July 29, 2022

The Taiwan-Africa Vegetable Initiative of the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) donated more than 5,000 seed kits to the Government of Eswatini to revitalize and preserve traditional African vegetables. WorldVeg Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Dr. Gabriel Rugalema said that the seed kits contain a variety of traditional African vegetables that are well adapted to the Eswatini environment and cropping system. The TAVI project is complementing ongoing national programs to ensure hunger and malnutrition are eradicated through access to improved seeds of nutritious and healthy traditional vegetables in Eswatini.
 

Delegates from the Ministry of Agriculture Eswatini, Taiwan Council of Agriculture, Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and WorldVeg Photo: Mduduzi Mlambe/WorldVeg
 

The project, now in its second year of implementation, is being supported by the Taiwan Council of Agriculture (COA) and the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to conserve and use African vegetable biodiversity to address malnutrition by increasing the production and consumption of nutritious vegetables. Mr. Vincent Lin, Director General for International Affairs, said that COA recognizes the urgency and importance of investing in germplasm conservation in the African region and improving the diets of citizens through nutritious vegetables.

The event also featured the groundbreaking ceremony at the Malkerns Research Station, where the extension and rehabilitation of the Eswatini’s National Plant Genetic Resources Centre (NPGRC) genebank will take place. The Chief Research Officer, Mr Thembinkosi Gumedze said the upgrade of the genebank of Eswatini’s NPGRC infrastructure is expected to benefit the country as it will become a regional vegetable germplasm resources center that will be attractive for researchers, breeders, and seed companies in Eswatini and Southern African Region.
 

Photo: Mduduzi Mlambe/WorldVeg

Website: https://avrdc.org/

Published: July 29, 2022