On July 31st, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of China (Taiwan) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the World Vegetable Center. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that under the memorandum, the future will see Taiwan’s vegetable research and development capacity accelerating to align with international standards.
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the World Vegetable Center signed a memorandum of cooperation on vegetable research and development on July 31st. Minister of Agriculture, Chen Junji, and Director of the World Vegetable Center, Marco Wopereis, along with representatives from 10 experimental improvement sites, attended the signing. The Ministry of Agriculture mentioned that building upon a 50-year foundation of collaboration, they aim to work together to align with international innovative research and development, and commit to establishing regionally climate-resilient and environmentally responsible vegetable industries to ensure the health and nutrition of global consumers.
The Ministry of Agriculture highlighted that the World Vegetable Center is a significant international agricultural organization headquartered in Taiwan, focused on promoting high-nutrition vegetable production and consumption to address poverty and malnutrition issues in developing countries. Furthermore, the center houses the world’s largest public vegetable germplasm bank with 330 species and over 60,000 accessions from 155 countries. It has collaborated with Taiwanese academic and research institutions to introduce 42 heat-tolerant and disease-resistant vegetable varieties. Over the past 3 years, they have provided over 4,200 germplasms and accessions for Taiwanese seed companies to breed new vegetable varieties.
“The World Vegetable Center is committed to talent development, offering learning opportunities for agricultural experts and students from Taiwan and other countries. In the past 10 years, the Ministry of Agriculture has sent 38 vegetable and plant disease experts to receive training at the center. The center has also assisted in training disease and pest detection and resistance screening technicians for our vegetable industry,” said the Ministry of Agriculture.
Through the signing of this memorandum of cooperation, the Ministry of Agriculture’s agricultural research institutes, agricultural drug testing institutes, 7 regional agricultural improvement sites, and seed improvement and breeding facilities, a total of 10 institutions, will strengthen collaboration with the center. They will leverage the center’s international research network and utilize the newly completed state-of-the-art experimental building and advanced equipment to facilitate exchange between Taiwanese researchers and top global research talents, enhancing innovation in vegetable research and seed industry.
The World Vegetable Center expressed gratitude towards the Ministry of Agriculture of Taiwan for their significant role in the center’s governance and development during their tenure as a national council member. In recent years, the center has collaborated with public and private sectors in Taiwan to assist in germplasm breeding, successfully increasing over 1,300 germplasms. Some seeds are retained by the public and private sectors to enrich local vegetable germplasm in Taiwan, and others have been sent back to Southeast Asia for conservation and continuation of heritage.
The World Vegetable Center emphasized its commitment to promoting safe and effective vegetable disease prevention and control. In recent years, they have formed a multinational plant disease research team to assist farmers in Taiwan and Thailand in detecting tomato viruses and related diseases using various strategies to effectively control virus diseases, aiming for sustainable tomato production.
Furthermore, the World Vegetable Center stated that they are dedicated to becoming an open science center and addressing regional vegetable industry issues. Over the next 3 years, they will focus on five major aspects of vegetable innovation projects: low-carbon production systems, multi-body breeding tools, rapid breeding processes, safe prevention and treatment, and promoting diverse vegetables to enhance nutrition. They will continue collaborating with Taiwan’s public and private sectors and important international agricultural research institutions to propose vegetable development strategies aligned with regional needs.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of China expressed that based on the fruitful cooperation results, the signing of this memorandum of cooperation will see both parties work towards carbon reduction sustainability, smart efficiency, health, and safety. They will leverage their respective strengths, complementary characteristics, and synergies in areas of mutual concern to strengthen cooperation, creating a more resilient vegetable production system globally to achieve sustainable cooperation and common goals, ensuring the health and nutrition of consumers worldwide.