Since 2017, WorldVeg has shipped 17,544 
seed samples to Consortium members. By 
2025, an estimated 200 vegetable varieties 
in Asia containing WorldVeg-developed 
germplasm were on the market.
The collaboration spans tomato, pepper, 
bitter gourd, pumpkin and loofah. Breeding 
priorities include resistance to bacterial wilt, 
begomoviruses and other diseases, as well 
as heat tolerance and traits responding to 
changing production conditions.
Why the model works
 
One of the Consortium’s most important 
contributions is broadening access to 
high-quality breeding resources.
Plant breeding is capital-intensive and long 
term. Smaller seed companies may not 
have the resources to sustain large R&D 
programs or maintain extensive germplasm 
collections. Through the Consortium, they 
can access WorldVeg scientists, breeders, 
disease-resistance resources and market-
relevant traits without carrying the full cost 
independently.
In 2024, small companies made up the 
majority of Consortium members for the 
first time, highlighting the platform’s role in 
broadening access to breeding innovation.
Its longevity has depended on alignment 
between APSA, WorldVeg and participating 
companies around a common objective.
As APSA Executive Director Francine 
Sayoc has emphasized, seed companies 
contribute market knowledge and a 
pathway to farmers, while public research 
Impact in 
numbers
61
members in 2025
17,544
seed samples 
shipped to Consortium 
members since 2017
200
vegetable varieties
in Asia containing 
WorldVeg-developed 
germplasm in 2025
76 
tonnes seed sales 
of varieties containing 
WorldVeg germplasm 
in 2025
Around 
733,000 
farm households 
reached in Asia
provides genetics, scientific expertise and 
long-term breeding capacity. The result is a 
continuous feedback loop between research, 
commercial breeding and the realities of the 
field.
The next chapter
 
Climate stress, emerging pests and diseases, 
and changing market demands are placing 
new pressure on vegetable production across 
Asia-Pacific, increasing the need for faster 
and more targeted breeding.
The Consortium has the potential to expand 
into additional crops, traits and collaborative 
projects while strengthening links between 
biodiversity conservation, public research and 
commercial breeding.
For research institutions, private-sector 
participation can help sustain breeding 
programs and move innovations beyond 
research plots. For seed companies, the 
Consortium provides access to genetics and 
expertise that can strengthen breeding 
pipelines. For farmers, the ultimate value lies 
in having more varieties that can better 
withstand disease, climate pressures and 
changing growing conditions.
After a decade of shared science, the APSA-
WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium has 
become more than a mechanism for moving 
germplasm. It demonstrates how public 
research and private-sector networks can 
work together before competition begins, 
creating a stronger pathway from science to 
seed to farmers’ fields.
As Wopereis puts it: “Nobody can do that 
alone.”
Interested in joining the APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium?
Sacn QR code to learn more

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