influences and plant physiology to an understanding of
production and postharvest systems, environmental
adaptation techniques and marketing strategies.
Focusing on the principles behind production practices
and their scientific basis, rather than detailed biological
traits of each crop, this text outlines successes and
failures in practices to date and sets out how the
quantity and quality of horticultural produce can
improve in the future. Case studies are frequently used
and chapters cover the production of vegetables, fruit
and ornamental crops, including temperate zone crops
adapted to grow in the tropics.
David was the Center’s Crop Physiologist and Director Production Systems Program from August 1990 to
August 1995.
To order a copy: http://www.cabi.org/bookshop/
book/9781845935153
5
CORNUCOPIA
The Center in the news
Seed Quest, the global portal for the seed industry, highlighted a story from Fresh,
“Tanzania holds first course on plant breeders’ rights” on 30 January 2015
http://www.seedquest.com/news.php?
type=news&id_article=58596&id_region=11&id_category=&id_crop=
Reporter Rachel Cernansky interviewed Postharvest Specialist Ngoni
Nenguwo for a report on combating food waste in sub-Saharan Africa,
published on the Mongabay website:
http://news.mongabay.com/2015/0409-sri-rcernansky-food-wastesubsaharan-africa.html
and the Epoch Times website:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1318414-combating-wasting-foodresources-in-africa/
Resource Magazine published an
essay by Director General Dyno
Keatinge and Head of
Communications Maureen Mecozzi
titled “Feed the World in 2015…and
Nourish it, too” in a special March/April
2015 issue:
http://bt.e-ditionsbyfry.com/
publication/?i=247419
Legume breeder Ram Nair reported
on AVRDC’s effort to disseminate
improved vegetable soybean in India
in the February 2015 issue of
Sustainable Soy News.
Farewell
Joko Mariyono, who served as Project Site Coordinator for the USAID Vegetables for
Indonesia project for nearly four years, bid farewell to his AVRDC colleagues on 28
February 2015. Joko helped to establish field trials in East Java and Bali, conducted
farmer training in grafting and nursery management, and co-authored several papers
on the research. He plans to disseminate vegetable-related technologies to the broader
community through other projects, and through publications in conference
proceedings and journals. He is also lecturing at universities to share his experiences.
All the best, Joko!
CORNUCOPIA
6
Seminars
On 24 March 2015, Marie Antoinette Patalagsa, Consultant,
AVRDC Impact Evaluation, presented her findings from a survey on
gender and home gardens in Bangladesh. Socially constructed gender
roles strongly influence household food consumption. Most home
garden programs that aim to increase household vegetable
consumption typically target women, but few studies have analyzed
how these programs affect gender roles. Results indicate the home
garden training raised women’s social stature in their communities,
gave them control over the food consumed by the household, and
provided a small but significant source of cash income. When
converted to nutrient yields, the garden supply of plant proteins was
higher by 271%, vitamin A by 289%, and iron by 272%. Family diets
were diversified, as money previously spent to purchase vegetables
could be used to buy fish or meat. The research is being used to refine
AVRDC’s home garden training approaches.
The status of vegetable production in Cambodia was the topic when
Sereyrith Ly, Horticulturalist of the CHAIN (Cambodian Horticulture
Advancing Income and Nutrition) project, spoke to AVRDC staff on 13
March 2015. Agriculture employs about 70% of Cambodia’s population, yet
the country imports about 70% of its daily vegetable requirement from
neighbors Vietnam and Thailand. Most farmers save their own seed.
Pesticide misuse is common among large-scale farmers. CHAIN aims to
improve the income and food security of smallholder households in targeted
rural areas by building capacity of farmers and processors to sustainably
increase production; strengthen farmers’ and processors’ groups for
improved services and market access; and facilitate delivery of services
from the public and private sectors. CHAIN is funded by the Swiss Agency
for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Saima Rani
Bakhodir Kuziyev
On 13 April 2015, Saima Rani, Scientific Officer, Social Science
Research Institute, Pakistan, and Bakhodir Kuziyev, Site
Coordinator, Uzbekistan discussed plans for a baseline study on
mungbean to be conducted with 300 households in each country
for the “Beans with Benefits” project. Part of the survey will
examine the role of men and women in crop production systems,
and explore how the introduction of improved mungbean varieties
as a catch crop may change these roles. Learning alliances among
NGOs, public institutions and private seed companies will be
established to disseminate and scale-up the research results.
Saima and Bakhodir spent two weeks at AVRDC headquarters to
meet colleagues and plan the survey schedule. Field surveys are
expected to begin in December 2015.
CORNUCOPIA
7
Visitors
(l): Familiar faces returned to the Center on 17 March 2015, when a delegation from the University of Idaho USA
stopped by headquarters for a visit. Drs. Robert Tripepi (Horticulture) and Matt Powell (Fish Genetics) annually
bring groups of plant science and agricultural economics students to Taiwan for exchanges with National Chiayi
University (NCYU) and other institutions organized by Yo-chi Tsai of NCYU’s Office of International Affairs. Bob,
Matt, Yo-chi, U of I Nutritionist Dr. Samantha Ramsay and five students received a briefing from Maureen
Mecozzi, Head of Communications, and enjoyed a lively tour of the Demonstration Garden with Yi-Chin Wu.
(r): A group of 40 visitors from Tainan Airport, Civil Aviation Authority/Ministry of Transportation
toured the AVRDC campus on 18 March 2015 to learn about the center’s research activities and facilities.
A delegation from Ilocos Norte Province, the Philippines,
visited the Center on 20 March 2015 to discuss areas for
potential collaboration. Governor Maria Imelda
Romualdez Marcos; Provincial Board Members Da
Vinci Manuel Crisostomo and James Paul
Nalupta; Agriculturalist Edwin Carlito Carino;
Tourism Officer Ianree Raquel; and Mark Moh Chye
Chua, Governor Marcos’ spouse, met with members of
the AVRDC management team and Board Secretary Didit
Ledesma. The visitors were briefed on AVRDC’s activities
in the Philippines and around the world, then toured the
Demonstration Garden and Genebank.
Nathaniel Williams, Permanent Secretary, St. Vincent and
the Grenadines Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Commerce
and Information Technology; Raymond Ryan, Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, Forestry,
Fisheries and Rural Transformation; and Bernadette
Ambrose-Black, Chief Executive Officer of Invest St.
Vincent were introduced to the Center’s global initiatives on
19 March 2015 in discussions with Yin-fu Chang, AVRDC
Deputy Director General Administration & Services, HR
Director Nagaraj Inukonda, and Finance Director Dirk
Overweg. C.H. Lin, Deputy Chief of the Department of Latin
American and Caribbean Affairs, Taiwan Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, led the group.
8
CORNUCOPIA
AARNET Expert Consultation on climate change
vegetable value chains in the
region.
Ensuring safe and nutritious food is
available, accessible and affordable
year-round is one of the most
pressing concerns facing the
ASEAN region. Risks are
exacerbated by both gradual and
drastic changes in climate change.
A report from the Asian
Development Bank (2009) warned
that Southeast Asian countries were
particularly vulnerable to losses in
food security due to observed and
predicted climate changes
combined with rapidly growing
populations.
The AVRDC- ASEAN Regional
Network for Vegetable
Research and Development
(AARNET) tackled some of these
prominent issues at an expert
Jacqueline d’Arros
Hughes, AVRDC
Deputy Director General
- Research.
consultation on “Climate Change
Mitigation and Adaptation
Strategies for Vegetables in
Southeast Asia” on 26 March 2015
at Pakse City, Champasak Provice,
Lao PDR. This consultation
followed the 10th AARNET
Steering Committee meeting, which
was held on 24-25 March.
More than 30 delegates were
welcomed by Bounthong
Bouhom, Director General of the
National Agriculture and Forestry
Research Institute (NAFRI),
Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry, who expressed his
appreciation to AARNET for
selecting Lao PDR as the venue to
discuss the critical climatic
challenges threatening sustainable
Bounthong Bouhom,
Director General,
National Agriculture and
Forestry Research
Institute (NAFRI),
Ministry of Agriculture
and Forestry, Lao PDR.
Viengxai Siphaphone,
Director, Provincial
Agriculture and Forestry
Office, Champasak
Province, Lao PDR.
Fenton Beed, AVRDC Regional
Director for East and Southeast
Asia, set the scene by highlighting
the structure and objectives of the
workshop: to share and develop
practical strategies to address
climate change related issues.
Background presentations included
a keynote address “On minimizing
climatic change in vegetable
production” from Jacqueline
d’Arros Hughes, AVRDC’s
Deputy Director General for
Research, who emphasized the
need for efficient utilization of
resources such as land, water,
nutrients and genetic resources to
ensure more productive and
resilient vegetable production.
Grisana Linwattana, Senior
Agriculture Scientist of
Horticulture Research Institute of
the Department of Agriculture,
Thailand presented “Lessons
learned by Thailand in research and
development for vegetable based
Bouasone
Vongsonglone, Deputy
Governor, Champasak
Province, Lao PDR
Fenton Beed, Regional
Director, AVRDC East and
Southeast Asia
(...continued on page 9)
CORNUCOPIA
(...continued from page 8)
AARNET members from 10 countries discussed their respective
policy frameworks for vegetable research, reviewed and prioritized
strategies to combat climate change, and visited vegetable
production field locations in the host country, Lao PDR. A critical
issue each country must face is the need to conserve and harness
vegetable genetic resources. Future AVRDC training courses for
AARNET will address management of vegetable germplasm.
mitigation and adaptation to
climate change.” Andreas Ebert,
AVRDC Genebank Manager;
Narinder Dhillon, global
cucurbit breeder; and Sopana
Yule, Entomologist and Biological
Control Specialist, presented
AVRDC research findings on how
germplasm, breeding and
production practices, respectively,
can be used to mitigate and adapt
to climate change.
AARNET members from 10 ASEAN
countries (Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam)
shared their respective countries’
policy frameworks, research and
development programs and
strategies to mitigate and adapt to
climate change and their relevance
to vegetable value chains. Working
groups were then established to
prioritize risks and opportunities to
mitigate and adapt to gradual and
drastic climate changes.
Following plenary presentations
and questions and answer sessions,
the AARNET Steering Committee
group then identified common
challenges and approaches
pertinent to all ASEAN countries.
After an animated discussion and
voting process, capacity building on
how to harness the diversity of
vegetable genetic resources was
identified as the collective critical
priority. This training will
encapsulate germplasm collection,
characterization, conservation, and
screening for resistance to abiotic
and biotic stresses, as well as the
sharing of standard protocols for
wider use and adoption by ASEAN
countries.
Viengxai Siphaphone, Director
of the Provincial Agriculture and
Forestry Office, Champasak
province, officially closed the
meeting. “This has been a truly
unique meeting as the quality of
information provided was
illuminating and the participatory
discussions frank and productive,”
he said. “It was a privilege for Lao
PDR to host this AARNET meeting,
and I welcome all participants to
return.”
9
10
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
Songkran celebration in Kamphaeng Saen
(l): AVRDC East and
Southeast Asia and
Kasetsart University
Tropical Vegetable
Research Center staff
pay tribute to monks
during the official
Songkran celebration.
(r): AVRDC East and
Southeast Asia
Regional Director
Fenton Beed and
TVRC Director Sirikul
Wasee.
Kasetsart University's Tropical
Vegetable Research Center
(TVRC) (Horticulture Department,
Kamphaeng Saen campus,
Thailand) invited AVRDC - The
World Vegetable Center staff to
their official Songkran celebration
to welcome the New Year and to
bless future collaborations between
TVRC and AVRDC for the
forthcoming year.
At the Seed Processing Building,
everyone joined in the traditional
Buddhist rituals of offering prayers,
listening to monks praying, and
serving food to the monks. After a
delicious Thai lunch, all poured
fragrant water over statues of
Buddha and the hands of elders to
show respect. “It was an honor to
participate in this poignant
ceremony with Dr. Sirikul Wasee
(Director of TVRC) and her team,”
said Fenton “Fen” Beed,
Regional Director, AVRDC East and
Southeast Asia, who was
experiencing his first Songkran. “It
was a very emotional event for
many, and wonderful to see AVRDC
staffers Sunant Larplai and
Porntip Ratanpong at the
forefront of the dancing.”
Then the sanuk (fun) part of
observing Songkran began:
devotees and visitors alike doused
each other with water from bowls,
hoses, bottles, cups and any other
suitable implement at hand.
Cameras were excluded for their
own safety.
As Fen discovered, Songkran is a
celebration to refresh the body as
well as the spirit: “What was
random was if the water was warm
or full of ice!” he said.
(left): Songkran in flower: Beautiful blooming
trees line the roads at Kasetsart University,
Kamphaeng Saen campus.
(right): Staff share their wishes for a Happy
New Year with elders and colleagues.
11
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
Learning to reduce postharvest losses in Nepal
Postharvest losses in Nepal reduce
the total vegetable supply in the
country by 15-40%. Poor harvesting
practices, and lack of knowledge
and technologies in sorting,
grading, packing, cooling and
storage reduce incomes for
smallholder farmers and food for
consumers.
The AVRDC Postharvest Asia Team
recently organized a customized
training workshop in Thailand for
15 specialists from the Ministry of
Agriculture Development, Nepal
working for the High Value
Agriculture Project in Hill and
Mountain Areas (HVAP). The
workshop was funded by the
International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD).
The ‘Training cum Exposure on
Postharvest Management of
Vegetables and Market Linkage’
was held in collaboration with the
Postharvest Technology Center at
Kasetsart University (KU),
Thailand, from 16-21 February
2015.
Topics covered included the role of
value chain actors; packaging;
interactions between consumers,
traders and producers; maintaining
produce quality through contract
farming; and the role of the private
sector for quality assurance and
Participants enjoyed a visit to Chachawan Orchid Farm in Thailand.
market management of agricultural
products.
Participants were also trained on
precooling, sorting and grading
with marketing groups; ecofriendly and healthy production;
packing systems; postharvest loss
reduction; and ways to increase
shelf life of vegetables.
Fenton Beed, AVRDC’s Regional
Director for East and Southeast
Asia, and Sirikul Wasee,
Director, Tropical Vegetable
Research Centre of KU, opened the
workshop. Shri Gautam,
Narinder Dhillon, Jun Acedo
and Yoonpyo Hong of AVRDC
gave presentations on the
importance of a value chain
approach to agricultural
development; the need to use clean
(l): AVRDC Postharvest Specialist Yoonpyo Hong (in red shirt) explains the benefits of plastic
packaging. (r): Participants tour the Horticulture Nursery at Kasetsart University, KPS.
and adapted seed varieties; and
handling and processing
technologies, respectively. Critical
postharvest steps were detailed by
Apita Bunsiri of the Postharvest
Technology Center of Kasetsart
University and Songsin
Photonachai of King Mongkut's
University of Technology,
Thonburi. An overview of food
safety and trade was provided by
Anil Anal of the Asian Institute of
Technology (AIT).
On-site demonstrations and
training in good agricultural
practices (GAP) and good
manufacturing practices (GMP)
included visits to pack houses,
central consolidation centers, and
many wholesale and retail markets.
After their exposure to GAP and
GMP in practice, participants
identified several areas for
additional training.
Tara Kumar Shrestha, group leader
and Joint Secretary of Nepal’s
Ministry of Agricultural
Development, and Mina Kandel,
Agricultural Economist, thanked
the organizers for sharing their
knowledge and experience.
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
12
Where did all the tomatoes go?
(l): Group presentation in
Siem Reap, Cambodia.
(r): Presenting the survey
findings.
Cambodia faces a major deficit in
vegetable supplies, but about a
quarter of the tomatoes its farmers
produce never reach consumers.
The situation in Nepal is no better.
Postharvest losses are real and
must be cut: This was the
combined conclusion of a series of
stakeholders’ workshops held in
Cambodia in Battambang and Siem
Reap provinces on 24-26 February
2015 and in Nepal in Kapilvastu
and Banke Districts from 3-5
March.
Led by Shri Gautam, AVRDC
Monitoring and Evaluation
Specialist, with assistance from
Postharvest Specialists Jun Acedo
and Yoonpyo Hong, the
workshops validated the findings of
national value chain surveys,
identified suitable interventions,
introduced appropriate postharvest
technologies and fostered
cooperation among value chain
actors.
Farmers, processors, traders, input
suppliers, technical officers,
administrators and policymakers
from the Department of
Agriculture, National Agriculture
Research Center, Asia Network for
Sustainable Agriculture and
Bioresources (ANSAB-Nepal) and
the International Development
Enterprise (IDE-Nepal) took part in
the workshops.
Postharvest losses vary by crop,
location and value chain actors. In
Cambodia, 26% of the total
production of tomatoes and 23% of
leaf mustard are lost. In addition,
about 12% of tomatoes and 18% of
leaf mustard had reduced prices
due to quality loss after harvest.
Tomato farmers, wholesalers and
retailers incurred higher losses
than collectors or commission
agents, while leaf mustard farmers
had higher loss than collectors,
wholesalers and retailers.
In Nepal, 25% of tomatoes and 19%
of cauliflower are lost, but farmers
incurred lower losses than
collectors, wholesalers and
retailers.
In both countries, farmers’ largest
postharvest losses were from
preharvest disease and insect pest
damage. Losses of collectors,
wholesalers and retailers were
related mainly to poor
transportation and storage. Losses
along the chain were partly passed
on to farmers, as farmgate prices
are half the retail price.1
Cambodia, Nepal and Bangladesh
are the focus of AVRDC’s
Postharvest Project in Asia funded
by the U.S. Agency for
International Development
(USAID).
Participants agreed that to reduce
losses, improved high yielding
varieties with good quality,
resistance to handling hazards, and
long shelf life were needed, along
with better packaging, transport
and storage techniques. “Most of
the participants have had scant
exposure to postharvest
technologies,” said Shri. “The
capacity building programs
initiated by these workshops are
sorely needed.”
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
13
AVRDC at Agri Expo in Pakistan
The USAID Agriculture Innovation
Program booth at the Dawn Sarsabz
Pakistan Agri Expo 2015 attracted plenty of
interest from attendees. AVRDC staff were on
hand to answer questions, explain program
activities, and discuss the Center’s work.
Pakistan’s largest agricultural
exposition, Dawn Sarsabz
Pakistan Agri Expo 2015,
attracted visitors from around the
region to the Expo Centre in Lahore
on 19-20 March 2015. All business
sectors directly or indirectly
involved with agriculture
participated in the event, which
presented a rare opportunity to
assess the potential of Pakistan’s
agricultural market and enabled
participants to develop
partnerships with the key players
driving the sector forward.
Pakistan is in search of cuttingedge technology and the latest
methodologies that will enable it to
become one of the leading
agricultural economies of South
Asia. Exhibitors presented
agricultural equipment, agroprocessing methods and packaging,
irrigation systems and more.
At a booth for the USAID
Agricultural Innovation
Program, AVRDC –The World
Vegetable Center and project partner
the International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
showcased technologies such as drip
irrigation and improved varieties. A
working model of a drip installation
was on display, which attracted
considerable attention from visitors.
The AVRDC team distributed flyers,
booklets and copies of Fresh.
Numerous officials, farmers and
sector specialists visited the booth
and showed interest in AVRDC’s
work. The exhibition opened doors
to potential partnerships and
created greater awareness of the
Center in Pakistan.
Demonstrating the
drip irrigation
system to a
reporter.
14
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
Net houses cross the border
Department of Vegetable Crops,
and AVRDC Regional Director
Warwick Easdown recently
spent five days visiting Pakistan
farmers to assess protected
cultivation practices and the
opportunities for transferring
Indian experience to Pakistan.
(l to r): AVRDC Vegetable Program Leader
Mansab Ali, Extensionist from Punjab
Agricultural University Rakesh Sharda and
Head of PAU’s Department of Vegetable
Crops Major Dhaliwal with a cucumber and
pepper farmer near Sheikhupura.
There is a huge opportunity to
expand protected cultivation of
vegetables in South Asia to improve
supplies to consumers and returns
to farmers.
A new cross-border collaborative
project involving Indian and
Pakistan scientists will expand
AVRDC’s current work to improve
plastic tunnel production of
vegetables in Pakistan and will
introduce new ways of growing
vegetables under cover.
Just across the border in India,
vegetables are available for a longer
season than in Pakistan because of
the use of polynet houses, which
allow for year-round production of
crops such as tomato, cucumber,
and capsicum.
Rakesh Sharda, Extensionist
from Punjab Agricultural
University, Major Dhaliwal,
Head of the university’s
They were guided by USAID
Agricultural Innovation
Program Team Leader Mansab
Ali, Horticulturalist Asrar
Sarwar, Agricultural Engineer
Arif Shahzad and AVRDC
research associates working
directly with farmers to improve
their practices.
A key part of the AIP project in
Pakistan is the promotion of
improved protected cultivation
practices. While Pakistan produces
tomato, cucumber and peppers
under low and high tunnels to
protect crops during the three
months of winter, the use of
polynet houses is unknown.
The team found ample
opportunities to work with Pakistan
farmers to improve existing plastic
tunnel practices. Steel framing
instead of bamboo, and stronger
plastic can help withstand weather
damage. Better fertigation can
improve the efficiency of fertilizer
use practices, and the introduction
of better varieties can improve
yields.
AVRDC research associates
including Anam Fatima are
currently working with plastic
tunnel farmers to trial new varieties
and to introduce trickle irrigation
practices. The project will build
polynet houses and providing
extensive training on pest and
disease management.
Farmers on both sides of the border
are realizing the benefits of new
forms of protected cultivation to
increase farmer incomes as well as
the availability of high quality
vegetables to consumers over
longer seasons.
AVRDC has worked with Punjab
Agricultural University (PAU) in
India for more than six years to
develop and
promote
improved
and low cost
polynet
houses.
Indian
farmers that
adopted this
technology
are now
progressing
to larger,
more
sophisticated
structures.
AVRDC field trials near Faisalbad.
15
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
African nightshade impresses farmers in Burkina Faso
Amy, a woman involved in an
evaluation trial of AVRDC
traditional African vegetable
varieties at the Center’s Best
Practice Hub in Gampéla,
Burkina Faso, wondered what
African nightshade (Solanum spp.)
plants would look like when they
grew to full size, and was
particularly curious about the taste
and texture of this unfamiliar
vegetable. She agreed to try
growing African nightshade, but
was uncertain about its yield
potential. She thought she might
experience economic losses while
her friends cultivating other wellknown crops such as amaranth
would gain more.
Two months after planting African
nightshade, Amy was the picture of
confidence, teasing everyone at the
hub as she watched her plots turn
greener and greener every day. Amy
expected that she would harvest the
fruit from her lush, thriving plants;
when she learned it was the leaves
that are eaten, not the fruit,
disappointment set in.
At the first harvest on 3 January
2015, she took large bundles of
nightshade leaves home to share
with friends. But none of her
friends wanted to try cooking the
leafy greens; they were unsure how
to prepare the vegetable and feared
a failure in the kitchen. Then she
met a friend who looked into her
basket and exclaimed with surprise:
“Loudo! Where did you get
it?” (loudo is the local name for
African nightshade). Amy’s
disappointment turned into joy and
anticipation: Although African
nightshade is not popular in
Burkina Faso, particularly in the
Gampéla area where global
vegetable species like tomato and
green beans are predominant, the
strong interest of her friend
indicated there could be a market
for the crop.
Amy’s friend showed her how to
cook the leaves into a tasty African
nightshade sauce, and Amy
returned the favor by giving her
friend five large bunches of African
nightshade. “My friend said: ‘Now,
listen to me: when you cook it,
don’t use too much or too little
peanut, neither too much nor too
little salt; don’t eat the sauce while
it is hot, for, you will miss the full
flavor. Serve it warm, not cool, and
then find a hidden corner to avoid
being disturbed. In any case, do not
react to greetings from visitors: You
will know what African nightshade
is all about!’” Amy said.
She told the story to her fellow
farmers at the Best Practice Hub,
making them laugh to tears. Now,
when Amy harvests her African
nightshade plot at the hub, women
come from nearby villages to
purchase the leaves and learn how
to cook the special sauce.
Amy from Gampéla, Burkina Faso,
harvests African nightshade leaves for her
neighbors interested in trying the crop.
16
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
Traditional African vegetables project steering in the
right direction
(left) Traditional African Vegetables Project Steering Committee members with
scientists from AVRDC’s Cameroon Liaison office. (right) Field visit.
The Steering Committee of the
Traditional African Vegetables
project funded by the West and
Central African Council for
Agricultural Research and
Development (CORAF/WECARD)
was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon on
10 February 2015. All members of
the committee were present, along
with scientists from AVRDC’s
Cameroon Liaison office. The
committee meets twice a year to
oversee and provide guidance to
implementing partners and ensure
that the regional relevance of the
project is maintained.
The committee discussed
publishing various reports; training
the project team to set up an
Innovation Platform; collecting
traditional African vegetable
germplasm (the issue of where to
keep the seed was raised, as CORAF
does not have a gene bank). The
project exit strategy also was
discussed, as the project has one
year remaining; it is thus important
to plan for renewal or to find other
sources to extend project activities.
CORAF Program Manager Dr.
Ndoye said the CORAF thematic
area on Food, Nutrition and Health
could be explored to extend the
lifetime of the project.
Prior to the meeting, the committee
members visited two fields in
Ebolowa in the South region: the
demonstration field of the Center
for Assistance to Sustainable
Development (CASD) and a field of
a beneficiary. Members were
impressed by the project’s work in
the area. They held discussions with
11 stakeholders (4 females and 7
males), during which the farmers
revealed that the main challenge
they face is the variation in prices
for traditional African vegetables
due to lack of farmer cooperatives.
The committee noted there is a
need to intensify farmers’ education
on the importance of forming
cooperatives, as well as helping
them come together to speak with
one voice.
Dr. Ndoye said the traditional
African vegetables project is one of
the best he is supervising, and
encouraged partner institutions to
keep up the good work.
17
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
Seed multiplication of traditional African vegetables
AVRDC – The World Vegetable
Center organized a seed
multiplication training session
from 23-24 March 2015 at the
International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture in Nkolbisson to ensure
vegetable producers are equipped
with the knowledge and skills they
need to save quality seed for future
planting. The training falls under
the project “Enhancing
Productivity, Competitiveness and
Marketing of Traditional African
Vegetables (TAV) for Improved
Income and Nutrition in West and
Central Africa” commissioned by
West and Central African Council
for Agricultural Research and
Development (CORAF/WECARD).
It was attended by 37 participants
(23 men, 14 women) from the
Southwest and South regions of
Cameroon. The beneficiaries of the
training were nominated by
Cameroon-based project partners
Institut de Recherche Agricole pour
le Développement (IRAD) and the
Center for Assistance to Sustainable
Development (CASD).
Farmers’ access to quality seed is
fundamental to the development of
traditional African vegetable
production. The workshop trained
participants on the recommended
methods and techniques of
producing quality seeds; exposed
participants to the processes of
seed quality certification; and
demonstrated how traditional
African vegetable seed production
can be a profitable business.
A SWOT (strengths-weaknessesopportunities-threats) analysis for
community-based seed production
pointed to the availability of
improved seed from AVRDC,
engaged trained producers, and
land as strengths, while good local
and regional market availability
was the best opportunity. But seed
policy certification was identified as
a threat; poor producers’
organization and lack of storage
facilities are the weaknesses.
At the end of the training,
participants were well-equipped
with up-to-date knowledge and
enhanced skills to produce and
market quality seed of traditional
African vegetables to increase their
productivity and incomes, and
provide a steady supply of
nutritious vegetables to local
markets.
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
18
Young farmers spark behavior changes in their communities
(left): A young graduate receives her certificate from
Arumeru’s District Commissioner, Ms Hasna
Mwilima.
(right): Farmers, community leaders, and business
representatives from Arumeru District, Tanzania
gathered at the Horticultural Research and Training
Institute (HORTI-Tengeru) to celebrate the
graduation of the second group of VINESA farmers.
On 26 March 2015, farmers,
institutions and communities in
Arumeru District, Tanzania gathered
at the Horticultural Research and
Training Institute (HORTI) Tengeru
to celebrate the graduation of the
second group of farmers and mark the
admission of the third group of
trainees for the project “Improving
Income and Nutrition in Eastern and
Southern Africa by Enhancing
Vegetable-based Farming and Food
Systems in Peri-urban
Corridors” (VINESA). The project is
funded by the Australian Government
through the Australian Center for
International Agricultural Research
(ACIAR).
AVRDC –The World Vegetable Center
coordinates VINESA activities in
Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique and
Tanzania, and HORTI-Tengeru
spearheads VINESA’s activities in
Tanzania.
Besides honoring the hard work of the
second group and introducing the
third group to what lies ahead, the
ceremony provided a platform to
lobby for technical, business and
financial support for the graduates, to
help them engage in high value
vegetable markets.
Representatives from government,
private, non-government and farmer
organizations attended the event,
which was officiated by Hasna
Mwilima, Arumeru’s District
Commissioner, who also presented
certificates to the graduates. Thomas
Dubois, AVRDC Regional Director
for Eastern and Southern Africa, said:
“Stakeholders should seriously
promote consumption of more
vegetables in their communities, and
thus help these young farmers have
more money in their pockets.”
In Tanzania, VINESA has trained a
total 45 young male and female
farmers and hopes to train another 75
farmers by 31 December 2017.
Training covers a variety of topics,
ranging from identifying viable
vegetable markets; maximizing value
and minimizing wastes; and selecting
the right partners and relationships.
After graduation, trainees are
obligated to train 10-12 peer farmers
from their community on how to
produce, market and consume
nutritious, safe and profitable
vegetables.
“Post-training support is a major
challenge facing the young graduates,”
said Agatha Aloyce, VINESA’s
Tanzania coordinator. A call was sent
out to service providers and
communities to support the young
graduates if they are to benefit from
their training in VINESA’s Best
Practice Hubs in a sustainable way.
The young graduates performed skits,
songs and dances in which they
encouraged their communities to eat
more vegetables for better health, and
to engage in vegetable market
opportunities to earn more income.
Graduates and guests also were
treated to mouth-watering vegetable
recipes prepared by AVRDC staff. An
emphasis was made on the need to
prepare good-looking, tempting
vegetable dishes if Maasai men are to
be motivated to stop looking down
upon vegetables as a “poor man’s
food.” Various stakeholders promised
their support to the trainees,
especially by increasing access to
affordable credit and land for joint
vegetable farming. It is only through
concerted efforts from service
providers that smallholder farmers
will be able to exploit opportunities to
improve employment, income and
livelihoods in their communities.
CORNUCOPIA
19
Welcome
Ndeye Bouba Mbengue, Research Intern from Montpellier SupAgro, France, arrived at
AVRDC headquarters for a six-month internship from 3 April to 30 September 2015. Ndeye
is on a fellowship sponsored by the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program
Scholarship program (Montpellier SupAGro). She will work on insect resistance with the
Tomato Breeding group at AVRDC headquarters in Taiwan under the supervision of Plant
Breeder Peter Hanson and Mohamed Rakha, Postdoctoral Fellow, in collaboration with
Entomologist Srinivasan Ramasamy.
Annika Hoffmann, Research Intern from Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany, arrived
at AVRDC headquarters for a four-month internship from 16 April to 15 August 2015. Annika
will conduct research on tomato late blight resistance, which is part of the GIZ-funded
project “Wild Relatives to Fight Blight”. She will be supervised by Peter Hanson in
collaboration with Jaw-fen Wang, Plant Pathologist and Roland Schafleitner, Head,
Molecular Genetics.
IT Support Engineer Felix Malisa joined AVRDC Eastern and Southern Africa on 1 March
2015. He holds various certificates in information technology, and has five years of
experience with a good background in network operating systems as well as hardware and
software maintenance.
Sophia Bongole will be joining the team at AVRDC Eastern and Southern Africa as the
Project Site Coordinator for the USAID-funded project “Deploying Vegetable Seed Kits to
Tackle Malnutrition in Tanzania.” Sophia is an agribusiness specialist with a MBA in
Agribusiness from Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania. Before joining AVRDC, she
worked as a part-time research assistant in various agricultural projects at the university. She
has knowledge and skills in project management, agricultural value chains, agribusiness and
fundamental business topics.
Phathana Sengounkeo and Sengdala Mounnalath, Research
Interns from the Horticulture Research Center, National Agriculture &
Forestry Research Institute, Lao PDR, spent three weeks (14 March to 4
April 2015) at AVRDC headquarters to work on “Germplasm regeneration
and characterization of cucumber and other cucurbit crops for use in
breeding” under the supervision of Andreas Ebert, Genebank Manager,
and other staff in the Genetic Resources and Seed Unit.
Fresh, 17 April 2015
Fresh is published by :
AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center
P.O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan 74199
Taiwan
avrdc.org
Editor: Maureen Mecozzi
Graphic design: Kathy Chen
Photographic guidance: Amy Chen and
Vanna Liu
Comments, ask a question, add a name to our mailing list: info@worldveg.org
Contributors: Jun Acedo, Mansab Ali,
Fenton Beed, Sheila de Lima, Warwick
Easdown, Shri Gautam, Peter Hanson,
Regine Kamga, Sanjeet Kumar, Nadine
Kwazi, Letty Lin, John Macharia