The Taiwan-Southeast Asia Vegetable Germplasm Initiative kicked off Dec. 6 in the southern city of Tainan, highlighting the government’s commitment to conserving and sharing plant strains while increasing crop diversity in Southeast Asia.
Launched by Tainan-headquartered World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the initiative seeks to reintroduce unique vegetable species that have disappeared from their original countries using samples that have been collected and stored by the international nonprofit agricultural research institute over the past three decades.
On behalf of Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu, MOFA Secretary General Lily L.W. Hsu said during the launch ceremony that the world is facing serious challenges like climate change and food security. In addition to maintaining sufficient food supplies, ensuring the stability and diversity of food sources is critical, she added.
The initiative will help add variety to people’s diets and enhance nutrient intake in Southeast Asia, she said, adding that it will also facilitate information exchanges on vegetable seed preservation and planting.
According to Hsu, the government will continue working with like-minded partners to support WorldVeg projects in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin America to build a food-secure world.
Following her remarks, WorldVeg Director General Marco Wopereis said the initiative will increase the vegetable diversity of target countries to boost the resilience of food supplies.
Other guests at the event included officials from Taiwan’s Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture and representative offices of Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Established in 1971 by Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, the U.S. and the Asian Development Bank, WorldVeg seeks to reduce malnutrition in developing countries by increasing production and consumption of vegetables. (YCH-E)
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