“We are grateful for their forward-thinking support.” “Taiwan COA and MOFA recognized the urgency to invest in germplasm conservation in this region,” said Dr. He emphasized the need to demonstrate the power of vegetables to improve nutrition, income generation, and create employment. Gabriel Rugalema, Regional Director, WorldVeg Eastern and Southern Africa, outlined the Center’s overall strategy for the region. Monica Murata highlighted specific activities for Eswatini. “Many African traditional vegetables and their wild relatives are in danger of being lost through a lack of awareness about their benefits for agriculture and nutrition.” “Safeguarding vegetable biodiversity in Africa is essential for food and nutrition security,” said Dr. Maarten van Zonneveld then gave an overview of the project. TAVI Principal Investigator and WorldVeg Genebank Director Dr. He urged everyone to actively participate in promoting the sustainable utilization of the traditional vegetables being promoted for food and nutrition security. Bertram Stewart, indicated TAVI is a welcome intervention expected to bridge the nutrition gap, particularly among school children. The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training, Mr. The Regional Administrator for the Manzini Region, Prince Gija Dlamini welcomed all participants to the project launch and expressed his appreciation to Taiwan and the TAVI team for seeking to create stronger, more resilient foundations for food systems.
TAVI will support this initiative by boosting the supply of fresh and nutritious African vegetables to diversify home and school meals. In response, the Eswatini government has implemented a zero-hunger strategy and a national school feeding program to improve nutrition. It has the 12 th-lowest life expectancy in the world and more than one-third of its population is under the age of 14. At the same time, climate change and a rapidly growing young population challenge governments across the region to meet the nutritional needs of their people.Įswatini is in particular need of healthier diets. Sub-Saharan Africa faces a “triple burden” of malnutrition: About 30% of children under 5 are stunted, nearly half of all women of reproductive age suffer from anemia, and 28% of adults are overweight or obese.
The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg), an international nonprofit agricultural research institute with headquarters in Shanhua, Taiwan, officially launched the Taiwan-Africa Vegetable Initiative (TAVI), a three-year project to conserve and use African vegetable biodiversity to address malnutrition by increasing the production and consumption of nutritious vegetables in Eswatini, Tanzania, Madagascar, and Benin.Įven though October 13th was the official date of the project launch, staff members have been active in the field for several months, conducting seed collection missions and popularizing traditional African vegetables through the establishment of demonstration sites. Esibayeni Lodge, Eswatini-Sub-Saharan Africa may be a long way away from southern Taiwan, but the two regions are forging stronger links through a project to build more resilient foundations for Africa’s food systems.