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Avrdc-The World Vegetable Center's Present and Future Approaches To AVRDC-THE WORLD VEGETABLE CENTER’S PRESENT AND FUTURE APPROACHES TO GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES Manuel C. Palada, Jaw-Fen Wang, R. Srinivasan and Chin-hua Ma Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC)- The World Vegetable Center P.O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan 74199, Taiwan ROC ABSTRACT The mission of AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center is to reduce malnutrition and poverty in the developing countries through vegetable research and development. To accomplish this, AVRDC is building partnerships and mobilizing resources from private and public sectors to promote vegetable production and consumption in the developing world. Worldwide concern about food safety, health, environmental quality and sustainability in food production has mandated AVRDC to develop technologies that will contribute to the production of safe and nutritious vegetables in the tropics. These technologies are consistent with the objectives and goals of good agricultural practices (GAPs). AVRDC’s strategy for addressing this problem is to develop varieties resistant to major diseases and cultivate them with GAPs that will reduce fertilizer and pesticide use. Current strategic research on GAPs for vegetable production at AVRDC are discussed in this paper. Key words: GAP, vegetable production, Asia INTRODUCTION nutritional needs of the poor; 3) collect, characterize and conserve vegetable germplasm AVRDC’s Role and Mission resources for worldwide use; and 4) provide globally accessible, user-friendly and science- The Asian Vegetable Research and based appropriate technology (AVRDC 2005). Development Center (AVRDC)-The World In enhancing and promoting vegetable Vegetable Center was established in 1971 as a production and consumption in the developing not-for-profit international agricultural research world, AVRDC’s research programs contribute institute whose mission is to reduce to the increased productivity of the vegetable malnutrition and poverty in the developing sector, equity in economic development in countries through vegetable research and favor of rural and urban poor, healthy and development. Over the past 30 years AVRDC more diversified diets for low-income families, has developed a vast array of international environmentally friendly and safe production of public goods. The center plays an essential vegetables and improved sustainability of role in bringing international and cropping systems (AVRDC 2002). interdisciplinary teams together to develop Recent achievements at AVRDC that technologies, empower farmers and address greatly impact tropical horticulture in the major vegetable-related issues in the developing developing world include virus-resistant world. tomatoes raising farmers’ income, hybrid In its unique role, AVRDC functions as a peppers breaking the yield barrier in the catalyst to 1) build international and tropics, flood-tolerant chilies opening new interdisciplinary coalitions that engage in market opportunities, broccoli varieties for vegetable nutrition issues; 2) generate and monsoon season, pesticide-free eggplant and disseminate improved germplasm and leafy vegetables that are safer to grow and technologies that address economic and consume and fertilizer systems that protect the 128 environment (AVRDC 2005). Beyond vegetable Challenges in Sustainable Production crops, AVRDC is playing an important role in of Safe and Nutritious Vegetables expanding and promoting research and development efforts for high-value horticultural Significant yield loss caused by various crops including fruits, ornamentals and diseases and insects is a great concern in medicinal plants through its new Global vegetable production. Spraying pesticides is a Horticulture Initiative (Palada and Lumpkin highly common behavior of vegetable farmers. 2005; Weinberger and Lumpkin 2005). AVRDC Misuse and overuse of pesticides are harmful believes that horticulture crop production to the health of farmers as well as the provides jobs and is an engine for economic environment. The high pesticide residue growth. This paper will stress the important concentrations found on vegetables are harmful role AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center plays to consumers. Because fruits and vegetables in developing and promoting good agricultural are often traded and consumed in fresh forms, practices (GAP) in vegetable production. biological contamination and pesticide residue are serious issues. The sanitary and Global Concern on Food Safety, phytosanitary standards (SPS) of the World Health and Environmental Quality Trade Organization (WTO) define that countries can pursue their own levels of food safety Fruits and vegetables together account for a standards. SPS issues are sometimes used as large share of the global pesticide market, in a protectionist tool against imports since most years between 26-28% of total pesticide multilateral trade agreements have reduced the use, or around US$8.4 billion a year (Dinham ability to protect domestic production with 2003). Almost 25 kg/ha of active pesticide tariffs and quotas (Cerrex 2003; Henson and substances are used on average in fruit and Loader 2001). SPS regulations are probably the vegetable production in the European Union most important barrier to international trade in (EU) (Organization for Economic Cooperation fresh fruits and vegetables (Unnevehr 2000). and Development 1997). Fruit and vegetable Thus exporters from less-developed countries production accounts for less than 2% of the must be provided with training opportunities United States’ crop area, but 14% of its total and access to information on how to produce pesticide use (Osteen 2003). Pesticide residues and supply safe products to developed are often attributed to the failure of farmers to economies (Weinberger and Lumpkin 2005). restrain application before harvesting and the AVRDC’s strategy for addressing this problem use of prohibited pesticides. Aside from the is to develop varieties resistant to major effects on farmer and consumer health and the diseases and techniques of GAP that will environment, the presence of pesticide residues reduce the use of pesticides. has significant trade implications as well. Fruits and vegetables are also at risk of CURRENT STRATEGIC RESEARCH ON GAPS contamination from heavy metals and waste FOR VEGETABLE PRODUCTION AT AVRDC products. Several studies have reported high heavy metal contamination in fruits and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) vegetables, such as arsenic, lead and cadmium for the Production of Safe Vegetables in Bangladesh (Alam et al. 2003) and lead in fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs in Egypt IPM research at AVRDC is focusing on (Mansour 2004). Toxicity of fruit and important tropical insect pests and diseases. vegetable produce also occurs due to human The main research strategies for insect control and animal waste use in crop production include biological control (use of predators and (Midmore and Jansen 2003). In the future, parasitoids, sex pheromones, biopesticides, etc.) production of safe food products will become and cultural practices. even more important than it is now. Food Vegetables are very important crops in safety legislation in the EU and the US will Asia and are cultivated in an area of 37.22 soon institute stricter standards (Weinberger million hectares with annual production of and Lumpkin 2005). 630.75 mt (FAO 2004). Vegetable production is seriously affected by several insect pests and 129 diseases in tropical Asian climatic conditions. predators, application of biopesticides and The needs to obtain greater yields and to withholding of pesticide use to allow produce attractive vegetables that fetch higher proliferation of local predators and parasitoids prices encourage farmers to apply prophylactic to restore natural balance. Some of the sprays of pesticides to prevent damage by sustainable pest management techniques insect pests. For instance, a survey of developed at AVRDC are discussed in the pesticide use in Central Luzon in the following sections. Philippines indicates that farmers there spray Habitat Management. Removal and up to 56 times with chemical insecticides destruction of the pest-infested plant parts will during a cropping season to protect their reduce the subsequent population build-up of eggplant crop against eggplant fruit and shoot certain insect pests, for instance, EFSB larvae borer (EFSB), Leucinodes orbonalis Guen. The bore inside tender eggplant shoots, especially total quantity of pesticide used per hectare for before fruit set, and cause wilting of shoots. eggplant was about 41 L of various brands The insects inside these damaged shoots belonging to the four major pesticide groups eventually develop into pest adults that spread (IPM CRSP 1993; Orden et al. 1994). Such and lead to future yield losses. Hence, it has pesticide use, besides being detrimental to the been demonstrated that prompt destruction of environment and human health, also increases freshly wilted shoots harboring pest larvae has the cost of production making this humble potential to control EFSB effectively (Alam et vegetable expensive for poor consumers. The al. 2003). Similarly, keeping the environment share of the cost of pesticide to total material clean reduces pest incidences. EFSB, for input cost was 55% for eggplant and it ranked example, is a specific pest of eggplant. It was first when compared with tomato (31%) and initially believed that a newly planted eggplant cabbage (49%) (Orden et al. 1994). crop becomes infested via EFSB moths that Many pesticides commonly available
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