Minding the gaps:
The quiet rise of the mighty mungbean
In the rice fields of South and Southeast Asia, a quiet agricultural shift has been unfolding over decades. During the once-fallow periods between seasons, some farmers are planting mungbean – a fast-growing legume that matures in little more than two months – perfectly suited to fill the gap. Mungbean’s protein-rich seeds provide valuable nutrition, while […]
Helping nature fight back:
How biocontrol and biofumigation support safe, climate-smart vegetable production
As countries across Africa and Asia face rapidly intensifying pest and disease pressures as a result of climate change, vegetable crops are increasingly at risk in the field and after harvest. These threats often push farmers toward heavier use of chemical pesticides, creating risks for human health and the environment. With funding support from the […]
A Decade of progress and future promise:
Advancing multi-disease and insect-resistant tomato lines
Tomato species Solanum galapagense (left); Results from current breeding program – advance tomato hybrid (right) Over the past decade, the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) has led a strategic initiative to strengthen sustainable tomato production by developing multi-disease and insect-resistant tomato varieties. This effort has targeted the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, a key vector of multiple viruses, […]
SAVE, SHARE AND SOW VEGETABLE SEEDS:
CORE ACTIVITIES AT WORLDVEG’S INTERNATIONAL VEGETABLE GENEBANK
Current food systems require transformation to support both human and planetary health. Vegetable biodiversity holds great potential to improve nutrition, livelihoods, and climate resilience. However, vegetable biodiversity is declining rapidly and remains underrepresented in conservation and seed exchange efforts, receiving significantly less investment than staple crops. This decline leads to the irreversible loss of opportunities […]
A study in Fiji shows that a quarter of households can’t afford healthy vegetables
At the end of March 2025, the World Vegetable Center, in collaboration with the Consumer Council of Fiji and Dikoda, hosted a high-level National Forum in Fiji’s capital, Suva. Supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) through the PIC More Veg project and officiated by Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Manoa Kamikamica, the […]