News
 
Postharvest: The Heat That Pays Off
In the majority of developing countries, postharvest loss is a severe constraint. In extreme cases, up to 50% of vegetables are lost due to mismanagement after harvest. To study potential ways out, a look into the Greater Mekong Region may provide encouraging insight. AVRDC’s postharvest project, funded by the  Asian Development Bank (ADB) and now in its second phase, has assessed the supply chains for five major vegetables in the Greater Mekong Region and found that average losses from farmer to consumer are 20-25%, and are worth US$2.6 billion to the region. The project is now developing pathways to help farmers avoid these extremely high postharvest losses. In Laos, for example, farmers invest in processing chilies in a novel way and start a hot and spicy enterprise concept that has all chances to pay off. Read more
 
Prosperity for the poor, health for all: Dyno Keatinge, the Center's new Director General, assumes duty with a strong vision
"Prosperity for the poor and health for all" through better and safer vegetables. With this claim Dr. Dyno Keatinge assumed his duties as Director General of AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center on 14 April 2008. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian welcomed Dr. Keatinge to the Center's headquarters and spoke about the Center's expanded role from a distinctive Asian research institute to one with a global portfolio and worldwide recognition. Read more
 
Breeding better crops through better and affordable seeds: 4th annual APSA workshop
The fourth annual workshop between AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center and the
Asia & Pacific Seed Association (APSA) was held in the Center's headquarters in Taiwan on 9 -10 April 2008. With a membership of 434 companies from 44 countries, APSA partners with AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center in commercializing the Center's germplasm for use by poor farmers. The Asia-Pacific represents 35 percent of the global seed industry worth about $9 billion.
The workshop covered extensive discussions on the Center's work in tomatoes, peppers and cucurbits, molecular markers, entomology, regional variety testing, training and interaction with the Genetic Resources and Seed Unit (GRSU) at headquarters.
Workshop proceedings
Events
27th Regional Training Course on “Managing Vegetable Production and Marketing”
3 Nov 2008 - 30 Jan 2009, Thailand
Addressing the growing needs of the South East Asian region for the efficient production and marketing of vegetables in the face of globalization and other emerging production and marketing challenges, AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center will continue with its annual 3 month modular Regional Training Course (27th). The course is designed to provide vegetable researchers and extension workers with the necessary skills and technical knowledge, emphasizing on good agricultural practice (GAP), impact assessments, indigenous vegetables, post- harvest technologies and farmer education.
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