1 September 2026. Interview with
- Dr. Gabriel Rugalema — Regional Director, WorldVeg.
https://youtu.be/653wzYV_gzs?si=OKEh-VmoUbaSWLRv
See his testimony about innovation in amaranth during the panel Innovation Hub: Investing in Diverse Crops discussion
https://youtu.be/dqcXkJAfs-s?si=iG2-wHZ8YZOOkCsC
Africa’s vegetable sector is entering an important new phase. Across the continent, vegetables are increasingly being recognized not simply as a source of food, but as a pathway to better nutrition, climate resilience, employment, entrepreneurship and stronger agricultural economies.
At the center of this emerging opportunity is AfricaVeg, a new public–private initiative led by the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) to strengthen Africa’s vegetable breeding and seed innovation ecosystem.
The initiative was launched at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali, Rwanda, under the theme “African Seeds, African Solutions.” Its central proposition is straightforward: Africa needs vegetable varieties that are developed for African farmers, African environments and African markets—and it needs stronger local seed businesses and research institutions capable of delivering those varieties at scale.
Why vegetables matter for Africa
Africa has enormous vegetable diversity, including traditional and indigenous crops such as amaranth, African eggplant, okra, jute mallow, spider plant and roselle.
Many of these crops are nutritionally rich, adapted to local climates and important to household diets and livelihoods. Yet their potential remains underdeveloped. In many countries, farmers face limited access to quality seed, improved varieties, technical knowledge and reliable markets.
WorldVeg's work reflects a broader understanding of food-system transformation: improving diets is not only about producing more calories. It is also about increasing the diversity, nutritional quality and resilience of what people grow and eat.
The Center describes its mission as contributing to healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods through greater diversity in what we grow and eat. Its work spans climate resilience, healthy diets, vegetable biodiversity, economic empowerment, urban food systems, and food safety and loss reduction.
From better varieties to better businesses
One of the most interesting aspects of AfricaVeg is that it recognizes that breeding a good vegetable variety is only the beginning.
A new variety must move from the laboratory and research station into a seed company, then to farmers, markets and ultimately consumers.
That requires a functioning ecosystem connecting:
- Public agricultural research institutions
- Universities and scientists
- Vegetable breeders
- African seed companies
- Farmers and farmer organizations
- Investors
- Markets and food businesses
- Regional and continental agricultural organizations
This “last mile” between scientific innovation and farmers is critical. WorldVeg has emphasized that AfricaVeg is designed to strengthen precisely this pathway by connecting breeding, seed systems, seed companies, markets and investment.
The initiative therefore represents a shift from thinking about vegetable breeding as an isolated research activity toward seeing it as an innovation and investment ecosystem.
The forgotten opportunity: African vegetables
AfricaVeg is arriving at a time when there is growing recognition of the value of traditional African vegetables.
These crops have sometimes been overlooked by formal agricultural research and commercial seed systems despite their nutritional and environmental potential.
WorldVeg and its partners are now working to conserve and make better use of this biodiversity. More than 17,000 accessions have been collected under the African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan, with most stored in Africa's Vegetable Genebank in Arusha, Tanzania, and more than 5,000 backed up in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
The challenge is therefore no longer simply to preserve diversity. It is to turn diversity into opportunity.
That means developing varieties farmers want to grow, seed companies can commercialize, consumers want to eat, and investors can support.
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