highlighting horticulture in mali -...

12 December 2013 www.avrdc.org

Putting taste to the

test: Consumers at

AVRDC HQ evaluate

vegetables for flavor,

appearance, texture

and aroma

page 5

Highlighting horticulture in Mali

(...continued on page 2)

AVRDC

training

increases

skills and

knowledge of

vegetable

producers,

and tours

raise

awareness of

best practices

A Farmers’ Day

in Kazakhstan:

One of many

events to

promote

vegetables in

Central Asia

pages 10-11

Mali’s vegetable seed sector faces many challenges in improving the quality,

availability, accessibility, and affordability of seed of improved lines developed by the Institute of Rural Economy (IER) and AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center.

To build local capacity in seed multiplication and delivery, especially in the

Sikasso region, a training of trainers workshop in vegetable seed

production was held on 12-13 November 2013 at AVRDC’s Samanko Research Station in Bamako.

Strengthening Mali’s vegetable seed producers

2

(...continued from page 1)


The workshop, part of the USAID-Mali

project “Improving Vegetable Production and Consumption in Mali,” brought

together 25 participants (9 women and 16

men) from six seed companies and

producers’ organizations: Faso Kaba, Mali Semence, Nakoshi, Baddar Seed, UNCPM

(Union Nationale des Coopératives de

Planteurs et Maraîchers) and Sahel Veto. The participants learned various

techniques for vegetable seed production,

processing and storage. Over the short-

and medium-term, the knowledge they gained will be transferred to farmer seed

producers throughout the Sikasso region.

As well as being exposed to improved

production methods and technologies, the

participating seed companies and

organizations also learned how to better monitor seed production activities with

contract seed producers. Some

participants, who up until to now imported vegetable seed to sell in Mali,

realized that it was possible to build a

successful seed business in the country

based on the national seed production network. As they begin to disseminate

their new knowledge, the trainers will

strengthen Mali’s vegetable seed sector in the years to come.

Tomato

Roselle

Okra

African eggplant


3

AVRDC Mali recently hosted a

tour of Africa Rising project activities for partners from the

International Institute for Tropical

Agriculture (IITA), International

Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Savanna Agricultural

Research Institute (SARI – Ghana)

and IITA Nigeria. Local partners including MOBIOM (Movement

Biologique Malien), AMASSA

(Agence Malienne de Sécurité et

Souveraineté Alimentaire), AMEDD (Association Malienne

d’Eveil pour le Développement

Durable), and the Institute of Rural Economy (IER), along with staff

from USAID Mali, the International

Crops Research Institute for the

Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the World Agroforestry Center

(ICRAF) based at Samanko

Research Station also joined the delegation for the activity, held on

23 October 2013 in Molobala distict

of Koutiala in Sikasso, southern

Mali.

AVRDC staff welcomed visitors and

gave an overview of project, which aims to enhance vegetable value

chains in rice-based and sole crop

production systems to improve farm household income and

consumer access to safer

vegetables.

In Sikasso, there are four

demonstration gardens acting as

best practice hubs serving 10-15 satellite villages within a radius of

15 km. The hubs are learning

centers where best production

practices, research and training are implemented to share knowledge

with vegetable producers. The

demonstration gardens serve to test and identify farmer-preferred

vegetable varieties and the best

practices for irrigation systems,

mulching, and plant protection techniques, with a particular focus

on environmental sustainability.

Farmers participate in the evaluation and selection of these

technologies.

Visitors got a look at seedling

nurseries and four irrigation

systems. They showed keen interest

in an environmentally sustainable method of nursery soil disinfection

that uses solarization and neem

(Azachdirachta indica) treatments

to reduce pathogenic fungi, nematodes, and weed seeds.

Eighty producers (8 men and 72

women) work in the Molobala demonstration garden. During the

delegation’s tour of Molobala, the

women invited the visitors into the new training center, where they

demonstrated methods for tomato

juice extraction. In training courses

offered by AVRDC staff, the women learned how to extract tomato juice

and process it when tomato

supplies are high. The processed juice can be kept for six months,

providing a nutritious vegetable

product when fresh tomato is

scarce in the market. The group intends to begin selling the juice in

the future.

At the Flola garden in Bougouni

district, women farmers expressed

a desire to receive seed of AVRDC’s improved vegetable lines, especially

okra, which has been tested in that

location. The women preferred

these okra lines because of their productivity, earliness, and

viscosity.

Garden hubs disseminate best practices

Gender on the agenda

4 CORNUCOPIA

Gender was the topic of discussion from 18-22

November 2013 when 22 AVRDC staff along with Pham Thi My Linh from the Fruits and Vegetables

Research Institute, Vietnam and Viengvilaylack

Phoutthalath from the Clean Agriculture

Development Center, Laos met at headquarters for an intensive training course on integrating gender

concepts and strategies into research and

development projects.

Taught by Barun Gurung, Lead Trainer, Women

Organizing for Change in Agricultural and Natural

Resource Management, the course covered gender mainstreaming—a means to assess the different

implications for women and men of any planned

action, such as a project to increase peri-urban vegetable production.

Mainstreaming values diversity among women and men, and aims to address inequality between men

and women in the sharing of power and decision-

making at all levels. It is a strategy to make women's

as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation,

monitoring and evaluation of policies and projects so

that women and men benefit equally, and gender equality is the result.

Increasingly, donors want project managers to do more than

simply count the number of women participants that attend a workshop or field day, Dr. Gurung said. Questions must be

asked about how will an activity like growing a home garden

will add to a woman’s household responsibilities, and if it

will enhance her access to household resources. Project activities must address these kinds of issues with gender-

appropriate solutions if they are to succeed.

The course sessions challenged all participants to think

more broadly about their projects, their relationships with

partner organizations, and institutionally to foster greater

learning and change to bring about gender equality.

Barun Gurung (r), Lead Trainer, challenged participants to keep gender equality in mind when planning project activities.

5 CORNUCOPIA

A matter of taste

The human tongue is covered with thousands of small bumps

called papillae. Within each papilla are hundreds of taste buds—the sensory organs that relay flavors and other

impressions of food to the nerves and brain. Each taste bud

contains 50 to 100 taste receptor cells.

AVRDC headquarters staff recently had the opportunity to

exercise their taste buds in the name of science by

contributing their opinions on the taste, aroma, texture and appearance of vegetable soybean (Glycine max, 27 November

2013); red and high-beta carotene cherry tomato (Solanum

lycopersicum var. cerasiforme, 5 December); mustard

(Brassica juncea, 6 December); and radish (Raphanus sativus, December 9) during organoleptic tests set up by

plant breeding and genebank staff in the AVRDC cafeteria.

Participants sampled the vegetables and rated each according to their individual preferences.

Organoleptic data helps vegetable breeders better understand why consumers choose one vegetable variety over another.

They use the information to enhance those qualities and

ultimately produce vegetables suited for local market

preferences. High yielding, nutritious vegetable varieties with resistance to pests and diseases, the ability to withstand

drought, flooding and other extreme weather conditions—and

the qualities of taste, texture, color and shape that consumers want—can increase farmers’ incomes.

6 CORNUCOPIA

Recent publications by AVRDC authors

Nicholls, T., Elouafi, I., Borgemeister, C.,

Campos-Arce, J.J., Hermann, M.,

Hoogendoorn, J., Keatinge, J.D.H.,

Kelemu, S., Molden, D.J. and Roy, A. 2013.

Transforming rural livelihoods and

landscapes: sustainable improvements to

incomes, food security and the environment.

AIRCA White Paper. 42 p.

http://www.airca.org/wp-content/

uploads/2013/11/AIRCA_Working-

paper_final_online_mid-res.pdf

Genova C,

Schreinemachers P, Afari-

Sefa V. 2013. An impact

assessment of AVRDC’s

tomato grafting in Vietnam.

AVRDC – The World

Vegetable Center, Shanhua,

Taiwan. AVRDC Publication

No. 13-773. 52 p. (Research

in Action; no. 8).

http://avrdc.org/?wpfb_dl=845

Fink A, Neave S, Hickes A,

Wang JF, Nand N. 2013.

Vegetable production,

postharvest handling, and

marketing in Fiji. AVRDC –

The World Vegetable Center,

Shanhua, Taiwan. AVRDC

Publication No. 13-771. 41 p.

(Research in Action; no. 7).


AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center.

2013. Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific

Symposium on Molecular Breeding,

Shanhua, Taiwan, 1-3 October 2013.

Schafleitner R, Karihaloo JL (eds.).

AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center,

Shanhua, Taiwan. AVRDC Publication 13-

772. 33 p.


Welcome

Albert Fomumbod Abang, a

graduate student from Cameroon posted at AVRDC’s Liaison Office in

Yaoundé, returned to AVRDC

headquarters in October for further

work on his studies of “Insect – plant interactions between okra genotypes

and aphids with special reference to Aphis gossypii

Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Cameroon” under the supervision of Srinivasan Ramasamy in Entomology.

Albert spent six months each in 2012 and 2013 at HQ to

conduct his research, which will be included in his

doctoral dissertation to be submitted to the University of Yaoundé I.

Gabriel Michael Njau, a graduate

student from Tanzania, has an internship through February 2015 at

AVRDC Eastern and Southern Africa,

Arusha, Tanzania to study “Developing

IPM strategies for thrips and/or thrips transmitted viruses on onion and

tomato” under the supervision of Vegetable Breeder

Fekadu Fufa Dinssa. Gabriel will be at AVRDC headquarters through 30 January 2014 for training with

Entomologist Srinivasan Ramasamy. The research will

contribute to his master’s thesis at the University of Dar

es Salaam, Tanzania.

7 CORNUCOPIA


Visitors

at

HQ Campus

A group of 22 visitors, including professors and

students from Agriculture Meister College, San Gji University, Korea, toured the

Demonstration Garden and Genebank as part

of a study tour to Taiwan on 19 November

2013. Myeong-Cheoul Cho, AVRDC Seconded Scientist from Korea’s Rural

Development Administration, briefed the

visitors on AVRDC activities during their tour.

Fifteen visitors from Shilin Hsien,

Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China, took a quick tour of AVRDC

headquarters on 22 November. Visitor

Coordinator Shiu-luan Lu gave an

overview of AVRDC’s work and Research Assistant Yu-Hsia Huang

guided the group through the

Demonstration Garden.

Former AVRDC Board Chair Paul Sun

(third from left) guided seven visitors from Hunan Province, PRC through the Demo

Garden and Genebank on 25 November.

8 CORNUCOPIA


A delegation from the Vietnam’s Field Crops Research Institute

led by Deputy Directory Ngo Doan Dam arrived in Taiwan on 2 December to tour AVRDC headquarters and visit vegetable farms and

Taiwan research institutes. At AVRDC they met with researchers Jaw-

Fen Wang, Srinivasan Ramasamy, Lawrence Kenyon, Sanjeet Kumar,

Shi-fen Lu, Yun-che Hsu, and Myeong-Cheoul Cho, and viewed the Demonstration Garden and Fertigation Greenhouse with Willie Chen.

Yung-kuan Huang led the group through the Genebank. On December

4, the group visited the Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experimental Branch Station and a local organic farm. The next day, they headed to

the Si-lo Wholesale Market and went to the Si-lo Farmers’ Association,

where vegetables are packed for sale to supermarkets.

A study group of 45 teachers and students

from National Shanhua Senior High School toured the AVRDC campus on 4

December. The students got a close look

at the Demonstration Garden, where

more than 100 varieties of traditional vegetables from around the world are

grown.

Forty-five students and faculty members from Department of Life

Sciences, National Taitung University visited AVRDC headquarters on 29 November 2013. They were briefed by Visitor Coordinator Shiu-

luan Lu, and were guided through the Demonstration Garden by Willie

Chen.

Four researchers from Guangxi

Agricultural Department, People’s Republic of China (PRC) visited

AVRDC on 11 December. They received

a briefing from Deputy Director

General Yin-fu Chang, and toured the Demonstration Garden with Willie

Chen.

Ngo Doan Dam, Deputy Director of the Field Crops Research Institute of Vietnam (l) presents a traditional Vietnamese agricultural calendar to AVRDC Director General Dyno Keatinge.

9 CORNUCOPIA

Seminars

Woei-Jiun Guo, Assistant Professor, Institute of Tropical Plant Sciences, National Cheng

Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, spoke to AVRDC headquarters staff about the potential

function of sugar transporters in feeding microbes on 14 November 2013. Sugars may be

signals for plant immunity; for instance, infection with Cucumber mosaic virus leads to

increased sugar levels in melon leaves, and sucrose has been found to mediate defense

responses in rice plants. Plants have the ability to modulate their sugar pools to act either as

a source of carbon and energy or to use as signals, perhaps as priming agents to intensify

their immune reactions to viruses and diseases.

Tzu-Ying Yeh, Research Fellow from the Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment

Branch of the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), discussed her research on

“Exposure to cytoplasmic male sterility in peppers and testing validity of markers associated

with CMS cytoplasm” during a seminar on 28 November 2013 at AVRDC headquarters.

Producing high quality hybrid pepper seed is a labor-intensive effort that requires careful

management of the parental lines; CMS decreases the cost of hybrid seed production. Based

on her research, Tzu-Ying suggested that markers could have applications in AVRDC’s CMS

pepper breeding activities.

Jui-Chang Huang, Research Fellow from the Tainan District Agricultural Research and

Extension Station, Taiwan Council of Agriculture (COA), recently established an organic

demonstration farm at AVRDC headquarters for use in education and training and to

showcase research results. In a seminar about the new operation on 29 November 2013, Jui-

Chang told AVRDC staff that Taiwan’s organic production rose from about 500 hectares in

2003 to 5800 hectares in 2013, and that the country is seeking to transition more farmers to

organic production. The 6-hectare farm has traditional vegetable plots, a nursery, net houses

for vegetable production, a rice-soybean-maize rotation in the open field, an ecological pond,

an exotic fruit tree orchard, a pitaya (dragonfruit) field, and a composting shed. Jui-Chang

and his colleagues set up the farm and made improvements to existing net houses, where

melons, sweet pepper, and brassicas are grown in rotation. They planted 18 traditional

vegetable species for their climate resilience, nutritional values, and taste preferences in

Taiwan. Rosemary, basil, lemongrass, and marigold were planted to repel pests. Soil health

and water use are carefully monitored. The team also developed a training program for

organic vegetable production. In 2014, the team intends to renovate an existing structure as

a training room, establish standard operating procedures, and obtain organic certification.

On 29 November 2013, Chien-Ming Chou, Research Fellow from the Taiwan Agricultural

Research Institute, discussed his work in screening cucurbits/melons for virus resistance

during his three-month stay at AVRDC headquarters to participate in a joint AVRDC –

Taiwan Council of Agriculture (COA) research project. Among other activities, he established

disease nurseries for screening melons for resistance to whitefly-transmitted Squash leaf

curl Philippines virus (SLCuPV). Controlling insect pests with insecticides can damage the

health of farmers, consumers and the environment, while physical barriers such as net

houses are costly to set up and maintain. Virus-resistant varieties offer farmers the most

efficient and cost-effective means to combat pests and diseases. His team found six relatively

tolerant lines (12207, 13472, 13473, 13478, 13479, 13480) which showed reduced/

delayed symptom development.

Vegetable network meets in Central Asia and the Caucasus


The Sixth Steering Committee

Meeting of the Central Asia and the Caucasus Vegetable

System Research and

Development Network was held

in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 26-28 November 2013. Participants

assessed ongoing collaborations,

discussed the status of current research, and explored issues for

the development of sustainable

vegetable production in the region.

The discussions sought to assist national agricultural research

systems in the development of

strategies for crop diversification, food safety, nutritional security,

off-season vegetable production,

and postharvest technologies.

Thirty-five participants took part,

including national coordinators for

vegetable research and development from Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Each reported on their

collaborative activities with AVRDC

– The World Vegetable Center, and

shared results of regional variety trials. In a special session,

representatives from Armenia,

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

presented their achievements in the release of improved varieties, seed

production, and technology

development. Following the example of Uzbekistan, Armenia

adopted AVRDC’s tomato grafting

technology in 2013.

During the meeting, participants

discussed arrangements for seed

multiplication of promising and released vegetable varieties to

supply farmers with quality seed to

extend and increase production and

improve export opportunities for vegetables. They also examined

ways to strengthen the capacity of

national agricultural research systems in market economies.

Much emphasis was placed on the

need for demonstrating improved

technologies and delivering knowledge to farmers.

A total of 35 new varieties of 8 vegetable crops including tomato,

sweet and hot pepper, eggplant,

vegetable soybean, mungbean, yard-long bean and cabbage have

been released and registered in

state registries across the region to

date. In 2013, sweet pepper ‘Sabo’ (PP0437– 7031) and

eggplant ‘Feruz’ (AVRDC genebank

accession) were released in Uzbekistan, and snap bean

‘Mravalmartzvala’ (TOT 5976) in

Georgia. In Kazakhstan, state

patents were received on two sweet pepper varieties ‘Bayan

10 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS

Visiting a greenhouse at Tashkent State Agrarian University.


Certificates of Honor

To mark AVRDC’s 40th Anniversary, 11 partner research institutes and universities were awarded Certificates of Honor by the CGIAR Program Facilitation Unit for Central Asia and the Caucasus and AVRDC for their contributions to agricultural research, production, and collaboration:

Scientific Center of Vegetable,

Melons & Industrial Crop, Armenia

Azerbaijan Research Institute of Vegetable Growing, Azerbaijan

Institute of Farming, Agricultural University of Georgia

Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Growing, Kazakhstan

Kyrgyz Research Institute of Crop Husbandry, Kyrgyzstan

Institute of Horticulture and Vegetable Growing, Tajikistan

Research Institute of Crop Husbandry of Turkmenistan

Uzbek Research Institute of Vegetable, Melon Crops and Potato, Uzbekistan

Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry, Uzbekistan

Tashkent State Agrarian University, Uzbekistan

Samarkand Agricultural Institute, Uzbekistan

Sulu’ (0037-7645) and ‘Kaz-

Tai’ (PBC-762sel), and hot pepper ‘Piquant’ (9950-5197). All of the

varieties are new to the region,

offering farmers more choice of

crops and consumers a wider range of produce at the market.

Farmers’ Days were conducted throughout the year in seven

countries to introduce the new

varieties and appropriate cultivation

methods—and also to show visitors how to cook the new vegetables for

maximum nutritional benefit.

The group also took time to enjoy an

outing to the 9th International Agricultural Exhibition

“UzAgroExpo” held in Tashkent on

27-29 November, where they saw the

latest technologies and met with representatives of agricultural

companies to discuss potential

partnerships. They also made a stop at a new greenhouse with a drip

irrigation system constructed at

Tashkent State Agrarian University.


Farmers’ Day in Turkmenistan

Azerbaijan (l) and Kazakhstan also hosted special events to introduce farmers to new vegetable varieties.

The benefits of bele

Many people in the Pacific do not

realize that bele (Abelmoschus manihot) is one of the most

nutritious traditional vegetables in

Oceania. “This indigenous green

vegetable can play an important role in improving micronutrient

deficiencies in the diets of Pacific

Island people, who suffer from some of the highest rates of diet-

related non-communicable diseases

in the world,” said Sairusi Bulai,

Acting Director for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)

Land Resources Division. Mr. Bulai

made the observation during a three-day regional meeting that

began on 4 December 2013 to

discuss the Bele Project, an

initiative to promote the crop for sustainable development in the

region. The meeting was held at

SPC's Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) at Narere, Fiji.

Participants from New Caledonia,

Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji were

joined by AVRDC Genebank

Manager Andreas Ebert, Project Coordinator–Pacific Islands Ellen

Iramu, and representatives of the

FAO Treaty Secretariat in Rome,

the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji, and staff of SPC.

“Bele is known to many of us in the Pacific by several names, such as

aibika, aelan cabbage, slippery

cabbage or pele, and it has so much

potential, yet it is neglected when compared to the research and

funding invested on other vegetable

crops,” Bulai said.

The project will consolidate

protocols for conserving bele using tissue culture methods and virus

indexing developed at SPC to

support capacity building for

partner countries and the region. AVRDC will share its expertise in

molecular characterization and the

diversity of bele germplasm

available in the Center’s genebank. In each participating country, bele

diversity will be indentified, and

climate-resilient varieties with

demonstrated tolerance to pests and diseases will be selected. The

project will conduct economic

analyses of production methods for bele, and delve into biosecurity

issues and requirements for export

markets. Bele consumption will be

promoted through posters highlighting its unique diversity

and nutritional qualities.

A regional core collection to be

established at CePaCT will be the

project’s major achievement—

something that has never occurred in previous projects on the crop.

The Bele Project is funded by French Pacific Funds.

Secretariat of the Pacific Community

http://www.spc.int/


(left): Bele meeting participants at SPC Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees, Narere, Fiji.

Sairusi Bulai (above), Acting Director for SPC Land Resources Division, told participants that traditional vegetables like bele can supply the micronutrients needed to improve the health of people throughout Oceania.

Roger Malapa explains how to characterize bele, or abika.

40th Anniversary seed packs

More than 600 staff from the

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid

Tropics (ICRISAT) received

AVRDC 40th Anniversary seed

packs from AVRDC staff at the start of the annual Diabetes Day

walk on 14 November 2013 at the

ICRISAT campus in Hyderabad, India. The packs contained seed of

cherry tomatoes, spinach and

basella with instructions on how to

grow these nutritious crops on a

small apartment balcony, and

highlighted the impact of AVRDC’s work over recent decades in India

and the importance of vegetables to

good health. Regional Director

Warwick Easdown addressed the ICRISAT staff and noted the

role of vegetables in a balanced diet

and the nutrition and exercise growing a home vegetable garden

can provide. ICRISAT’s campus

doctor, Dr. Reddy, discussed the

importance of a balanced diet to

good health, and Director General

Willie Dar said that international agricultural research had been

biased towards cereals and that a

more balanced approach to

improve nutrition was needed. AVRDC and ICRISAT staff, along

with students from the

International School of Hyderabad based on the campus, then took

some exercise by walking from the

front gate to their workplaces.


(left): O.S. Tomar (r) and Rehana Shaik (2nd from right) present a seed pack to Prabhakar Reddy (3rd from right), ICRISAT.

(right): Aqil Mohamed distributing seed packs.

14 CORNUCOPIA

Conference corner

SEAVEG2014: Families, Farms, Food

Regional Symposium on Sustaining Small-Scale Vegetable Production and Marketing Systems for Food and Nutrition Security

25-27 February 2014

Bangkok, Thailand

Submission of full papers / Deadline for registration payment 15 December 2013

http://avrdc.org/SEAVEG2014/

IHC Brisbane

International Symposium on Promoting the Future of Indigenous Vegetables Worldwide

18-20 August 2014

Brisbane, Australia

Presenter registration deadline (includes presented posters) 17 February 2014

http://www.ihc2014.org/symposium_13.html

International Bitter Gourd Conference (BiG 2014)

Innovative Research and Scientific Exchange Focused on Bitter Gourd

20-24 March 2014

Hyderabad, India

Call for abstracts closes 1 February 2014

http://big-2014.com/

15 CORNUCOPIA

17th Seeds and Seedling Festival, Taiwan

AVRDC showcased its research activities and improved lines during the 17th Seeds and Seedling Festival at the

Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (DARES) in Xinhua on 29-30 November 2013. More than 600 people visited the Center’s colorful exhibit, where sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes, cucurbits and

traditional vegetables were on display.

16 CORNUCOPIA

Fresh, 12 December 2013

Fresh is published by

AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center

P.O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan 74199

Taiwan

www.avrdc.org

Comments, ask a question, add a name to our mailing list: [email protected]

Editor: Maureen Mecozzi

Graphic design: Kathy Chen

Photographic guidance: Ming-Che Chen

Contributors: Ba Germain Diarra, Andreas Ebert, Warwick Easdown, Keriba Coulibaly, Ravza Mavlyanova, Albert Rouamba, Lydia Wu

Avnish Sharma, Deputy Director General of the India-

Taipei Association, visited headquarters on 10 December.

He met with Director General Dyno Keatinge, Deputy

Director General – Research Jackie Hughes, Deputy

Director General – Administration & Services Yin-fu Chang, Finance Director Dirk Overweg and several Center

researchers to explore possibilities of cooperation

between India, Taiwan and AVRDC in vegetable research.

(l to r): AVRDC Deputy Director General – Administration & Services Yin-fu Chang; Pepper Breeder Sanjeet Kumar; Entomologist R. Srinivasan; Avnish Sharma, Deputy Director General of the India-Taipei Association; Mrs. Parul Sharma; AVRDC Deputy Director General – Research Jackie Hughes; Director General Dyno Keatinge; Demonstration Garden Assistant Specialist Willie Chen.

ICIMOD’s 30th anniversary

The International Centre for

Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

launched a year-long celebration of

three decades of initiatives for

mountains and people on 5 December 2013 in Kathmandu,

Nepal. Activities to mark the event

include the recently concluded International Conference on

Addressing Poverty and

Vulnerability, and a book that

chronicles the centre’s milestones and learning after 30 years of

engagement in the Hindu Kush

Himalayas. In addition, ICIMOD and partners opened a multimedia

science exhibition titled

Climate+Change in Kathmandu on

International Mountain Day, 11

December. The four-month

exhibition features photography and film exhibits, educational

tours, interactive features, and

activities.

ICIMOD aims to help the people of

the Hindu Kush Himalayas adapt to

emerging challenges and enjoy

improved wellbeing in a healthy mountain environment by

generating and sharing knowledge

to develop solutions to critical mountain issues. AVRDC and

ICIMOD are among the nine

founding members of AIRCA, the

Association of International Research and Development Centers

for Agriculture.

Connecting India and Taiwan

highlighting horticulture in mali -...

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