World Vegetable Center welcomes first female leader

• By Wu Chun-feng and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

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The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) welcomed its first female leader, Izabella Koziell, who pledged to boost the global food system’s climate resilience and deepening cooperation with Taiwan.

Koziell took over the post of director-general at the center from her predecessor, Marco Wopereis, becoming the center’s first female leader since it was established 55 years ago in 1971.

The seal handover ceremony was held at the center’s headquarters in Tainan on Monday last week, with Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) attending the ceremony.

New World Vegetable Center director-general Izabella Koziell, right, takes over the post from Marco Wopereis, left, as Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih looks on in Tainan on Monday last week.

Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times

Koziell previously served as deputy director of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and was responsible for various programs in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.

She said in her address that vegetables are undervalued even though they can be applied to addressing some critical challenges of our time.

WorldVeg’s scientific research and innovations can bring practical, feasible solutions and open new possibilities, particularly as the world is facing economic uncertainty, climate change and biodiversity losses, Koziell said.

HIGH-QUALITY CROPS

WorldVeg will make high-quality crop varieties accessible to more agricultural workers based on its excellent research capabilities, germplasm resources and global partner networks, she said.

People around the world would be able to obtain nutrient-rich vegetables more easily at affordable prices, Koziell said.

Future efforts would focus on improving nutrition, food security and the livelihoods of low-income farming households in developing countries, she said, adding that WorldVeg would continue to strengthen its research capacity.

Koziell said she would enhance WorldVeg’s partnership with Taiwan, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Academia Sinica, as well as the nation’s colleges and private sector.

Public-private collaborations would be stepped up in six major action areas — climate resilience, healthy diets, vegetable diversity, economic empowerment, urban food systems, and food safety and food loss, she said.

Chen said WorldVeg has achieved much under the leadership of Wopereis, adding that the organization continued growing with renewed software and hardware facilities.

WorldVeg not only shares its successful research and development with the world, but also assists Taiwan in participating in global agricultural development, he said.

That is significantly meaningful to Taiwan, Chen said.

TAIWAN SUPPORT

The government will continue to support WorldVeg’s development amid international challenges, he said, urging WorldVeg to promptly submit the headquarters’ second-phase facilities enhancement project to the ministry.

The ministry will provide related resources to maintain the close partnership with WorldVeg, he added.

Gordon Rogers, vice chair of the board of directors at WorldVeg, said Koziell has extensive experience in science, policy and implementation.

She has a deep understanding of the climate and environmental challenges facing the global food system, as well as their potential solutions, he said, adding that Koziell is an ideal person to lead WorldVeg’s next stage of growth.

WorldVeg is headquartered in Taiwan and has regional centers and offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

It works with global partners to develop high-quality vegetable varieties and conserve vegetable diversity, dedicating itself to enhancing seed systems and value chains, it states.

It is promoting the “WorldVeg Plan for 2026-2033,” with the goal of boosting the scale and influence of the world’s vegetable research and innovations, it states.