Presentation by Dyno Keatinge (AVRDC) at the APAARI High Level Policy Dialogue, 8 dec 2015

1. AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center
“Alleviate poverty and malnutrition in the developing world through increased
production and consumption of safe vegetables”
Prosperity for the Poor and Health for All

2. Five Necessary Policy Changes to Help Achieve Improved Nutrition and
Sustainable Agriculture through Smallholder Vegetable Horticulture in the
APAARI region
J.D.H. Keatinge, P. Schreinemachers, F. Beed, J.d’A. Hughes
AVRDC  The World Vegetable Center
P.O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan, 74199 Taiwan

3. “Nutrition has fallen to a
low level of priority.”
Malnutrition is often invisible;
poor community awareness
of its threat to health and
well-being
Governments have failed to
recognize the pivotal role
that malnutrition has on
economic performance
Multi-organizational
stakeholders in nutrition:
nutrition falls between the
cracks of government
(partial responsibility of
many, but main
responsibility is none)
2005 Slide

4. Rec. 1. National policies for food and nutrition security and health that move
beyond staple crops because the growing epidemic of malnutrition and non-
communicable diseases worldwide is bringing overwhelming health costs
Wheat, maize and
rice supply
more than 60%
of humanity’s
calories
Feeding the World without Nourishing it
at the same time is not sensible
There is a much higher rate of return to
research in development opportunity
crops and small stock! Therefore, why
not invest more in vegetables, fruits,
fish, livestock and other agricultural
products which can help to abolish
malnutrition.
… while other highly
nutritious crops are
underutilised

5. 2008
5
Shift the Focus from hunger to encouraging people to
take up healthier, better balanced diets
 “Globesity” (WHO): Global
epidemic of excess weight
and obesity is increasingly
becoming a major public
health problem
 Southeast Asia and western
Pacific region at the forefront
of this crisis
India and PR China: Rapid growth
rate of obesity and type 2 diabetes
amongst children

6. Slide 6 / 50 www.avrdc.org
Improving food supply by reducing postharvest loss
• Reducing postharvest
losses for fresh produce
is an integral part of
sustainable agricultural
development
95%
5%
Percentage of funding provided for
horticultural development efforts
over the past 30 years
Increasing production
Reducing
postharvest loss
Source: Kader and Rolle 2004

7. HOW CAN WE GET
PEOPLE TO EAT MORE
FRUIT & VEGETABLES
daily fruit & veg consumption = 400 g
200 g of each, daily =
 more nutritious diets
 healthier children and adults
 more resilient individuals
and households
standard weight of football = 396 g
RAW
COOKED
HOW MUCH
IS
400 GRAMS?
Nutrients in vegetables
• Improve children’s ability to
grow and learn
• Improve adults’ capacity to
work and earn
AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center promotes
vegetable consumption through
• Home and school gardens
• Recipes
• Food processing training

8. Vegetables go to School

9. Healthier, better balanced diets
Bangladeshi women trained in home gardening and nutrition had a
significantly higher supply of vegetables and of key vitamins and nutrients.
Source: Schreinemachers at al. 2015.
Note: Difference established through a
comparison of women who received
the training with a statistically similar
group who did not receive it. All
variables significant at p<0.01.

10. Slide 10 / 50 www.avrdc.org
Cambodia: Dramatic impact of increasing food
prices
Rising prices in 2008 and beyond
Rice: $0.25 to 0.62 per kg
Meat: $1.5 to $3.5 per kg
Fuel: $0.75 to $1.4 per liter
Changing dietary behavior:
 Only 2 meals a day (instead of
previously three)
 Less consumption of meat
 Consumption of vegetables grown in
home gardens only
Source: HelpAge International 2008

11. Slide 11 (06/2008) www.avrdc.org
PROSPERITY FOR THE POOR, HEALTH FOR ALL
Vegetables – a pathway out of poverty
 Smallholders often have a
comparative advantage in producing
vegetables, since there are limited
economies of scale
 Vegetable production leads to higher
farm income and generates more
jobs than other crops
 Vegetable value chains contribute to
commercialization of the rural
economy

12. Slide 12 (06/2008) www.avrdc.org
PROSPERITY FOR THE POOR, HEALTH FOR ALL
Training of Youths on Peri-Urban Horticulture:
Reduce outmigration from rural areas for employment

13. Regular collection of quality statistics on horticultural production

14. Vegetable production is important for
smallholders: For example in India
Farm category
Marginal
(<1ha)
Small
(1-2 ha)
Medium
(2-4ha)
Large
(>4ha)
% households growing
vegetables
16 17 15 10
% share in total
vegetable area
35 27 21 18
Source: Birthal, P. S., and P. C. Joshi. (2007) "Institutional innovation for improving smallholder participation in
high-value agriculture: a case of fruit and vegetable growers' associations in India". Quarterly Journal of
International Agriculture 46 (1): 49-67.

15. Home gardens – household nutrition in the hands of women
Are these home garden outputs
represented in national statistics?

16. Slide 16 / 50 www.avrdc.org
In comparison:
The 11 low-income countries in the Asian region (excluding
India) account for only 5% of the region’s public
agricultural R&D expenditures
Rec. 2. Ensure longterm funding for horticultural research and development
PR China and India
Expenditures for agricultural R&D have tripled in PR China and
India from 1981 - 2003
Shift: from traditional areas of agricultural research to
biotechnology

17. Slide 17 / 50 www.avrdc.org
Rate of return to research in the AVRDC/NRI/South Indian NARS “Malle Roga” project (2004-
2006 exceeded 764:1 and the genes inserted for TYLCV protection were then further
introduced into another 13 countries and subsequently into most new hybrids in the
Asia/Pacific region
AVRDC key partner: The Indian Institute of
Horticultural Research, Bangalore

18. Slide 18 / 50 www.avrdc.org
Investment in human resources for horticultural
research:Training for the Taiwan of tomorrow
AVRDC provides post-doctoral
fellowships for Taiwan
researchers, and has a visiting
scientist program.
In the past five years, AVRDC
has trained 86 undergraduate
students from Taiwan in
horticulture, biotechnology,
and nutrition.
These interns carry the skills and
knowledge they have gained
into the workplace and into
institutes of higher education.
The Cambodian Horticultural Research Institute
outside of Phnom Penh is seriously deficient in
human resources in all horticultural disciplines

19. Slide 19 / 50 www.avrdc.org
AVRDC-Kasetsart University Annual Horticultural training course for 3 months

20. Rec. 3 Strengthen market opportunities for smallholder
farmers: Vegetables – a pathway out of poverty
Fruit and
Vegetables:
Commercialization
of the rural
economy

21. 21
Transportation issues
Getting vegetables
• Where they are needed
• When they are needed,
and
• In good condition
Thursday morning Sunday morning
Typical route for produce from the Sigatoka valley to Suva, Fiji

22. 22
Wastage and losses
In Oceania
• Within 48 hours 27% of
harvested eggplant is
unsalable due to
dehydration
• After 4 days 38% of the
tomatoes that reach
market are lost due to
rots. In the Greater Mekong
• Poor packaging/transport
• Adverse storage condition
• Poor quality
• Cannot sell all produce

23. 23
Create incentives for smallholder
farmers to adopt protected cultivation
Mauritius – protected
tomato production
Brunei – protected
seedling production
Vietnam – protected vegetable
cultivation in Da Lat
Oman – protected
field production

24. 24
Make agricultural entrepreneurship an attractive job
choice for women and for young people
Influencing populations
Linking education,
health, agriculture
A new generation of
agricultural scientists
A new generation of
farmers to feed a
growing population

25. Vegetables WIN (women, income,
nutrition)
1. empowerment of women to manage small rural
and urban plots
2. high value for fresh and processed products
3. short cultivation cycle and huge diversity
4. increased nutrition provided to family and
consumers

26. 26
Supporting Women’s Action Groups such
as here in the Solomons

27. Rec: 4 Renew existing policy frameworks
to ensure judicious pesticide use
Crop Protection Stewardship
Increase awareness of family and
consumer health and economic
rationality:
Appropriate use of approved products at
correct dose for specific crops
Appropriate timings of applications
(respecting Pre-Harvest Interval)
Use of correct safety and application
equipment
Store and dispose responsibly
Enforce
GAP

28. Inappropriate pesticide use
unacceptable practices common
28
Loss of producer profit
Loss of trade and value chains
Loss of country and retailer
credibility
Loss of biodiversity
Loss of yield
Increased pest resistance
Health hazard to growers
Health hazard to consumers
Precise data not available!

29. Solutions to inappropriate
pesticide use
Precise pest and disease diagnostics
and IPM
• Agronomic practices
• Judicious pesticide use
• Biological control
29

30. Agronomic practices
Tomato bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum
(soil-borne, vascular bacterial disease)
Control principle Specific measures Efficacy
Pathogen
exclusion
Use a plot without disease history
Use clean seedlings
No contact with contaminated water
***
Pathogen
reduction
Practice rotation
Remove diseased plants
Apply chemical or organic amendments
**
Host resistance Use locally effective resistant cultivars ***
Direct protection Use sterilized pruning tools *

31. Tomato leaf curl virus caused by begomoviruses
(insect-transmitted viral disease)
Control principle Specific measures Efficacy
Pathogen
exclusion
Raise healthy seedlings by
protection with 60-mesh net
***
Pathogen
reduction
Control whitefly, with pesticide, trap
crops, pheromone traps
Remove and destroy infected plants
*
Host resistance Use locally effective resistant
cultivars
***
Direct protection Apply summer oil on leaves *
Agronomic practices

32. Grafting
Quang Vinh, IVTC
trainee
2007 Lam Dong Province
4000 ha cultivated with
grafted seedlings
2012:
Full adoption in Lam
Dong and increasing in
Red River Delta
Yield increased by 18 t
ha-1
Increased profit in Lam
Dong of US$7.7 million

33. Rec. 5 Reassess public sector policies for
improved germplasm and food quality & safety
Start or maintain long term vegetable breeding
programs
Encourage private seed sector to contribute
positively
GAP
Eliminate chemical poisons (pesticides,
mycotoxins)
through targeted diagnostics and IPM;
agronomic practices / biological control /
judicious pesticide use
Ensure the hygiene of perishables vegetables
across value chain
PROVIDE NUTRITIOUS, AFFORDABLE
AND SAFE VEGETABLES FOR ALL
33
Our heartland activities

34. The Association of Southeast
Asian Nations
“UNIDO Regional Trade Standards Compliance Report,
2013”
ASEAN potential to gain from macro trends of increasing
population and purchasing powers not met in all countries by
increased vegetable production
• Significant constraints due to food safety and quality
issues with most common reasons for import
rejections being:
• MRLs exceeded of pesticides (approved and
prohibited) and mycotoxins
• presence of quarantine plant pathogens and
pests
• inadequate hygiene standards

35. HACCP for food safety
HAZARD ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT
• Scientific, systematic, identification of hazards and preventative methods
• Applied throughout food chain from primary production to final consumption
• Combines expertise in environmental, veterinary and public health
• Involves, microbiology, chemistry, food technologies and engineering
• Avoids relying on end-product testing
• Adapts to technological advances (e.g. detection and post harvest methods)

36. Slide 36 (06/2008) www.avrdc.org
1. Move beyond staples
2.>Hort. Research Investment
3.Strenghthen market opportunities
4. Policies for safe pesticide use
5. Provide improved germplasm and ensure food
safety
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