For some time now, Taiwan's media has been filled with unfortunate news items. If not about sex, violence, robbery or kidnapping, then these stories involved public safety, airline safety or corruption. Not only are Taiwan's own people anxious, but even those people from other nations who are concerned about Taiwan have begun to voice their worries. An example is Dr. Sylvia Green, a 17-year Taiwan resident and consulting researcher into crop pathology at the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC), who says, "Lately I'm a little worried. How could so many terrible things happen in such a quiet and good place?"

Few people know of those researchers like Dr. Green who have quietly toiled for many years at Taiwan's one and only international organization, the AVRDC. Together these agricultural experts from around the world have developed today's improved cherry tomatoes, soybeans, and Chinese cabbage. They have raised the quality of Taiwan's fruits and vegetables, and helped innumerable farmers in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa and Latin America raise their incomes and improve their nutrition.

Like the soil they till, farmers tend to be silent. The AVRDC, established in Taiwan for a quarter of a century, is similarly quiet, taking the fruits of its labors with the earth, and returning them to the people of the world. The center is continuing the work of the agricultural revolution of the 1960s, pushing forward with a second green revolution. They seek to aid the weakest of the weak, the women and children of developing nations.

For many years, people have known that since the ROC was pushed out of the United Nations, the AVRDC, located in Tainan County's Shanhua Township, has been the only international organization of which the ROC has been a member under its official name and to which it has served as host.

Its story begins nearly 40 years ago.

Presidential Advisor Y.S. Tsiang is well-known for the important work he has done as a member of the government and the Kuomintang. What is less well-known is that in some circles, he is known as "the father of Taiwan's corn" and as a man who brought 68 varieties of fruit tree and flowering plant into Taiwan. Lu Chih-lin, who worked with Tsiang at the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction (JCRR) nearly 40 years ago, remembers how the AVRDC came to be established in Taiwan. At that time, Tsiang was the general secretary of the JCRR while Lu himself was a horticultural technician in the botanical production group.

By the early part of 1960, the success of the green revolution in increasing production of rice, corn and wheat had brought an end to the severe famines of South Asia. The next problem to be addressed was the widespread malnutrition among the populations of developing nations. In May of 1963, the JCRR received a copy of a telegram sent by the US Agency for International Development (AID) asking each nation if it had a government bureau which would be willing to engage in vegetable research. The purpose would be to improve the diet of the people of Southeast Asia, increasing the consumption of protein, vitamins and iron by women of child-bearing age and by growing children.

Lu, who was later to serve as the AVRDC's first assistant director, was given responsibility for drafting the project. He forwarded the proposal immediately upon completion of a rough evaluation. Lu thought that the nutrition plan, which had been sponsored by Dr. Frank Park, would be of great help to all of Southeast Asia including Taiwan. He also thought that if the center were to be located in Taiwan, it would benefit Taiwan's own crop improvement research. The JCRR therefore recommended that the government aggressively pursue the establishment of such an international vegetable research organization in Taiwan.

Taiwan's three climatic zones

"At that time, we weren't even remotely concerned with the foreign affairs angle. We simply looked at it from the perspective of fruit and vegetables cultivation." Tsiang relates the story in detail: "In terms of timing, geography and willingness to cooperate, Taiwan was best qualified [to host the center]. Japan and Korea have temperate climates, quite different from those of Southeast Asia. Taiwan, on the other hand, straddles the tropical and sub-tropical zones. In addition, it possesses mountains that rise more than 3000 meters above sea level. Together, these are beneficial to the cultivation of a variety of plants. Hopkins' Law states that every 1000 feet of elevation above sea level is equivalent to one degree of latitude. Taiwan's mountains rise as high as 14,000 feet above sea level, meaning that their higher elevations are equivalent to a latitude of 39* North, which is about the latitude of Beijing. This means that not only could Taiwan's experience with sub-tropical fruit and vegetable cultivation provide a model for Southeast Asian nations, but that these higher elevations could be used to grow temperate crops. Taiwan's qualifications therefore far outstripped those of other Southeast Asian nations," explains Tsiang, who can't hide his excitement at the mere mention of agriculture.

"The other thing was that with the exception of the Philippines, other Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam weren't terribly interested in the project. The AID therefore asked the JCRR to sketch out a plan. After our plan had been revised and agreed upon, the AID formed a team made up of myself, two American agricultural experts and a Japanese expert in vegetables. We traveled to Okinawa, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam to take a look at local farming villages, vegetable markets, research institutes and universities and to gather information. Then Tsiang accepted Dr. Park's invitation to go to the US for discussions. Thereafter, he traveled to Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia for negotiations to ensure the plan was smoothly implemented," says Lu.

An eight-year battle for survival

After several draft plans, evaluations, negotiations and revisions were completed, the AVRDC's organizational committee finally met in Taipei. Shen Tsung-han, then director of the JCRR, was asked to serve as the committee's convener, and was also the ROC's representative to the committee. The AID sent its own experts, while the rest of the participating nations sent their Taipei-based diplomats. The committee met more than 10 times, and finally decided to locate the center on a 120-hectare site in Tainan's Shanhua which had formerly been used by Taiwan Sugar Corporation to grow sugarcane. The committee also hired Dr. Robert Chandler, then the director of the International Rice Research Institute, to be the center's first director, while Shen Tsung-weng was asked to serve as the first chairman. By the time the international treaty establishing the center was signed and the center's organization finalized, it was May 22, 1971. From first conception to the signing of the charter, a full eight years had passed. Though the length of time is indicative of the great care that went into putting the center together, during those eight years, Taiwan's international situation had changed dramatically.

America had ended its economic assistance to the ROC in 1965, and it was not long after the signing of the AVRDC's charter that the ROC was forced out of the United Nations by pressure from the Communist Chinese. And it was only two years after the formal opening of the center that the international oil crisis began. Unfortunately, after eight years of planning, the committee had not factored inflation into calculating the center's financial needs. These operating expenses were originally paid for by the center's seven founding nations, with the US footing 40% of the bill, the ROC handling 20%, and Japan, the Philippines, Korea and Thailand each providing 10% of expenses. Vietnam, then in the midst of a civil war, was asked to contribute only a nominal amount.

"The AVRDC has had rough times. It ran into problems with its funding just after being founded. In later years, although Taiwan had made tremendous progress relative to its situation 25 years before, the difficulties it faced in raising funds overseas were proportional to those it faced in surviving internationally, and this created more problems for the center. Moreover, domestically, the island was entering the democratic era. Most citizens, including the legislators who held the purse-strings, didn't understand the importance of the center and its contribution to the world. Consequently, the budget was cut repeatedly. Agricultural research takes time, and so for an institution like ours, this was a major blow. The scale of many projects had to be cut back, while others had to be drawn out over a longer period. We were limited in the staff we could hire, and morale suffered. What we rely on now is mostly the feeling of having achieved things at the center," says Dr. Samson Chou, who joined the center in its first year and is its current director. Though he is 60 years old, Chou looks only forty, and though he has the deep tan of a farmer, his bearing is that of a scholar and first-rate administrator.

Adaptive research

"The AVRDC's research methodology is to take our knowledge to farmers and actually grow crops. Our earliest work was with soybeans, mungbeans, tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, sugarcane and potatoes. All our work, whether it be selecting a crop, planning research, or promoting plans, is related to our primary missions of improving nutrition for the people of developing nations and raising the incomes of such nations' farmers," says Chou.

Chou explains how the center puts its ideas into practice:

There are several things to keep in mind about developing countries:

1) Most consumers of agricultural products are also producers. Given that, vegetables have a dual value in that they can increase incomes and improve nutrition at the same time.

2) Farmers do not usually grow crops to improve their diet; they do so to increase their income. Therefore, the yield of a given crop and the way in which it is harvested are extremely important. Key considerations for farmers are how to get high yields, keep growing times short, save manpower at harvest times and get the crop to market quickly.

3) Vegetables and staples are different in that, in the case of vegetables, it is not a given that the more you grow, the higher your income. The increased production and consumption must include varieties of vegetables, and these must be related to the local diet. For example, the Chinese and the peoples of South Asia all eat mungbeans. However, while Chinese eat mungbeans as a dessert and mungbean sprouts as a vegetable dish, the peoples of India, Madagascar and Sri Lanka eat mungbeans as a staple and don't eat the sprouts at all. Furthermore, Chinese like to eat dull-colored ones, while Indians enjoy shiny ones. These are simply differences in local dietary customs. They are also a reason that a research organization with a very clear objective, such as the AVRDC, must apply an "adaptive research" methodology, that is, one which relies on international cooperation and adapting its research to the needs of local farmers.

The mungbean story

The example of the mungbean can illustrate the role the center plays and how it completes its tasks.

98% of all mungbeans are grown in Asia. Asians are also the biggest consumers of the bean. For the people in South Asia's flood-prone regions, where malnutrition is widespread, mungbeans are a staple food and provide a good source of protein. However, the problem originally faced in respect to this vegetable was that in South Asia mungbean pods ripened at different times and harvesting had to be divided into four to seven stages. Production volume was small and harvesting costs were as high as 45%, which made growing this crop very uneconomical. A South Korean expert from the center who visited India in 1976 saw the importance of mungbeans to people there. He forecast that, with the growth situation of local varieties, they would be in short supply in the future. He then embarked on research to develop new, improved varieties of mungbean to meet their needs.

The growth cycle of the new varieties was targeted as sixty-five days, with the beans to be planted between the two annual rice crops. They would have to reach maturity at the same time and pods would have to be at the top of the plant for ease of harvest. The yield target was at least two tons per hectare. The center's 1976 targets were at last achieved in 1980. However, the countries of South Asia that were to be the main target beneficiaries of the new variety could not receive it because of a virus problem. The first beneficiary was thus the world's biggest mungbean exporter, Thailand. Almost all Southeast Asian countries also adopted the new variety of mungbean developed by the center. South Asian countries then developed virus-restistant mungbean strains and subsequently worked together with the AVRDC to finally overcome the virus problem. This, however, took eight years. Then the center's mungbean variety was able to move into South Asia. Recently, center Director General Chou discovered during a visit to Pakistan that the mungbeans planted there are exclusively those developed by the center. This example illustrates the basic nature of agricultural research. It is time-consuming and needs constant on-the-spot observation of the crop cultivation situation, market reaction and other challenges that cannot be predicted in advance.

After the mungbean breeding and virus problems were overcome, nutritionists at the center came up with an idea: a large proportion of women in South Asia are iron-deficient. Mungbeans are rich in iron, but unfortunately in a form which cannot be absorbed by the human body. Only in the shoot stage, or when the mungbeans are cooked with vegetables rich in Vitamin C such as tomatoes, can the iron be taken in by the body.

Toiling behind the scenes

Nothing is impossible if enough determination is shown. The center's idea caught the attention of an Indian nutritionist, Dr. Subramanian Amirthaveni, who applied to conduct research at the center to develop recipes that both suited Indian palates and would also allow the iron content in mungbean shoots to be absorbed. She completed her initial research in March of this year and returned to India laden with 20 recipes. She has started her nutritional plan with 200 women and 200 children in local villages. She is monitoring changes in the nutritional situation of residents and will report these back to the center. Although this is a new and ambitious research project and no one can tell if it will succeed or not, the chance to help numerous people improve their nutritional intake, physical condition and thus national educational levels and competitiveness, is well worth the effort. All the center's work requires long-term investment, observation and experimentation and results can rarely be gained immediately. However, once success is achieved, benefits can be gained by millions of people and perhaps even future generations. Unfortunately, in today's short-sighted industrialized world, with its emphasis on rapid results, this is lonely work that seldom receives attention or encouragement.

The center's main research focus has changed from its early days. Sweet potato and potato research work has been transferred over to the new International Potato Center due to AVRDC's lack of funds and pressure from the PRC. Samson Chou says, sadly, "They have 42 people with PhD degrees, we only have two. How can we compare? The research plans were all formulated by us at the center but we just didn't have the funds, so we had to give up! Two agricultural experts cried. One was Yu Ching-chung. The other was a sweet potato expert from mainland China. Tears came to his eyes when he heard that our sweet potato research was being terminated." He said that the PRC is always trying to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and even believes that Taiwan should not host international organizations. However, over the years, agricultural experts from both sides of the Taiwan Straits have carried out exchanges involving the center's work through third countries, and many superior plant varieties developed by the center have been adopted by experts in the PRC. For example, the heat-tolerant cabbage developed by the center is very common in the PRC. Soil conditions, plants, farmers and culture are similar on both sides of the straits, which means that the benefits of cross-straits technical exchange are multiplied. It can be said that the PRC is the biggest beneficiary of the center's research.

The center's six "babies"

The center is mainly concerned with research into six types of vegetables: alliums, crucifers, eggplant, legumes, peppers and tomatoes. Of these, tomatoes and mungbeans have been promoted over the widest area. There have also been striking successes in vitamin-rich tomato research. Problems with high temperature have been overcome to create a tomato that produces fruit all year round. The most serious tomato disease problem, bacterial wilt, has also been overcome. In cooperation with the Tainan Agricultural Improvement Station, a new extra-sweet small tomato, Tainan AVG No. 6, has been developed and has been warmly received in the market.

To outsiders it might seem that the center's plant breeding successes and the dissemination of improved vegetable varieties to over 170 countries over the last 20-odd years can be explained fully in just a few sentences. However, behind each successful example of new crop variety breeding and dissemination to a new area, are the long-term coordinated efforts of every department in the center.

In addition to the previously-mentioned six crop breeding laboratories under the Crop Improvement Program, there are also the entomology, germplasm, plant pathology, biology, virus, germ, biological improvement and biotechnology research laboratories. Under the Production Systems Department there are the crop management, soil and socio-economic research sections. There is also an ever-expanding International Cooperation Department. The center cooperates with member countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It also cooperates with an Asian regional agricultural research center in Thailand and an African regional center in Tanzania. Recently, cooperation projects have also been started with a Latin American regional agricultural research center. Every department and each plan has hard-working experts from various countries. What attracts many experts to the center is not the salary. The opportunity to learn and the satisfaction that achievement brings are the chief motivations for many. However, the delays caused to research by lack of funds can sometimes be frustrating.

Unmatched experience

Dr. Liou Jian-an, who is an expert in plant genetics, is researching gene preservation and tissue culturing in the center's Biotechnology Laboratory. He says that the center is a place where international researchers from a variety of backgrounds can exchange information and expand mutual knowledge and understanding. They are also able to conduct experiments in the fields and apply the results of research to production for the benefit of people in developing countries. This is valuable experience that other research bodies cannot offer, he said. However, he says, sometimes it is difficult not to become dispirited when the research isn't progressing according to plan because of lack of funds.

Most of the researchers in the Biological Pest Control Department, who are engaged in research into controlling pests through the use of their natural enemies, are women. They are very fond of the work environment at the center, but can't help but ask if salary is the reason why young men don't stay long in the department. If the research budget is not increased, they can't say how long they will be able to go on. It seems as if Samson Chou's fears about staff loss are justified.

Talking about the center's future and the research budget problem, Chou gave a brief summary of the struggles of the center over almost 30 years and the contribution it has made to Taiwan.

The center was established in the early 1970s. At the time, the US and Japan still had diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In its early stages, the center was led by renowned international figures and attracted a pool of talent, which helped it lay down firm foundations and build its organizational culture.

Coming through under pressure

Chou describes the early half of the 1980s as a dark period for the center. After the US and the ROC broke diplomatic relations, the center was treated almost like a leper internationally. However, this period of isolation was also the time when the greatest achievements were made in research. The common belief of the staff at the center was that if high quality research was conducted and they possessed technology, they would not be cut off as a result of political factors. At that time there were even two occasions when the center couldn't pay salaries. The international staff rallied around and announced "no salary increases this year," showing that morale was good, despite the center's predicament.

In the late 1980s, the good results of the center's research gradually became apparent and on several occasions the center was judged to be at the top in its field in the world. At the time, the world's attention once again began to focus on the green revolution. Because of the lack of capital, the AVRDC had to spend money where it would be most effective. Research topics had to be very carefully chosen and had to aim to have significant results. Earlier, to provide assistance to the PRC, which had only recently opened its doors to the outside world, an Asian Regional Center was established in Thailand in 1982 and the center's technology and seeds began to flow into China. Today, exchange is carried out with over 70 bodies in the PRC.

In the late 1980s, the biggest crisis faced by the center was that some figures in the international agricultural community began to suggest that it would be best to establish an additional center elsewhere, to gradually supersede the Taiwan center, because of worries over the center's future in a country that was widely barred from most other international organizations. As a result, everyone at the center worked extra hard to make it irreplaceable.

Because the results of research over the previous decade gradually received international affirmation, in 1989 the World Bank approved the center's five-year plan and provided substantial funding. The number of research projects increased substantially and regional cooperation projects were successively begun.

At present, most international agricultural research centers are members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, which has 68 members, including the World Bank. The organization has supported the establishment of 16 research institutes. It's finances are very solid. This group has always viewed the AVRDC as an important vegetable research institute; however, because of its location it has not yet been formally admitted as a member and the financial support it receives has also even been affected.

The center has no political stance or ideology. Chou feels it is a pity that such an apolitical center suffers as a result of politics. However, what effectively threw oil on the fire for the center was the cutting of the center's budget by the ROC government.

Who understands the AVRDC?

"I can see why the PRC would want to suppress us, but I can't understand why the ROC government, when it stresses participation in international organizations, is not willing to provide more support to a body that is already a member of an international organization," is a sentiment shared by many at the center.

In actual fact, because English is the language of most of the center's publications and international exchange, and the fact that agricultural technology is not a subject that the everyday media is greatly interested in, not much is known to the public about the work and contribution of the center.

The center has actually quietly made a big contribution to Taiwan. In addition to improving the quality and quantity of vegetable production, its efforts allowed young soybeans to become a major agricultural export for Taiwan, which improved farmers' incomes and earned foreign exchange for the country. Chou says that the center has also, over the years, nurtured a large pool of skilled personnel from both overseas and Taiwan. Some of these have gone on to work in local agricultural improvement stations and some have gone on to private companies. "Everyone from the center is willing to get their hands dirty in the fields. Everyone has experience with international exchanges, and all possess team spirit." It is, then, only natural that many are playing an important role in Taiwan's agricultural reforms. With Taiwan isolated internationally, the center is a window to the world which ensures that Taiwan does not fall behind in terms of agricultural technology and also wins recognition for the Taiwan spirit from the international agricultural community.

Wish for the 21st century

The center "belongs" to the farmers of all countries and its aims are non-ideological and unselfishly concerned with improving people's lives. Y.S Tsiang, one of the main figures responsible for the establishment of the center, says, "The center was based in Taiwan because conditions in Taiwan were the most suitable. No thought at all was given to diplomacy." The deputy director-general of the center today, Dr. Hideo Imai, of Japan, says, "The center is working for the whole of mankind as we approach the 21st century. In 25 years there will be over 25 megacities in the world, and 18 of these will be in Asia. With land in ever shorter supply and populations ever larger, will the supplies of vegetables that are vitally important for people's health be sufficient? Will vegetable types be diverse enough? How can the highest nutritional values be achieved? How can disease and malnutrition be avoided? How can children have healthy bodies so they can be educated?"

The center has increased its range of research substantially since its establishment, and the external environment has also become more complex. However, its objectives remain as unchanged as the simple exterior of its building-improving the lives of people in difficult environments and offering them a better future.

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The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) has been successful in cultivating a number of vegetables in Taiwan, many of which have been distributed across the globe. The photo at right shows almost ripe chili peppers.

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(right) The AVRDC occupies 100 hectares in Tainan's Shanhua Township. The site is divided into a number of fields which are tilled by farmers hired by the center. Researchers also work out in the fields daily and deep tans are a trademark of the center's staff. Even the center's director, Samson Chou (far right) is no exception.

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Over the years, the AVRDC has trained thousands of students from around the world. The photo shows plant pathologist Dr. Sylvia Green, a 17-year Taiwan resident, lecturing to students.

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Mungbeans and tomatoes are the two crops currently being most successfully promoted by the center.

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Don't think that tomatoes are easy to grow just because you see them everywhere. Tomatoes can't stand high temperatures at night and they are vulnerable to bacterial wilt. AVRDC cultivation expert Chen Cheng-tsu, who has developed a number of excellent tomato strains, is untiring in his continued research on this highly nutritious fruit.

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Non-chemical pest control is another area of active research at the center. (below) A diamondback moth larva, a pest which affects cruciferous vegetables. (above) The moth's number one predator, Oomyzus sokolowskii.

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A great variety of research goes on at the center. Here, Indian Dr. Subramanian Amirthaveni works with a dietitian on a recipe to help rural women and children in India increase their iron intake.

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The AVRDC has been in Taiwan for more than 20 years. Once just a seedling, it has grown tall and strong, making major contributions to a nutritious diet for people around the world.

The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center（AVRDC） has been successful in cultivating a number of vegetables in Taiwan, many of which have been distributed across the globe. The photo at right shows almost ripe chili peppers.

（（right） The AVRDC occupies 100 hectares in Tainan's Shanhua Township. The site is divided into a number of fields which are tilled by farmers hired by the center. Researchers also work out in the fields daily and deep tans are a trademark of the center's staff. Even the center's director, Samson Chou （far right） is no exception.

（（right） The AVRDC occupies 100 hectares in Tainan's Shanhua Township. The site is divided into a number of fields which are tilled by farmers hired by the center. Researchers also work out in the fields daily and deep tans are a trademark of the center's staff. Even the center's director, Samson Chou （far right） is no exception.

Over the years, the AVRDC has trained thousands of students from around the world. The photo shows plant pathologist Dr. Sylvia Green, a 17 year Taiwan resident, lecturing to students.

Mungbeans and tomatoes are the two crops currently being most successfully promoted by the center.

Mungbeans and tomatoes are the two crops currently being most successfully promoted by the center.

Don't think that tomatoes are easy to grow just because you see them eve rywhere. Tomatoes can't stand high temperatures at night and they are vulnerable to bacterial wilt. AVRDC cultivation expert Chen Cheng-ts u, who has developed a number of excellent tomato strains, is untiring in his continued research on this highly nutritious fruit.

Non-chemical pest control is another area of active research at the center. （below） A diamondback moth larva, a pest which affects cruciferous vegetables. （above） The moth's number one predator, Oomyzus sokolowskii.

Non-chemical pest control is another area of active research at the center. （below） A diamondback moth larva, a pest which affects cruciferous vegetables. （above） The moth's number one predator, Oomyzus sokolowskii.

A great variety of research goes on at the center. Here, Indian Dr. Subr amanian Amirthaveni works with a dietitian on a recipe to help rural women and children in India increase their iron intake.

The AVRDC has been in Taiwan for more than 20 years. Once just a seedlin g, it has grown tall and strong, making major contributions to a nutritious diet for people around the world.