40th International Vegetable Training Course:
Safe Vegetable Production
November 13-24, 2023
Background
Eating vegetables is healthy, but only if they are also safe to eat. Consumers in poor and rich countries alike are increasingly concerned about the safety of the vegetables they buy and eat. Farm-level pesticide use is usually high in vegetable crops and many countries report problems with pesticide contamination of vegetables. Also, microbial contamination, usually resulting from unhygienic practices and the use of contaminated water in production and postharvest handling is a growing problem.
There have been various initiatives by the food industry, producer organizations, governments, and NGOs to improve food safety through common standards for good agricultural practices (GAP).
In Southeast Asia, Thailand has been leading the way with a national GAP certification program. Hundreds of thousands of Thai farmers are participating in the program, but there are also various private standards for organic and safe production.
While GAP standards are usually explicit about what farmers are not allowed to do, they may not provide detailed guidance on specific methods of managing vegetable pests and diseases without the use of chemical pesticides. There is therefore a need to train farmers in integrated pest management (IPM) as part of GAP training. The 40th International Vegetable Training Course (IVTC), jointly organized by the World Vegetable Center and Kasetsart University, aims to fill this gap.
What our participants say about the IVTC:
“Helpful and great experiences from both lectures and laboratory practicals.”
“Lecturers are very supportive and professional. I truly learned a lot from them.”
“I had the opportunity to learn new technologies and knowledge from the course.”
It is the best training I’ve ever attended, especially because of the warm hospitality of WorldVeg. The lecturers were great and came from different backgrounds and countries.”