World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg)

WorldVeg is an international non-profit research and development institute committed to alleviating poverty and malnutrition in low and lower-middle-income countries through increased production and consumption of vegetables. It also manages the world’s largest vegetable gene bank.

The Centre’s research and development work focus is on:

• breeding improved vegetable lines
• developing and promoting safe production practices
• reducing postharvest losses
• improving the nutritional value of vegetables.

This results in:

• higher vegetable harvests
• higher incomes
• more jobs
• healthier and more nutritious diets.

ACIAR has a strategic partnership agreement with WorldVeg. We provide WorldVeg with both core funding and project-specific funding. The partnership supports vegetable breeding activities and capacity-building through the development of:

• improved vegetable varieties
• introduction of agricultural practices
• collaboration and capacity building of public and private seed sectors

ACIAR funding has supported:

• conservation of crop biodiversity
• more resilient crops to biotic and abiotic constraints
• good agricultural practices that are safe for consumers
• profitable and sustainable value-chains
• improved capacity of smallholder farmers
• national partners in production and commercialisation.

WorldVeg has brought significant benefits to Australian agriculture, through its:

• mungbean breeding program providing the varieties grown across most of northern Australia
• tomato breeds with genetic resistance to yellow leaf curl virus which poses an ongoing threat to the Australian tomato industry.