West and Central Africa – Dry Regions
World Vegetable Center
West and Central Africa – Dry Regions
Samanko Research Station
BP 320 Bamako
Mali
T: +223 2070-9200
F: +223 2022-8683
Email:
info-wca-d@worldveg.org
Overview
The Center’s African regional program began in 1992 in Arusha, northern Tanzania. Today WorldVeg has professional research and development staff working across Africa on important vegetable crops such as tomato, pepper, onion and cabbage, as well as a range of African traditional vegetables, and partners with more than 40 national institutions and many international organizations.
The Center operates three regional bases in Africa: in Mali for West and Central Africa – Dry Regions (established in 2014), in Benin for West and Central Africa – Coastal and Humid Regions (2017), and in Tanzania for Eastern and Southern Africa (1992). There is a liaison office in Cameroon to reach into sub-Saharan Africa with improved vegetable varieties and production technologies.
The vegetable sector in sub-Saharan Africa is severely underdeveloped and vegetable consumption is extremely low. In Africa’s diverse agroclimatic zones, there is enormous potential for smallholder farmers to produce numerous vegetable crops for domestic and international markets.
Vegetables are often the most important source of cash income for smallholder farmers, and indigenous vegetables provide an important source of nutrition, particularly for poor people. New varieties and improved management methods have been developed and extended through training programs for research and extension workers and smallholder farmers.
REGIONAL UPDATE
Use of WorldVeg breeding materials by seed companies in Africa – results of a survey
Use of WorldVeg breeding materials by seed companies in Africa – results of a survey download here This reports results from the first survey among seed company members of the Africa Vegetable Breeding Consortium (AVBC), [...]
A step forward in turning ‘forgotten foods’ into ‘opportunity crops’
A step forward in turning ‘forgotten foods’ into ‘opportunity crops’ Interview with Lead author Maarten van Zonneveld The prestigious scientific journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), announced the winners [...]
Benin seed growers and market gardeners meet in the field
Benin seed growers and market gardeners meet in the field Seed producers and the primary users of the fruits of their labour meet in the field. Some to verify the performance of their [...]
brilliant research assistant
World Vegetable Center was honored through the distinction received by one of its brilliant research assistants. Story and photos: Marcel Beria | June 10, 2021 Presentation of the Oscar and the [...]