Avrdc strategic plan

Prosperity
for the poor
and health
for all
Strategic Plan
2011-2025

Prosperity for the poor
and health for all

AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center
Strategic Plan 2011-2025

AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center is an international nonprofit research institute
committed to alleviating poverty and malnutrition in the developing world through the
increased production and consumption of nutritious and health-promoting vegetables.

AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center
P.O. Box 42
Shanhua, Tainan 74199
TAIWAN

Tel: +886 6 583 7801
Fax: +886 6 583 0009

Email: info@worldveg.org
Web: www.avrdc.org

AVRDC Publication: 10-738

Editing and Graphic Design: Maureen Mecozzi
AVRDC Publication Team: Chen Ming-che, Kathy Chen, Vanna Liu, Lu Shiu-luan

Images: AVRDC Photo Archive

© 2010 AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center

Printed in Taiwan

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/tw/ or send a letter
to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

Suggested citation

AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center. 2010. Prosperity for the poor and health for
all: Strategic Plan 2011-2025. AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center, Shanhua,
Taiwan. AVRDC Publication No. 10-738. 41 p.

CONTENTS

WHO we are 5

WHY the Center will do what is
proposed in our Strategic Plan 9

WHAT we will do 13

HOW we will cost and pay for our
new strategic research thrusts 23

OUR TARGETS on whom do we expect
our research and development
outcomes to take effect 29

Conclusion 40

4


5

WHO
we are

is the only nonprofit international agricultural research
center with a worldwide and exclusive mandate for
vegetable research and development.

Founded in 1971 as the Asian Vegetable Research and
Development Center (AVRDC), the Center’s work
has expanded globally. Headquartered in Taiwan, the
Center will have as of December 31, 2010 more than 50
international scientists and 290 national scientists and
support staff. We have regional centers for Africa, East
and Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West and Central
Asia and North Africa with offices located in Tanzania,
Thailand, India, Dubai UAE, and six other countries.


6
Why the world needs a overloaded with more accessible
world vegetable center carbohydrates and fats resulting
in increasing global rates of
While the world is making some obesity. Contamination from
progress on poverty reduction, microbial sources and pesticides
it is having less impact on the also reduces the safety of
growing scourge of malnutrition many vegetables in developing
due to imbalanced diets. More countries and high postharvest
than a billion people suffer losses further reduce the
from chronic malnutrition and availability of the relatively little
hunger. For the first time in that is grown.
history, a third of the world’s
population is malnourished For almost 40 years AVRDC –
through imbalanced and The World Vegetable Center
excess consumption resulting has been the world’s leading
in obesity, reduced life international center focused
expectancy and increased on vegetable research and
incidence of diseases such as development. We maintain the
Type II diabetes. There are, world’s largest public sector
therefore, two contrasting but vegetable genebank, with a
synergistic drivers for research focus on hardy indigenous
and development to improve vegetables important as food for
nutrition. the poor as well as wild relatives
of common vegetables. Our

improved varieties are planted
Vegetables are the vital on millions of hectares around
missing ingredient the world and our production
and postharvest technologies
Vegetables are our most have made major improvements
important source of the in smallholder incomes.
micronutrients, fiber, vitamins
and minerals essential for a We seek to look forward at least
balanced and healthy diet. They 15 years in this plan, as this
are also a major source of cash period would encapsulate the
income for smallholder farmers. likely minimum time required
But in most countries of the between initial trait identificaton
world, production is too low and broad-scale development
to provide their populations impact of an improved variety.
with even the minimum intake
required for good health.
Diets in many developing
countries can commonly be


7
Why we need the world This challenging mission
to help the Center requires the Center to integrate
production with consumption
and nutrition within a complex
We need the world to take better
research structure.
cognizance of the last 40 years
of substantial achievement
by the Center and to grant it A center of excellence
the credibility, visibility, and in research and
funding it requires to fulfill the development on
serious international role with vegetables
which it has been mandated.
This strategy is designed
We envisage AVRDC
to bring about a change in
as continuing to be the
visibility and credibility for
international center of
us to obtain the tools needed
vegetable research and
to make our substantive
contribution toward the development excellence. We
attainment of the Millennium will be a creator of high quality
Development Goals. research outputs, a source
of experienced development
partnerships, an access point
The mission we seek to
for practical information,
achieve and the key node in global
We seek to overcome
development networks.
malnutrition and poverty and
facilitate good health for both
The Center must be a credible
the rural and urban poor by
increasing the production, partner through which donors
quality, consumption and and collaborators can readily
profitability of nutritious and see enhancement of the impact
health-promoting vegetables. of their contributions toward
This will be achieved by achieving the Millennium
promoting crop diversity and Development Goals and
better balanced diets to help to beyond. We also envisage that
reduce obesity and associated the Center will be a bridging
health problems. We promote partner through which many
good agricultural practices, private sector companies and
opportunities for greater foundations can make specific
employment, and effective contributions to alleviating
postharvest value-addition and poverty and malnutrition in a
marketing mechanisms. targeted, attributable manner.


8


9

WHY
the Center will do
what is proposed in
our Strategic Plan

Endemic malnutrition, hunger, obesity, ill-
health and poverty characterize the world
in 2010. More than one billion people
throughout the world are suffering from chronic
malnutrition and hunger; the large majority of
these households also remain in poverty.


10
Goals unmet overload, causing severe back,
hip, knee, and ankle pain,
The Millennium Development lowering energy and stamina,
Goals will not be achieved by and substantially reducing
2015. Greater commitment human labor productivity
to agricultural research and and the quality of life of
development could have people of all ages. This is a
made a very substantial rapidly growing problem that
difference to achieving the predominantly affects the poor
goals, particularly Numbers and is a growing concern in
1 (Eradicate extreme poverty developing countries.
and hunger), 4 (Reduce
child mortality), 5 (Improve Balanced human nutrition,
maternal health) 6 (Combat providing sufficient energy
HIV/AIDS, malaria and and an appropriate amount
other diseases) and thus 3 of protein, fat, fiber, vitamins
(Promote gender equality and micronutrients contributes
and empower women). Many to meeting the Millenium
of those who are not overtly Development Goals and
hungry still suffer from the would directly eliminate
“hidden hunger” of chronic malnutrition. Vegetables are
micronutrient malnutrition. our most important source of
the necessary vitamins and
For the first time in human micronutrients required for
history a larger proportion of a balanced diet. Moreover,
the world’s population suffer they also provide taste and
from obesity than hunger. diversity in the diet which
Several billion people—a third encourages good eating
of the world’s population— habits. Vegetables are thus a
are malnourished through vital component in strategies
imbalanced and over-sufficient to ensure human food and
calorie intake resulting nutritional security.
in obesity, reduced life
expectancy and vulnerability
to diseases such as Type II
diabetes, metabolic syndrome
and some forms of cancer.
Moreover, obesity seriously
contributes to reduced human
mobility through skeletal


11
Getting malnutrition vegetable processing (giving
and health-promoting high levels of human pathogen
contamination) and ineffective
food production onto
and unhygienic storage that
the global development may encourage mycotoxin
agenda and bacterial contamination as
well as reducing the amount of
The World Development edible product after storage.
Report 2008 clearly shows
malnutrition is an issue
that has fallen to a level of
priority that is much too low.
It states that malnutrition
is often invisible, with poor
community awareness of its
threat to health and well-
being. Governments have
failed to recognize the pivotal
role that malnutrition has
on economic performance
and that there are multi-
organizational stakeholders in
different aspects of nutrition.
As a consequence, nutrition
falls between the cracks of
government priorities and
departments (nutrition
responsibilities are the partial
responsibility of many, but
the main responsibility of
none). Such attention to
malnourishment also needs
to include attention to the
practices that contribute to
unsafe vegetable production
such as the chronic misuse
of pesticides (exposure to
pesticides as well as product
adulterants), use of grey
water in production and in


12


13

WHAT
we will do

Our program focus: The tactical elements of
our improved strategy are outlined in the
following section but the detailed activities
which these tactics engender are presented
in the annual updates of our three-year
rolling Medium-Term Plan.


14
Our target crops will be make targeted selections for
nutritious exotic and improved production and
nutritional value.
indigenous vegetables

We will continue to emphasize Our most important
our work on crops that asset will be our
have good nutritional and/ genebank and its
or market value including precious resources
both exotic (tomato, pepper,
onion and eggplant) and We will conserve, expand,
indigenous vegetable species and exploit germplasm, and
(nightshade, slippery cabbage, share information from our
ivy gourd). Likewise, we will genebank, the world’s largest
continue to encourage much public sector collection of
broader vegetable cropping vegetable genetic resources.
diversity, both to reduce risk It contains approximately
and to help contribute to a 57,000 accessions (particularly
healthy and well-balanced mungbean, soybean and
diet. We will also continue solanaceous species)
our work on those crops that representing 8% of the
have greater nutrient density total CGIAR (Consultative
(ie. more vitamins, protein, Group for International
minerals and antioxidants Agricultural Research)
per unit of weight or volume SINGER (Systemwide
consumed) and known, Information Network for
but underexploited, health Genetic Resources) global
benefits. Such crops will database. This genebank
include species that are high in and its valuable germplasm
vitamin A precursors, minerals material will be maintained in
and antioxidants (amaranth, perpetuity for the benefit of
moringa, pumpkin), have high current and future generations
protein content (mungbean of humanity. We will continue
and vegetable soybean) or to collect, categorize, share
have prophylactic health care in the public domain and
qualities for diabetics (bitter use new genetic material
gourd). The outcome will be as fully as possible. We
that seed of such valuable will increase our efforts on
species will be available to molecular characterization
all, and that our breeders of existing and new entries
will have the opportunity to to the collection and ensure


15
that this information is easily is available with resistance to
accessible. The Center also anthracnose, late blight and
hopes to expand its collection Tomato yellow leaf curl virus
of indigenous vegetables, (TYLCV) and we hope in the
which are a key feature of the future to offer material with
genebank’s unique species- resistance to tospoviruses.
rich character. The genebank We will work with all our
maintains more than 400 partners as well as regional
species overall. Preservation and national organizations for
of vegetable biodiversity will practical implementation of
fulfill our responsibilities the outputs needed to combat
to the global plant breeding the constant and deadly
community and to the metamorphoses of these
generations ahead to help meet severe horticultural pests and
future challenges. diseases afflicting poor and
rich farmers alike. Broad use
Our parental material and dissemination of such
will be valuable for genetic resources will be vital
factors in ensuring success in
biotic and abiotic stress
the continuing struggle against
management constantly changing plant
growth stresses.
We will therefore continue to
improve and place parental Our research and
material with new, desirable
development
traits in the public domain.
We will particularly focus on partnerships are
globally important vegetables valuable operational
suited to hot/wet and hot/ mechanisms
dry tropical environments
such as tomato, pepper, Our scientists will work with
eggplant, okra, and onion. a spectrum of partners from
We will work as a team with both the public and private
our colleagues in the private sectors and at all points along
sector, the CGIAR and other the vegetable value chain. The
international centers and the mix of different partners will
advanced research institutions be location-specific and will
in upstream trait discovery depend on our capacity in the
for resistance to pests and region and the capacity of our
pathogens. Presently, material local partners.


16
Potential partners could or have inadequate, breeding
include any or all of the programs and are unable
following: to multiply seed effectively
and efficiently. For example,
• The national agricultural many of the island nations in
research and extension Oceania lack such capacity
systems (NARES), and are currently dependent
including universities and on imported hybrid material
their equivalents in the that may not be well-adapted
health sector to their specific environmental
• Regional and subregional conditions. Nevertheless,
research organizations and the larger companies and
networks countries with well-established
vegetable breeding and seed
• International and local multiplication programs will
nongovernmental also be able to benefit from
organizations (NGOs) AVRDC’s research output.
• Private sector partners This will include our partners
(including the full in the Asia & Pacific Seed
range of private sector Association such as Clover
partners from small-scale Seed Co. Ltd. and East-West
local entrepreneurs to Seed Co. Inc., and from the
multinationals) African Seed Trade Association
such as East African Seed Co.
• International agricultural
Ltd., Rijk Zwaan Afrisem and
research centers (IARCs)
many others.
• Advanced research
institutions To undertake these changes
• Farmers’ and women’s in the Center’s research and
groups development emphasis, we
will seek, in addition to our
• Civil society, community key allies in the agricultural
based organizations, and sector, to link much more
other social organizations closely with public and
We will work with partners private sector institutions in
of all sizes in a research and health, education, and water
capacity building program management. Such a broad
that will favor the public scale of partners will be
sector and small-scale private needed along with our current
sector companies who lack, research and development


17
linkages to address the chronic We are planning to expand
issue of malnutrition and long- our research and development
term issues of climate change portfolio to further address
and uncertainty. these potential challenges.
Response to climatic events,
The result of these actions such as short-term flooding,
will be enhanced likelihood is an area in which we can
of success in meeting immediately contribute to
development challenges that the global fight to ameliorate
are frequently highly complex the effects of unpredictable
and usually beyond the range environmental forces.
of single disciplines and
single institutions to address The Center will develop
effectively. programs to manage the
likely increases in biotic
With climate change stresses due to climate change:
becoming a major Pests and pathogens have
been a continually changing
challenge and threat to
challenge and threat to the
productivity gains crops and livelihoods of poor
farmers. We expect ongoing
climate change forces to
result in more stressed crops
that are vulnerable to pest
and disease attack. Climatic
changes may also drive the
selection pressure for more
virulent fungi, bacteria and
viruses and our breeding
programs will seek to monitor
such trends and incorporate
resistance traits where
possible. Techniques as well
as resistance breeding, such as
exotic grafting, integrated pest
management (IPM) and better
protective measures, will be
further exploited to reduce
farmer exposure to crop losses
from such factors. This will


18
result in farmers being Efficient, water- and
better prepared to handle nutrient-conserving crop
future climatically-induced management techniques
production uncertainties. will be a central agronomic
tool to address climate
Better parental material in challenges: The Center will
response to abiotic stress design improved agronomic
and related climate change practices that conserve water,
challenges: The Center will including microirrigation,
strive to develop stress-tolerant and bolster vegetable crop
lines that at least match the production against suboptimal
yield of conventional varieties environmental conditions.
under non-stress conditions, to Protected cultivation measures
meet the needs of a changing will be enhanced and made
climate. We will seek to easily accessible to farmers in
improve the heat and drought the developing world. Such
tolerance traits of our parental
germplasm of sensitive but
economically critical species,
such as tomato and pepper.
This work will assist their
adaptation to a wide range
of geographic environments
by exploiting genes found in
wild solanaceous germplasm
that often are native to hot
desert environments. The
Center is arming itself to deal
with demands for varieties
suitable for drier and hotter
environments as such
environmental changes are
expected to occur in many
developing countries.


19
measures will include greater production risks experienced
use of plastics and other by poor farmers. Vegetable
mulching material to better germplasm with tolerance
control weeds and provide to environmental stresses
temporary shelter against and the ability to yield well
hostile environmental factors. in marginal soils will be
Effective rhizosphere-soil identified to serve as sources
management practices will be for public and private
developed through reduced vegetable breeding programs.
cultivation techniques, Presently, such species being
improved fertilizer placement examined include amaranths,
and better use of composts cucurbits, and indigenous
to assist in improved water species related to okra.
and nutrient use efficiency Availability of seed of such
and retention in the soil root species will play a major role
zone, and to promote growth in the future to help ensure
of beneficial microbes. These nutritional security and well-
measures are complimentary balanced diets for poor small-
to plant breeding efforts holders and urban growers
for stressed environments, for whom access to cost of
which are expected to become production inputs may be
increasingly common in future inhibiting.
years.
Simple, low-cost but effective
Focus on nutritious indigenous postharvest technologies will
vegetables that can be robust be emphasized for increasing
producers in the face of profitability and maintaining
climatic uncertainty: We will nutritional quality: The
also increase our attention on Center will seek to expand its
nutrient-dense, indigenous present expertise in human
vegetables that are naturally nutrition and in postharvest
often more nutritious and quality maintenance.
can grow effectively in Vegetables, in particular green
relatively harsh environmental leafy products, deteriorate
conditions. We will ensure rapidly between harvest and
that the selections we make consumption. Loss of quality
for better nutrient-density affects their profitability for
and production characteristics traders and nutritional value
retain their environmental for consumers. This occurs
tolerance and thus reduce the throughout the world. But


20
the problem is particularly in additional job creation all
severe in the developing world down the marketing chain.
where a large proportion of Over the last decade the
produce is often lost, even predominant research efforts
in societies with good wet in vegetables have been
market structures such as to improve productivity.
in the Mekong region of Yet in the face of endemic
Southeast Asia. We will postharvest losses throughout
seek to breed crops with the developing world, it seems
higher nutrient density and that this area of research must
longer shelf-life to ensure the be expanded to redress such
greater bioavailability of the problems. Thus, this area will
proteins, vitamins, minerals, become one of the Center’s
and antioxidant chemicals research priorities.
present in the vegetables when
consumed. AVRDC-bred
golden tomatoes and long Vegetable seed kits for
shelf-life broccoli are both improved nutrition, will be
good, current examples of useful instruments for income
these types of product. generation and disaster relief:
The Center will continue
The research will concentrate to expand its present
on simple, intermediary emphasis on regionally-
technologies to facilitate adapted vegetable seed
quality maintenance of kits comprising seeds of a
vegetables in storage, transport range of adapted, nutritious
to market, and increased shelf- vegetables appropriate for
life that can be introduced households, schools, prisons,
quickly in developing and hospital gardens and
countries as an alternative to which specifically benefit
the large capital investment women, children, the elderly
in equipment required to and other vulnerable groups.
duplicate the centralized We believe that such kits also
postharvest handling systems could be a way to kick-start
typical of many developed small-scale entrepreneurship
countries. Small-scale drying and can be the first step for
and chilling processes in families to grow themselves
Vietnam have been shown to out of poverty. These kits
allow substantial added value have proven to be effective
to vegetable products and help in bolstering vegetable


21
consumption and income 2010 earthquake in Haiti have
generation in poor areas of received the benefit of our
South Asia such as Jharkand seed kits. The outcome must
State in India, in Southeast be beneficial to people affected
Asia in the Philippines, and by natural disasters but in
in several regions in East addition should significantly
Africa. Seed kits for improved raise the profile of the Center
family nutrition also will be and would be an effective
expanded into a program of entry point to donors for
pre-positioned, regionally- additional new funding.
appropriate, fast-growing,
nutritious vegetable seed kits
for disaster response. Within
six months of the first creation
of such a reserve in 2009,
victims of typhoon Morakot
in Taiwan and the January


22


23

HOW
we will cost
and pay for our
new strategic
research and
development
thrusts

Financial projections and management: The
details of the tactical deployment of this strategy
will be provided as a component of the Center’s
rolling three-year Medium-Term Plan, which
is supported by an annual budget and plan of
work.


24
Financial resources institutions is a difficult
target, it is nonetheless the
In order for the Center to correct goal. The Center must
implement its proposed therefore continue to seek
research and development vigorously for additional
plans effectively to the funding from diverse sources
satisfaction of its partners and must be successful in this
and stakeholders, it will endeavor over the next decade.
require expanded financial This additional funding should
resources and personnel. allow the maintenance of a
Major efforts will therefore be suitable balance of core and
made to not only expand the special project funding that
budget significantly beyond can allow the Center to be
the current ~US $18 million managed effectively.
per year but also to diversify
considerably the core funding We will also focus our research
base which historically and development activities
has been too narrow and in specific geographic and
dependent on a very few loyal thematic areas to maintain
and committed donors. We a critical mass of resources.
also will reinvigorate founder We will be mindful to avoid
member country involvement excessive decentralization to
and find new partner countries allow our personnel resources
and organizations. to be deployed effectively.
Funding requests will
therefore be focused on those
Budget growth and
geographical and thematic
diversification areas that meet the needs
of our priority partners and
This substantial budget stakeholders and for which
growth and diversification specific donors have particular
has been sought—but not interests. Suitable advocacy
achieved —by the Center with donors will also be
almost from its inception. needed to focus their thinking
Centers that were established appropriately on the central
around the same time with role of vegetables to provide
the help of the Rockefeller solutions for malnutrition
Foundation now have annual and improved incomes for the
budgets exceeding $50 rural and urban poor.
million. Although budget
comparability with such


25
Of special concern has been inadequately justified by good
the long-term lack of funding outcomes and impact.
for postharvest research.
The Center will make a specific We propose therefore to a)
effort to ensure that funding minimize our research efforts
for improved human nutrition on cabbage, cauliflower, garlic
and postharvest research and shallots and b) fully
are more evenly balanced ensure all training is carried
in the future with efforts on out on a full-cost recovery
production and profitability basis. Training activities will
throughout the market chain be undertaken case by case,
in order to redress prior and only where impact can
historical under-investment. be seen to be beneficial to
the center’s credibility while
We will operate on a full-cost minimizing the additional time
recovery basis so that we commitment of the Center’s
achieve the highest impact staff. Examples such as higher
with current resources and degree placements with their
have a clear understanding of activities based on the Center’s
what needs to be done next priority research areas would
when more funding comes on fulfill the appropriate criteria.
stream.
Refocusing of research
Improving efficiency: areas
Budgetary adjustments
to bring about change We will reduce our
commitment to crop
To remain flexible to make management research at our
immediate changes, the Center headquarters in Taiwan and
also must be willing to reduce reassign staff where possible
its current emphasis in certain as such research now seems
areas. These areas remain to be better handled by local
deserving but have been partners. To improve research
selected for reduction because efficiency further, we will
other institutions, such as the combine our mycology,
large private seed companies bacteriology, virology, and
or producers in Asia, have entomology groups at
achieved predominant headquarters into a single crop
capability such that our protection entity. In addition,
own activities appear to be some breeding efforts appear


26
to be geographically misplaced In these cases, research
such as onion breeding in infrastructural capacity of
Taiwan (seed production both the public and private
difficulties) and mungbean in sectors is inadequate to meet
Thailand (South Asia being the their domestic vegetable seed
principal target area). These requirements, to facilitate
will now be transferred to safe agricultural production
Mali and India respectively. practices, and to meet dietary
Curcubit breeding also will diversity needs.
be transferred from Taiwan
to Thailand in order to We recognize that enhanced
help obtain multiple crop visibility due to active
generations per year and to participation in disaster
better manage plant disease relief will be beneficial to our
pressure and disease screening credibility with donor agencies
issues. but also recognize that it will
be a much harder task to
Concentration of convert one-off support into
our research and longer term funding. We will
seek to meet this challenge
development efforts to
head-on.
improve effectiveness
and our attractiveness In addition to sub-Saharan
to donors Africa and South Asia, and
some activities in Central
We will work principally in and West Asia and North
tropical/subtropical rural Africa, the remainder of
and peri-urban poor farming AVRDC’s work will be in
environments. We will target the Asia-Pacific region: East
not only those nations with and Southeast Asia, and in
large concentrations of poor Oceania the sovereign states
households in South Asia in Melanesia, Micronesia,
and sub-Saharan Africa, but and Polynesia. This focus
also support research and also reflects the priorities
development activities on of the principal financial
behalf of people living in small supporters of AVRDC: the
countries with limited research Republic of China, the other
capacity, disaster-prone areas founding Asian nations, the
or in post-conflict nations. United Kingdom, the Federal
Republic of Germany, the


27
United States of America, Center’s current budget has
the Australian Center for been increased by at least one
International Agricultural third (essentially by an extra
Research (ACIAR), the Asian US$5-10 million per annum)
Development Bank (ADB) and with money earmarked
and the Asia & Pacific Seed specifically for research and
Association (APSA). development activities in this
region.
Our next target for further
geographical expansion later
in our planning horizon
remains Central America,
but this option will only be
considered as and when the


28


29

OUR
TARGETS
On whom do we expect
our research and
development outcomes
to take effect
At a generic, global level: We will play our role
wholeheartedly in bringing about a world in which
malnutrition is eradicated and vulnerable groups
such as expectant mothers, children, the elderly and
the sick have well-balanced diets with better access
to a diverse range of vitamin and mineral-rich fruit
and vegetables amounting to at least 400 g/person/
day. Our new research and development thrusts are
designed specifically to help reach this target and
associated Millennium Development Goals.


30
Advocacy and education partners to help such outcomes
to reach large numbers of
We will seek to be a clear farmers, marketers, and
beacon of advocacy to consumers at a regional and
overcome the prevailing global level.
lack of comprehension of
dietary requirements and Supply chains and
their health implications income generation
among populations in both
developing and developed We will assist more small-scale
countries. This will ensure farmers and their potential
better understanding of the market chain partners to adopt
rationale for, and the means to horticulture as a more secure
attain, a balanced, healthy diet. means to grow themselves out
We will speak out vigorously of poverty, given the generally
for better nutrition for all higher profitability and shorter
malnourished people. investment period of vegetable
production compared to
Availability and that of cereals and starchy
affordability staples. Higher labor demand
in vegetable production will
In addition to the need also offer greater employment
for education, there is a opportunities for poverty
requirement for greater alleviation to the landless. The
vegetable availability and generation of higher incomes
affordability to different and creation of abundant
segments of the population. labor opportunities along the
Such vegetables must be of vegetable value chain will
good quality, where possible generally benefit and empower
nutrient dense, and also women, as globally women
safe to consume without have historically predominated
contaminants such as pesticide postharvest handling and
residues and pathogen loads. marketing.
We expect our breeding
programs, improved crop
management techniques,
and promulgation of good
agricultural practices to
have a substantive impact in
our target areas and for our


31
Disaster responses varieties and distributed by
the private sector throughout
We will ensure that our pre- sub-Saharan Africa in same
positioned disaster relief manner in which our tomato
seed kits will find an effective varieties ‘Tanya’ and ‘Tengeru
and beneficial niche in the 97’ now dominate their
mitigation of natural and man- respective markets in Tanzania
made disasters that impact and are expected to soon
the poor globally. This will be spread through Eastern and
an important new factor in southern Africa. In this effort
raising donor awareness of the we will complement the efforts
Center’s activities and for our of our major regional partner
better brand recognition at a ICRISAT (International Crops
global level among the NGOs Research Institute for the Semi-
and communities receiving our arid Tropics) that specializes
assistance. in locally-adapted protein-
rich legume crops such as
At regional levels: pigeonpea and groundnut and
staple cereals (sorghum and
Sub-Saharan Africa millet). This partnership also
extends to reinforce our efforts
AVRDC – The World Vegetable in improving nutrition and
Center’s work will make a profitability in South Asia. We
substantive and measurable will also closely involve our
contribution to reduce other IARC partners in Africa:
malnutrition in sub-Saharan IITA (International Institute of
Africa through breeding Tropical Agriculture), ICRAF
programs for both exotic (World Agroforestry Center),
and indigenous vegetables, WARDA (African Rice Center)
improved seed systems, and and icipe (African Insect
crop diversity promulgation Science for Food and Health).
programs with additional
special mentoring of small- South Asia
scale public-private sector
partnerships to support the In South Asian countries we
goals of the Center. We expect will focus on vegetable seed
micronutrient-rich lines, such kits to be the standard initial
as amaranth, African eggplant seed source for smallholder
or β-carotene-rich yellow home gardens and institutional
tomatoes to be developed as vegetable gardens for schools


32
and hospitals. These kits are specific parental material so
specifically selected to be that new lines with improved
appropriate for farming and pest and disease resistance
social systems in the region. can be made available in the
Their use will improve the market. We will also work
nutritional and food security closely with urban and peri-
of the poorest and smallest urban vegetable producers
landholders and should permit in the Greater Mekong area
them to be self-sufficient in to improve productivity,
vegetables throughout the reduce postharvest losses, and
year. With appropriate food increase income generation
preparation methods, which and profitability. This will
will also be part of the Center’s continue our emphasis on
information dissemination ensuring safe vegetable
activities, the nutritional status production in which reduced
of families and communities pesticide contamination, safer
will be improved. This general use of grey water, improved
improvement in health will storage technologies and better
have an impact on immune postharvest management and
systems and will help transportation will result in
overcome some of the most more nutritious and more
deleterious consequences profitable vegetable products.
of diseases such as malaria
and HIV/AIDS and reduce CWANA (Central and
stunting, the impairment of West Asia and North
learning ability, and night
Africa)
blindness in children. This also
applies in other regions of the
In Central and West Asia
world, especially sub-Saharan
and North Africa, we will
Africa.
dovetail our strategy with that
of our current major partner
Southeast Asia ICARDA (International Center
for Agricultural Research
In Southeast Asian countries in the Dry Areas) and thus
we will support small and give greater emphasis than
medium-scale private sector previously to issues associated
companies and work closely with protected agriculture (net
with the national agricultural and plastic house agriculture),
research and extension systems extended seasons of
to develop improved, trait- production, and greater water


33
use efficiency. The Center will Oceania
also maintain its activities in
Central Asia and the Caucasus, For the island nations of
focusing on improved Oceania, the Center will
vegetable lines and crop diversify their vegetable
management methods, and production opportunities and
seed production. Lack of crop limit their current dependence
diversity remains an important on the imported hybrid seed
constraint to productivity and market. Viable local seed
profitability and new crop and seedling enterprises
introductions and alternative will be encouraged and
rotational options will be indigenous germplasm such
given greater emphasis. as Abelmoschus spp. (slippery
Participatory variety trials cabbage) will be preserved
will be continued as a means and utilized. The use of home
of increasing exposure of the gardens and locally grown
national agricultural research products will be important
and extension systems to parts of advocacy for better
new lines and varieties and
extending the availability of
the new material.


34
household nutrition in The Center will become the
association with key regional global focus of breeding
partners such as the Island improvement for currently
Food Community of Pohnpei. neglected indigenous
This NGO has had substantive vegetables that are either
influence on behalf of nutrient-dense or known to
improved nutrition regionally contain health-benefitting
but to date has concentrated properties. This will begin
on starchy staples and bananas with work on African
rather than vegetables. We will eggplant, amaranth,
contribute to existing ongoing nightshade, bitter gourd,
long-term educational and African okra, and slippery
dietary diversity campaigns cabbage.
against malnutrition and
specifically to combat obesity By exploiting the wild and
and the onset of Type II cultivated genepool of the
diabetes and metabolic solanaceous species, our
syndrome, such as is found in breeders will get ahead of
the Marshall Islands. the environmental vagaries
associated with climate
The impacts we expect change. The potential
to achieve as a center of grafting using novel
combinations among these
of vegetable research
species will be used for
excellence new technologies to tolerate
flooding, soil-borne diseases
Improving the levels of and other abiotic stresses.
molecular characterization
of our germplasm collection Over the next 10-15 years we
will make trait selection more will tackle the problem of
feasible. Molecular information tospoviruses head-on and will
will drive the development of become world leaders in the
more markers for accelerating identification, recognition of
breeding. We will take the agents of transmission,
further steps to ensure that and provision of the means
information relevant to the to provide resistance to these
further exploitation of these newly emerging global threats.
genetic resources is fully
transparent and more easily New techniques for improved
available to all. crop management will be


35
introduced at levels that diversity are in harmony with
are suitable for wide-scale our partner’s efforts in work
adoption by poor farmers involving the fortification and
and we will continue to biofortification of diets.
advocate and promulgate
Good Agricultural Practices Helping women achieve
(GAP) such as integrated pest greater equity
management measures to
ensure the safety and nutritive Growing vegetables provides
quality of vegetable products greater opportunities for
both pre- and postharvest. women than work on farms
producing predominantly
We will maximize at regional starchy staples or cash crops.
level the efficiency of all AVRDC will capitalize on
elements of the market chain these opportunities, which
and devise chain models include hiring additional labor
that provide a fair deal on, as well as off, the farm.
for smallholder farmers Women have a significant role
and marketers and make in value-addition after harvest,
vegetables sufficiently and their participation in
affordable to the urban poor vegetable value chains not only
to help overcome the threat of has implications for income
malnutrition through adoption but also for their, and their
of better balanced diets. children’s, nutritional status.
Employment opportunities
High quality capacity building for women in the operations
in all areas associated with after harvest can be significant,
the work of AVRDC - The thus empowering women not
World Vegetable Center will only within the households,
be delivered. The future but at the community level
sustainability of the Center’s and at higher levels thereafter.
efforts at all levels, from The Center will monitor and
local to international, will be make more strategic effort in
maintained. furthering equitable gender
relations throughout its
We will ally ourselves research and development
closely with the health and activities. We will work to
nutrition sectors to ensure ensure that equity is promoted
that our efforts to overcome rather than hampered by our
malnutrition through crop technologies and processes.


36
The Center’s geographical the role of women, reducing
locations are where women postharvest losses, and
often require support to contributing to increased
empower themselves in health and nutrition. Such
vegetable production and information and technologies
vegetable market chains. will be promulgated in the
public domain.
Our expected impact on
capacity building Achieving a balance
in research and
Historically, AVRDC has development activities:
trained several thousand Our unique mandate
NARES, NGOs and private
sector staff and farmers. The Center will continue to
We expect to continue such find the appropriate balance
activities at a comparable between research and
scale and thus a substantial development. One of the many
number of agricultural and advantages to working along
horticultural scientists (higher the continuum is that the end-
degree students and on-the-job users’ needs and requirements
training), nutritionists, water are easily made known to
specialists, and development those doing the research,
practitioners will receive and thus are incorporated
specialist training during at the beginning of the
the next 15 years. This will research process at the Center.
strengthen the public and Multidisciplinary teams will
private sector capacity for ensure that all aspects of a
plant breeding and seed constraint are understood and
production in a range of all the potential opportunities
countries in sub-Saharan are assessed. AVRDC has
Africa, Central and West Asia, flexible and innovative teams
Oceania, and elsewhere. The of scientists performing
technologies developed by leading research and able to
the Center, and the training adapt local innovations from
and capacity-building, will one part of the world to others.
contribute to improving The Center will build on its
production capacity, mitigating current Global Technology
the problems generated by Dissemination activities.
climatic uncertainty and These will be strengthened and
reducing risk, enhancing used as the conduit to deliver


37
technologies, thus leaving The Center’s role
the more upstream scientists in research and
relatively free to pursue
development will be
targeted research and to
ensure the Center has the best better appreciated
technical capacity to deliver globally through
the technologies properly so our outreach and
that they create sustainable communications
impact. strategy

While AVRDC – The World
Vegetable Center’s research


38
and development outputs diabetes, and the chronic
must be good enough to speak physical consequences
for themselves among our resulting from unbalanced
stakeholders, the Center will diets.
also work towards increasing
the scope and appreciation Through our publications we
of its work globally through will provide targeted, readily
increased publicity and available and accessible
advocacy. The Board of information that is useful for
Directors also will increase researchers, development
their efforts in working with workers, farmers and
the management in effective policy makers. The Center’s
advocacy. scientists will increasingly
publish in academic journals
We will contribute to of good standing and
international conferences further produce effective
and related events as the extension materials. Staff
premier public international will be trained to effectively
horticultural research institute use communication media
and we will seek to guide the and to publish for different
policies of countries where audiences and purposes in
malnutrition and lack of our different publication
dietary diversity remains series. Electronic distribution
a constraint to human will be the main form of
health. Through face-to-face dissemination for all but a
communications the Center few extension publications.
will seek to inform donors There will be increasing use of
on opportunities to alleviate Open Access journals where
poverty and malnutrition appropriate, and compliance
with high value, nutritious with international standards
vegetables. The Center will for document indexing and
speak out to the people and metatagging to ensure that
policy makers of developed our publications are freely
and developing countries accessible via major global
on the likely economic and search engines and document
health burdens arising from a repositories.
significant proportion of the
population being obese and
prone to non-communicable
diseases such as Type II


39
Electronic media will America (USAID) and the
be a major focus of our United Kingdom (DFID) who
communication activities. have contacted the Center in
We will maintain a current the past to assist in disaster
and informative English mitigation.
language website with most
sections also available in
French and Chinese. The
Center’s website will play an
increasing role as a portal to
promote the breadth of our
work, access our publications,
order germplasm, interact
with Center staff and build
connections to leading global
development partners.

Through short production
cycle, adapted and easy-to-
grow vegetables, the Center
will become involved to a
much greater extent in disaster
mitigation and post-conflict
support by preparing and
storing large numbers of home
garden seed kits (which will
also include production and
consumption information
prepared in local languages),
pre-positioned with those
who are at the forefront of
disaster relief activities to
disseminate the seed packs
on the Center’s behalf in the
most appropriate and effective
manner. This will also allow
us to respond quickly to the
requests of important donors
such as the United States of


40
Conclusion

In the years ahead, AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center must
certainly live up to its name and become the premier international
public-domain center of excellence for research and development
on vegetables working on behalf of the developing world. We will
make major positive contributions to the alleviation of poverty, to
the eradication of malnutrition and food and health insecurity, and
to the promotion of the good use of germplasm and environmental
resources employed by all vegetable growers, both large- and
small-scale.

We expect to have substantive outcomes and impact at a global
level and thus will justify the confidence our investors placed in us
historically. Our research and development outputs in the future
will further demonstrate our commitment.

We will thus continue to proudly claim that we can help bring
“Prosperity for the poor and health for all.”


41


Avrdc strategic plan

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Ähnlich wie Avrdc strategic plan

Ähnlich wie Avrdc strategic plan (20)

Avrdc strategic plan