AVRDC in East and Southeast Asia: Connecting the Region

Transcription

1 AVRDC in East and Southeast Asia: Connecting the Region Briefing Notes External Program and Management Review Prepared by Narinder Dhillon

2 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Historical Background 3 Regional Priorities for Research Programs Funding Strategy 6 Human Resources 6 Essential Achievements 7 Concluding Notes & Outlook 8 Appendix 1: Status of ongoing projects 10 Appendix 2: Success stories 11 Appendix 3: Capacity building records for AVRDC East and Southeast Asia ( ) 13

3 Introduction As populations continue to shift from rural to urban areas in East and Southeast Asia, increasing and changing demands for food will have strong but unpredictable effects on rural and urban livelihoods. While East and Southeast Asia has achieved significant economic progress in the past three decades, this progress has not translated into improved nutrition in several countries in the region. These countries continue to deal with the problems of infectious diseases and undernutrition, such as deficiencies in energy, protein, essential vitamins and minerals, and at the same time are experiencing an upsurge in noncommunicable disease risk factors such as obesity and overweight, particularly in rapidly growing urban areas. Ensuring safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food is available, accessible and affordable year-round is a pressing concern, and the situation is aggravated by climate change, which poses a major risk for the region and exacerbates existing development problems such as population growth, rapid urbanization, increasing competition for natural resources, and environmental degradation. Agriculture, nutrition and health are intrinsically linked with significant implications for the prosperity of people in the region, especially for the poor and other vulnerable groups. AVRDC East and Southeast Asia collaborates with donors and partners to extend the research, development, and capacity building work of AVRDC through networks to benefit farmers and consumers all along the region's vegetable value chain. For instance, AVRDC partners with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states through the ASEAN-AVRDC Network for Vegetable Research and Development (AARNET). Established in 1998, AARNET focuses on strengthening vegetable value chains through sustainable production and trade of high quality vegetables by enhancing vegetable research and development within ASEAN. Through AARNET the Center has developed strong links with national agricultural research and extension systems, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations and donors to develop improved, trait-specific parental material so that new vegetable lines with improved pest and disease resistance can be made available to farmers in the region. AARNET s focus on education and development of market linkages aims to empower farmers to produce vegetables efficiently, benefit from emerging regional and global food markets, and ultimately improve the quality of diets throughout the region by increasing the supply of safe, nutritious, and health-promoting vegetables. Historical Background The Center has had a presence in East and Southeast Asia since The Thailand Outreach and Regional Training Program, known as AVRDC-TOP, was hosted by Kasetsart University, which provided a training base at its campus in Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom Province. AVRDC-TOP offered training on vegetable production and research, special courses, study tours, refresher courses and workshops for Asian researchers and extension workers, and also coordinated networks such as AVNET (Asian Vegetable Network) and SAVERNET (South Asia Vegetable Research Network). Most activities of AVRDC-TOP were funded by the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Development Council (SDC). The office also coordinated USAID-funded vegetable production outreach EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia 3

4 efforts in Bangladesh, and soybean rust and vegetable virus disease research in China with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). In July 1992, the Royal Thai Government approved the establishment of the AVRDC Asian Regional Center to coordinate activities throughout region and link programs with activities at headquarters and in other locations. Training remained a strong focus of the regional center. The International Vegetable Training Course, now in its 33 rd year, was developed and refined at the Asian Regional Center. As AVRDC expanded into other regions of the globe, its regional bases were renamed to reflect closer ties with local and regional needs in vegetable production and consumption. In 2010, the name of the Asian Regional Center was changed to AVRDC East and Southeast Asia. The regional office continues to collaborate closely with Kasetsart University, and emphasizes the development and enhancement of regional networks. Regional Priorities for AVRDC s activities in East and Southeast Asia are aligned with the Center s mission and contribute to building a strong and thriving vegetable sector in the region, which is vital for human health and economic development. The Center s strategy in East and Southeast Asia focuses on: Combating malnutrition: Ensuring a year-round supply of, and access to, affordable nutrient-rich, and safe vegetables for all segments of society. Generating income: Raising incomes, creating jobs, and improving the livelihoods of marginalized and vulnerable groups. Building capacity: Training scientists, extension specialists and farmers, and creating awareness among consumers and policy makers. Developing sustainable solutions: Ensuring responsible use of natural resources. International Year of Family Farming A number activities of in the region are dedicated to the 2014 International Year of Family Farming, which was declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations to highlight the significant role of family and smallholder farmers in eradicating hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition, improving livelihoods, managing natural resources, protecting the environment, and achieving sustainable development, including SEAVEG 2014: Families, Farms, Food - Sustaining Small-Scale Vegetable Production and Marketing Systems for Food and Nutrition Security, a regional symposium organized by AVRDC and partners in Bangkok, Thailand on February The symposium brought together experts and representatives from the vegetable sector to discuss regional vegetable value chains. During their interactions at the symposium, staff from agricultural and environmental agencies, universities, policy makers, farmers, consumers, and producer groups were able to develop sound recommendations to improve small-scale horticulture and strengthen the region s vegetable sector amid the challenges of a changing climate. The member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to benefit from a regional approach to improving small-scale farming systems. Supporting small-scale farms will put ASEAN in a much stronger economic position in terms of international trade due to improved quality and quantity of vegetable produce and better adherence to internationally accepted phytosanitary and Codex standards, and quality assurance schemes, such as Good Agricultural Practices. Improved resilience to the negative 4 EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia

5 effects of climate change will enable the ASEAN vegetable industry to lessen the impact of natural calamities and disasters. Building capacity The Center s International Vegetable Training Course (now in its 33 rd year) remains a regional priority. Two hundred two people have been trained in the last five years. The course, which is organized in three separate but interrelated one-month long modules, aims to enhance technical, scientific and managerial skills of researchers and extension workers from national and international agricultural research institutes, universities, and nongovernmental organizations. It enables participants to contribute to the sustainable development of their countries through the increased production and consumption of nutritious and health-promoting vegetables. The training course emphasizes advanced and sustainable vegetable production and postharvest technologies, farmer education, human health and nutrition, and marketing. This training enhances awareness and understanding of emerging global development issues and technologies. Ten one-week-long, in-country training courses will be conducted in 2014 in four Southeast Asian countries to cover subjects of integrated pest management, vegetable seed production, postharvest handling, and linking farmers to markets (Cambodia); home gardening, postharvest technologies, and integrated pest management (Indonesia); farmerbased participatory seed production and community seed banks, linking farmers to markets and integrated pest management (Lao PDR); and a writeshop on project development and extension methods (Myanmar). AVRDC East and Southeast Asia s involvement in scaling up agricultural technologies will be more prominent in the coming years. The office will coordinate additional training activities; further dissemination, testing, adaptation and adoption of technologies; and will assure quality data collection and documentation. Climate resilience and safer vegetable production Climate change contributes to frequent flooding, prolonged droughts and temperature extremes that are increasingly affecting the agricultural sector in East and Southeast Asia. To enhance the resilience of vegetable growers in the region to these climatic events, AVRDC promotes technologies such as cultivation on raised beds, microirrigation and grafting. This is complemented by breeding vegetable lines that are tolerant of, or resistant to, abiotic and biotic stresses. AVRDC further promotes integrated crop management strategies to minimize contamination from pesticides and other pollutants as well as improved storage technologies and better postharvest management. These strategies contribute to year-round accessibility and affordability of safe and nutritious vegetables for consumers, and increase profits for vegetable growers. Research and development projects being implemented in the region contribute to the evidence base of safe production technologies for vegetable crops, improve the livelihood of farmers, and increase the availability of wholesome vegetables with reduced risk of pesticide contamination through sustainable production systems. Collaborative multiinstitutional efforts will increase the availability of health-promoting, nutritious and affordable vegetables to the poor through cost-effective and sustainable integrated disease management systems. This includes the appropriate use of begomovirus-resistant varieties of hot pepper, tomato and mungbean crops and minimizing the risk of infection through whitefly vectors. Simple, economical, and environmentally sound IPM strategies to control other major pests and plant diseases will be developed and/or validated and promoted to manage major biotic constraints. EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia 5

6 Combating malnutrition Cucurbits, specifically bitter gourd and pumpkin, are an integral component of vegetable gardens in Asia. These vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, other essential micronutrients and dietary fiber. Bitter gourd and pumpkin breeding by the private seed sector has focused on developing hybrids for larger scale commercial production with horticultural attributes that may be unsuitable for home and school gardens. Schools and home gardens need short-vined varieties with early and late maturity to extend the harvest period. These lines should be high yielding; open-pollinated, so that vegetable gardeners can save the seed for successive plantings; nutritionally dense; resistant to prevalent diseases to minimize pesticide use; and able produce fruit with good shelf life. In , the cucurbit breeding team will evaluate the horticultural traits and nutritional content of advanced breeding lines intended for home vegetable garden production. Generating income From 2014, AVRDC East and Southeast Asia will be involved in activities within the CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics, which aims to help poor farm families boost their incomes from integrated agricultural system intensification while preserving their land for future generations. Regional activities will focus on the Greater Mekong Sub-region, which comprises Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan Province of the People s Republic of China. The Mekong region is undergoing major social, economic and ecological changes, offering a plethora of economic opportunities yet also posing potential threats to ecosystem sustainability. Initial activities will focus on scoping studies on commercial vegetable production as well as home gardening in the target countries. A project staff member is based at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Hanoi, Vietnam to coordinate AVRDC s activities in the region. Funding Strategy for Research Programs In addition to core funding, the region currently has 10 donor-funded projects. Six of these are regionally led, and four are led from headquarters. Status of on-going projects is given in Appendix 1. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is interested in ensuring agricultural technologies reach more people in the region. Strategic partnership of AVRDC with USAID may lead to more funding for AVRDC East and Southeast Asia to expand, adapt, and sustain successful technologies. Extensive discussions in this regard were held in in the region in January 2014; AVRDC and USAID teams shared their perspectives on the issue of scaling up of agricultural technologies for fruit and vegetable production. This partnership can lead to disseminating technologies on a wider scale in East and Southeast Asia. Human Resources In 2014, 23 staff members were based in at AVRDC East and Southeast Asia in Thailand. Seven are located at AVRDC s Administrative Office in Bangkhen, Bangkok, 16 at AVRDC s Research and Training Station in Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom, and one each (IRS) at AVRDC s USAID project office in Malang, East Java, Indonesia and at AVRDC's Humidtropics project office in Hanoi, Vietnam. Seven staff (2 IRS, 5 NRS) are based at AVRDC's Administrative Office in Bangkhen (BKK), Bangkok, Thailand. Sixteen staff (1 IRS, 15 NRS) and 6 temporary field laborers are based at AVRDC's Research and Training Station in Kamphaeng Saen (KPS), Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Forty-two percent are male and 58% female. In addition, a Ph.D. scholar from the Philippines joined the team in May to 6 EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia

7 investigate AVRDC s impact on the development of the vegetable seed sector in Thailand in collaboration with staff from Headquarters and Kasetsart University. Two master students from the University of Freiburg, Germany, stayed at the Bangkhen office for three months to work on their master theses on urban food resilience and on peri-urban vegetable production in Bangkok, respectively. The regional office hosted 20 interns. An undergraduate dietetics student from McGill University, Canada, and a World Food Prize International intern from the United States stayed for two months to work on social and nutritional outcomes of an agricultural therapy program for disadvantaged youth operated by a Thai NGO and field evaluation of AVRDC s global bitter gourd germplasm for various horticultural traits, respectively. Essential Achievements Eighteen geography students from the University of Freiburg, Germany, stayed for one month in Bangkok to conduct a number of surveys for the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)-funded project Understanding urban and peri-urban vegetable production and marketing systems through GIS-based Community Food Mapping in Greater Bangkok, Thailand (veggis) together with Thai students from Kasetsart University and staff from AVRDC. The 18-month project, which looked at different components of the overall food system of Bangkok, concluded in September 2013 with the final workshop being held in Bangkok. A pilot Collaborative Research Environment (CRE) was developed to better understand the linkages and importance of each of these components. To capture areas under cultivation within the city boundaries as accurately as possible, an object-based classification approach was implemented using ecognition software. As vegetable production sites usually have distinct spectral as well as textural characteristics that can be easily detected, object-based classification methods produced highly accurate results in this study. In five different locations, 30 surveys took place and a total area of about 12 km² was mapped. Results show that Bangkok s peri-urban area contributes significantly to the food system of Greater Bangkok by supplying it with fresh fruit and, in particular, perishable leafy vegetables. Market demand and prices, growers skills and habits, as well soil and water conditions influence growers decisions on which leafy vegetables to grow. Plant diseases and pests as well as unfavorable weather conditions were identified as major challenges for vegetable producers. The regional office continued to host AVRDC s crop improvement program for bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) and pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata). One of the highlights of AVRDC s global cucurbit breeding program was the celebration of Bitter Gourd Field Week from 25 July to 2 August 2013 in Kamphaeng Saen (Appendix 2). Twenty-six researchers from 11 seed companies visited the Center s bitter gourd trials, which comprised 27 advanced breeding lines of different market segments along with seven check cultivars from seed companies and national agricultural research centers. The first sets of advanced breeding lines have been distributed for evaluation to collaborating research centers in different Southeast Asian countries under the ASEAN-AVRDC Regional Network for Vegetable Research and Development (AARNET), with other advanced breeding lines of AVRDC s tomato, chili pepper and legume crop improvement programs. These bitter gourd lines have been acquired by the leading seed companies in Asia for evaluation and use in their breeding programs. Pumpkin lines possessing multiple virus field resistance are in the advanced stage of development (Appendix 2) The GIZ-supported project "Less loss, more profit, better health: Reducing the losses caused by the pod borer (Maruca vitrata) on vegetable legumes came to an end with the final project workshop being held in Kamphaeng Saen in October A third German government supported project, Beating Begomoviruses: Better livelihoods for farmers in EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia 7

8 tropical Asia with begomovirus-resistant tomato, hot pepper and mungbean and integrated disease management is in its second year, with a number of field trials conducted in collaboration with Kasetsart University. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded research and development project Mobilizing vegetable genetic resources to enhance household nutrition, income and livelihoods in Indonesia is in its third year. Several variety trials for chili and tomato were conducted in the districts of Kediri and Blitar in East Java, and Tabanan and Bangli in Bali. The best-bet lines from researcher-managed variety trials were tested in farmer-managed variety trials and preferred lines were identified. The project partner Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology (AIAT) developed school garden programs at elementary, junior high and senior high schools and established 30 school gardens in Bali and five in East Java. The project produced brief field guides on different production technologies for use in Training of Trainers and Farmer Field Schools. In partnership with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations (UN-ESCAP) and with financial support of the European Union (EU), AVRDC East and Southeast Asia is implementing the SATNET Asia project, which focuses on supporting innovation by strengthening South South dialogue and intraregional learning on sustainable agriculture technologies. Under this project, AVRDC organized two in-country training courses on Sustainable Vegetable Crop Production Systems and Postharvest Technology and Marketing Systems for Small-Scale Farmers in Yangon, Myanmar. SATNET provided scholarships for participants from Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar to attend the 32 nd International Vegetable Training Course (IVTC), which was held at AVRDC s Research and Training Station in Kamphaeng Saen. In collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), AVRDC organized a one-month training of trainers on Vegetable Cultivation and Consumption for Better Nutrition in Kamphaeng Saen for extension workers from Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The regional office hosted the 8 th AARNET Steering Committee meeting, which was attended by delegates from all 10 ASEAN member countries. More than 50 participants attended the subsequent AARNET Expert Consultation on Vegetable Research and Development Priorities in Southeast Asia, organized with financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Taiwan. Concluding Notes & Outlook In the last few years, AVRDC East and Southeast Asia has been administratively and financially strengthened. In collaboration with our host Kasetsart University, we have conceptualized and implemented successfully numerous innovative projects with universities and government organizations from Asia, Europe and the United States as well as UN organizations such as ESCAP and FAO. We have transformed the former regional training course into an internationally recognized capacity building program along the vegetable value chain with high enrollment numbers. We have developed a strong global breeding program for vegetable cucurbits that caters to the needs of our stakeholders in the public and private sector. We have enhanced the ASEAN-AVRDC Regional Network for Vegetable Research and Development (AARNET) and established the SEAVEG symposia as a regular forum for vegetable scientists to exchange knowledge and promote the vegetable sector in the region. With the onset of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, AVRDC East and Southeast Asia will seek to maximize vegetable productivity and profitability to ensure a sufficient supply of health-promoting vegetables for the region while minimizing losses, wastage and the overall impact on the environment. To find solutions to these challenges, there are 8 EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia

9 opportunities to expand our connections with the regional offices of international donors, and to collaborate with researchers at headquarters to develop proposals containing components of research and development aimed at addressing the problems of small-scale growers and consumers in the region. EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia 9

10 Appendix 1: Status of ongoing projects Project title/funded by Duration Subcontract/Partner Organiztions Projects and subprojects in the region which are financially and administratively managed by ESEA office Organization Name of PI Key Tasks SATNET Asia ( ) Until 30 Nov 2014 AVRDC is subcontracted by UN- ESCAP/UN CAPSA Narinder Dhillon; Sheila de Lima, project manager Capacity building Cucurbit core ( ) Open Narinder Dhillon Cucurbit improvement Development of Breeding Techniques and Selection of Disease Resistant Germplasm in Cucurbits (Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea) 1 Jan Dec 2016 Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea Narinder Dhillon Cucurbit improvement Vegetable cucurbits for nutrition-sensitive home and school gardens in Southeast Asia (GIZ) 1 March August 2015 Max-Rubner-Insitute, Germany Narinder Dhillon Cucurbit improvement Attraction in Action 1 April March 2017 Beating begomoviruses (GIZ) 33rd IVTC ( ) self-financed through tuition fees Other projects in the region but financially and administratively managed by HQ Humidtropics (CRP 1.2) Postharvest (USAID) Vegetables Go to School (SDC) 1 April March Sep - 5 Dec 2014 Srinivasan Ramasamy (overall); ESEA subcomponent, Sopana Yule Lawrence Kenyon (overall); ESEA subcomponent, Sopana Yule Sheila de Lima Jaw-fen Wang Jackie Hughes Jackie Hughes Using pheromones and IPM strategies to reduce losses from insect pests and plant diseases IPM for whitefly control Capacity building 10 EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia

11 Appendix 2: Success stories EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia 11

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13 Appendix 3: Capacity building records for AVRDC East and Southeast Asia ( ) Training participants ( ) IVTC course No. Year Total participants Male (%) Female (%) No. of Countries FAO EPMR Briefing Notes -- AVRDC East and Southeast Asia 13