World Vegetable Center

🌱 Celebrating Collaboration, Innovation, and 10 Years of Partnership! 🌏 The 𝐀𝐏𝐒𝐀–𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐕𝐞𝐠 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐮𝐦 celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2026 — a milestone made possible through the trust, collaboration, and shared commitment of our partners across Asia and beyond. Since the Consortium began in 2017, membership has grown from 19 members to 61 members in 2025, with a total of 17,544 seed samples distributed to support vegetable breeding and innovation. Thank you to all our partners for helping make this journey possible. This year’s Annual Workshop was held at WorldVeg headquarters in Taiwan on 5–6 May, bringing together more than 60 participants from 33 seed companies across 11 countries, alongside over 20 WorldVeg scientists and staff, for two inspiring days of learning, exchange, and collaboration. Participants joined sessions on tomato, pepper, cucurbit, and okra breeding, evaluated promising new varieties in the field, toured the Genebank and Speed Breeding Facility, visited the ToBRFV special tomato demo greenhouse, and explored exciting new research initiatives. 🌶️🥒🍅🌱 More than just a workshop, the event created valuable opportunities to connect, share ideas, and strengthen partnerships, shaping the future of vegetable breeding. As disease pressure and climate challenges continue to grow, strong collaboration between public breeding programs and the seed industry remains more important than ever. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated, shared insights, and continued to support collaborative vegetable breeding across Asia. We are excited for the next chapter together — and hope to welcome many new faces in 2027! 💚 🔗 Join the APSA–WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium: /benefits-of-apsa-membership #WorldVeg #APSA #vegetablebreeding #AgricultureInnovation #partnership #climatechange

🌱From a gap-filling crop to a global game changer Mungbean is transforming rice-based farming systems across Asia and beyond—improving soil health, boosting farmer incomes, and enhancing nutrition. Thanks to decades of collaboration led by WorldVeg, with strong support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and partners, over 150 improved varieties are now grown in 35 countries, benefiting millions of smallholder farmers. With faster-maturing, higher-yielding, and more nutritious varieties, even short breaks between cropping seasons are becoming opportunities. Small beans, big impact! 👉 Learn more: https://bit.ly/worldveg_mungbean #Mungbean #FoodSecurity #Agriculture #Innovation #WorldVeg #ACIAR

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐖𝐌 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐕𝐞𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞🌸 Following an invigorating International Women’s Month 2026, we’ve launched a pilot 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 to further support professional development across WorldVeg. It follows a center-wide survey, in which women identified three key areas for support: 💜 Navigating cross-cultural environments 💜 Building confidence and visibility 💜 Strengthening leadership skills Starting in May 2026, the new initiative will connect staff across roles and locations, with participants meeting twice a month to share experience, build skills, and support one another. This is one example of how we’re applying the “give to gain” ethos of International Women’s Month this year – and another step in our broader commitment to investing in people and strengthening the teams that drive our work. #IWM2026 #Mentorship #Leadership #MOA

☀️ A major investment in solar energy is transforming operations at the World Vegetable Center in Arusha, Tanzania. With 128 solar panels now in place, more than half of the center’s facilities are powered by clean, renewable energy. The system supports critical research laboratories and Africa’s largest vegetable genebank, helping safeguard vital crop diversity. At the same time, it is expected to reduce electricity costs by up to 50% while significantly lowering carbon emissions. This marks an important step toward more sustainable agriculture, improved energy efficiency, and a lower-carbon future. This initiative was made possible through support from the Taiwan-Africa Vegetable Initiative (TAVI), funded by the Government of Taiwan. 🔎Read more: https://bit.ly/47CF2jk #RenewableEnergy #Tanzania #Sustainability #ClimateAction

📢The 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 at WorldVeg Headquarters is now open for applications! Attention, undergraduate students in Taiwan! Are you passionate about agriculture and eager to gain hands-on research experience?Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of meaningful, real-world research. 🗓️ Program dates: 1 July – 31 August 📢 Application deadline: 20 April This year’s research areas include: 📈 Omics Breeding 🍅 Vegetable Breeding 🦠 Virology 🍽️ Food Science 🌱 Agronomy 🌿 Agroecology 🐛 Entomology 🍃 Plant Pathology 🚀 Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of impactful research—apply now and grow with us! 🔗Application form: https://bit.ly/worldveg-intern-2026 🔗Announcement: /download/WorldVeg-Internship-Program-Announcement-A4.pdf #WorldVeg #Internship2026 #AgricultureResearch #ApplyNow #OpenScience

💜Happy International Women's Day!💜 Today, we celebrate the women helping grow a healthier future. At WorldVeg, women contribute across laboratories, offices, and fields alongside farmers — all working toward one shared goal: bringing nutritious vegetables to more communities around the world. A snapshot of women at WorldVeg: 🌱 47% of our staff are women 🎓 34.2% hold a PhD or Master’s degree 🔬 30% contribute to research 🌾 Women are also working in the field, supporting farmers This International Women’s Day, we embrace the theme “Give to Gain” — recognizing that when women contribute their knowledge, leadership, and dedication, everyone gains. As we look ahead to the FAO International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, we celebrate the women helping build stronger, healthier food systems. #InternationalWomensDay #GiveToGain #womeninagriculture #IYWF2026 #WorldVeg

🌱 Conservation milestone! ✨ We’re proud to share that the international genebank at WorldVeg has secured over 90% of its global vegetable collections in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. This achievement strengthens long-term protection for vital vegetable diversity that supports nutrition, resilience, and livelihoods worldwide. A big thank you to all partners who made this milestone possible! 🔗Read more: /worldveg-genebank-secures-in-svalbard/ #CropDiversity #Genebanks #Svalbard #FoodSecurity

🫘 Today is World Pulse Day ✨ Mungbean, a crop on which WorldVeg has been working for decades, is an important pulse crop across Asia. Rich in plant-based protein and dietary fiber, it plays a key role in sustainable agriculture and climate resilience. 🌱🫘 Pulses help improve soil health, enhance the sustainability of farming systems, and support healthier diets for communities worldwide. We’re sharing some mungbean recipes to inspire healthy and sustainable meals. 🥗 More veggie recipes: https://bit.ly/worldveg-recipes 🔔 Also, share with us: What is your favorite way to enjoy mung beans? #LovePulse #WorldPulseDay #MungBean #PulsesForSustainability #WorldVeg #HealthyDiets Recipes from Mung Central, Edition No. 12

🌍🌱 A new chapter begins for vegetables in global food systems. As 2026 gets underway, WorldVeg is putting its Global Strategy (2026–2033) into action—an eight-year plan focused on healthier diets, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods. Guided by six Action Areas, the Strategy responds to today’s biggest food system challenges and turns science and innovation into action. 📖 Read the Global Strategy: /from-vision-to-action-startegy-2026-2033/ #WorldVeg #GlobalStrategy #HealthyDiets #ClimateResilience #FoodSystems #Vegetables

Season’s greetings and best wishes for a happy, healthy 2026! ✨ How many veggies can you find on this card? Is your favourite here? 🔍🥦 Eat more vegetables, stay well, and keep your days colourful all year long. 🍅🥦🍆🥒🌶️🫑 #EatMoreVeggies

🏵️𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 A striking new “flowerhead” infographic highlights a global food system where vegetables remain undervalued and underused, despite years of warnings from international authorities. Across four domains—𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, and 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡—the graphic contrasts scientific recommendations with what the world actually does, revealing structural gaps in investment, production, and consumption. The image, Global Food Group Metrics, was created by Jim Smith Design and offers a preview of graphics from a forthcoming paper in PNAS. “We’ve been hearing for years that we need to grow and eat more vegetables,” said Maarten van Zonneveld, lead author of the paper and head of WorldVeg’s genetic resources program. “But year after year, this call isn’t reflected in research funding or policymaking. This graphic captures that mismatch in one striking image.” 🔎For a deeper dive into the messages behind the petals: https://bit.ly/veggies-petal-power

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬! - 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 We don’t just work on vegetables at WorldVeg — eating them helps us do that work better, too. A practical look at what improves daily energy and focus brought nearly 100 WorldVeg staff together recently for a seminar on how nutrition and everyday psychology shape well-being at work. And yes - eating vegetables really does matter (we didn’t need much convincing)! Fueling performance: A Mind-body revolution – psychology and nutrition for peak potential, was supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture. It brought together science-based guidance on building healthier habits and sustaining workplace performance - topics that matter for anyone working in international research and development environments like WorldVeg. The session covered: 💪 Psychology and daily habits – how motivation, attention, and routine-shaping behaviours affect concentration and resilience 🥗 Nutrition for sustained energy – evidence-based ways to maintain physical stamina and mental clarity during demanding workdays. At least three portions of vegetables per day? Our breeders approve! Sessions like this remind us that supporting staff well-being isn’t an add-on - it’s part of enabling great science. More programs are lined up for 2026 to help WorldVeg teams stay healthy, effective, and inspired. #MinistryOfAgriculture #Taiwan #WorkplaceWellbeing #Nutrition #Psychology