Pepijn Schreinemachers

• PhD
• Researcher at World Vegetable Center

Vegetables are increasingly recognized as essential for food and nutrition security. Vegetable production provides a promising economic opportunity for reducing rural poverty and unemployment in developing countries and is a key component of farm diversification strategies. Vegetables are mankind's most affordable source of vitamins and minerals ne...

School gardens have become a widely used approach to influence children's food knowledge, preferences and choices in low-and high-income countries alike. However, evidence indicates that such programs are more effective at influencing food knowledge and preferences than actual food choices. Such finding may occur because school gardens insufficient...

Fostering better access to more nutritious foods across sub-Saharan Africa will be critical to ending hunger and malnutrition. In Asia, vegetable production and consumption have grown rapidly since the 1990s and the development of a dynamic vegetable seed industry, led by the private sector, played a pivotal role in this process. The availability o...

This study aimed to understand farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding agricultural pest management and synthetic pesticide use in Southeast Asia. Data were used from 900 farm households producing leaf mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. et Coss.) and yard-long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc.) in Cambodia, L...

Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest per capita consumption of vegetables of all regions in the world. As low vegetable consumption is associated with poor human health, there is need for effective policies and interventions to increase it. Home garden interventions have proven effective in several countries in Asia, but evidence from large trials is...

Promoting gardening among urban residents holds the potential to improve urban diets in low- and middle-income countries, but there is a lack of evidence of impact. This study tests the hypothesis that training urban residents in gardening increases their intake of fruit and vegetables. It uses panel data for 254 control and 425 treatment household...

African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum) is one of the most popular traditional African vegetables in Tanzania and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, but there is very limited information about production practices and constraints in the literature. The objective of this study was to quantify the adoption of improved African eggplant varieties an...

In the past decade, there has been a notable rise in foodborne outbreaks, prominently featuring Escherichia coli as a primary pathogen. This bacterium, known for its prevalence in foodborne illnesses and as a reservoir of antimicrobial resistance, was isolated from raw vegetables, soil, and water samples collected from rooftop and surface gardens i...

Ambitious policy goals to reduce pesticide use and risk and transform agricultural pest management have been set on global and regional levels. However, global estimates on the effects of such a transformation, and their heterogeneity across important regions and production systems, are currently missing. We here provide the first global assessment...

The use of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae and frass in agriculture can make an important contribution to food and nutrition security. However, it is important to understand whether consumers are willing to consume food products resulting from the use of BSF larvae as animal feed or BSF frass as fertilizer. This study employed the stated preference...

Soil microbiome science, rapidly evolving, predominantly focuses on field crop soils. However, understanding garden soil microbiomes is essential for enhancing food production sustainability in garden environments. This study aimed to unveil the bacteriome diversity and composition in rooftop garden soils (RGS) and surface garden soils (SGS) across...

CONTEXT: Despite accelerated developments in agricultural innovations, there has been a limited progress in their adoption by smallholder farmers, especially in the Global South. Innovations are not adequately reaching farmers, and new technologies are often unsuitable for farmers, or the overall innovation landscape is discouraging the deployment...

We announce the sequence of the Escherichia coli MTR_GS_S1457 strain isolated from a soil sample of a vegetable gardening system for the first time in Bangladesh. With a length of 4,918,647 bp, this strain contained one plasmid, two CRISPR arrays, 54 predicted antibiotic resistance genes, and 81 predicted virulence factor genes.

Sustainable food systems require mechanisms that assure consumers about the sustainability of agricultural production. Building on the existing literature on the impact of sustainability standards, this study is the first to assess the effectiveness of participatory guarantee systems (PGS) for the certification of organic produce. The study uses re...

This study announces the genome sequence of the Shigella flexneri MTR_GR_V146 strain isolated from a tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) sample in Bangladesh. This strain has a 4,624,521 bp genome length (coverage: 73.07×), 2 CRISPR arrays, 1 plasmid, 52 predicted antibiotic resistance genes, and 53 virulence factor genes.

We announce a genome sequence of Citrobacter freundii MTR_GS_V1777 strain isolated from a vegetable sample in Bangladesh. This strain had a genome size of 4,997,753 bp (58.7× genome coverage) and contained two plasmids, typed as sequence type ST124, 38 predicted antibiotic resistance genes, and 77 predicted virulence factor genes.

Biopesticides are rapidly growing in importance for crop protection globally, but nearly all growth is happening in high income countries. No previous work systematically analyzed how lower-income countries can better benefit from the increased availability of biopesticides, which is important because these countries are particularly affected by th...

The one-time distribution of vegetable seed kits containing small (2 grams) samples of improved varieties of traditional and exotic vegetables can potentially increase vegetable production and consumption among poor rural households, but evidence is lacking. This study therefore analyzed the extent to which recipients of vegetable seed kits in Tanz...

Reports indicate that vegetables are becoming a source of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, including Escherichia coli. Here, we present genome sequences of five MDR E. coli strains to assist future genomic analysis of this bacterium. These E. coli strains were isolated from vegetable samples of different gardening systems in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

INTRODUCTION School-based interventions offer a unique opportunity to improve students’ learning and health outcomes simultaneously. Mounting evidence shows that school meal programmes (SMPs) increase school enrolments and pupil retention, which ultimately improve students’ academic outcomes. The government of Nepal implements the national SMP thro...

Background Integrated school and home garden interventions can improve health outcomes in low-income countries, but rigorous evidence remains scarce, particularly for school-aged children and to reduce anemia. Objective We test if an integrated school and home garden intervention, implemented at pilot stage, improves hemoglobin levels among school...

Tomato is an important crop in Bangladesh and India, contributing to livelihoods and nutrition, but it is heavily affected by pests and diseases. This study analyzes pest and disease damage and farmers' crop protection methods and quantified the potential economic gains of alternatives to chemical pesticides. Data come from a questionnaire survey o...

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic severely affected global food security, but analyses of its impact on the cost and affordability of a healthy diet are limited. This study examines the immediate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cost and affordability of a healthy diet among urban households in Bangkok, Thailand and...

Traditional vegetables are very important for food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa but have not received much attention in crop improvement research. One exception is amaranth ( Amaranthus spp.) for which international breeding research began at the World Vegetable Center in Tanzania in 2004. This study is the first impact evaluation o...

The current global food system has detrimental outcomes for global health, environmental conditions and social inclusion. A coherent vision of a desirable food system can guide a sustainable food system transformation and help to structure political processes and private decisions by quantifying potential benefits, facilitating debates about co-ben...

Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa do not have much choice of quality seed of vegetable cultivars adapted to local growing conditions and consumer demand. Only a handful of vegetable seed companies invest in local breeding research, while nearly all rely on seed imports. Our objective was to analyse to what extent existing seed laws and regulations enab...

Background School-based interventions have been implemented in resource-limited settings to promote healthy dietary habits, but their sustainability remains a challenge. This study identified positive deviants (PDs) and negative deviants (NDs) from the control and treatment groups in a nutrition-sensitive agricultural intervention in Nepal to ident...

The promotion of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is recognized globally as an area with potential to improve food and nutrition security of urban residents. The government of the Philippines has recognized this and has implemented UPA and similar projects and programs since the 1970s. Support for these projects and programs has not been cont...

Integrated pest management (IPM) is recognized as a safer alternative to conventional pest control but adoption remains low. Modern technologies such as mobile phones could promote IPM adoption, but there is a need for better evidence. We use a cluster randomized controlled trial in Cambodia with four treatment arms to test the hypothesis that text...

India experienced a rapid rise in COVID-19 infections from March 2021. States imposed varying levels of lockdowns and curfews to curb the spread of the disease. These restrictions severely affected the functioning of food systems. The objective of this study was to analyze how COVID-19 continues to affect agricultural production, food security and...

This policy brief, developed based on the Benin vegetable seed system roadmap, calls for actions to create an enabling environment for the development of a strong vegetable seed system.

Background Training women in home gardening and nutrition has been shown to increase household production and consumption of nutritious food and contribute to women’s empowerment, but evidence is limited to short-term effects. Here, we investigate whether home garden support leads to long-term improvements in household nutrition and women’s empower...

Background In homestead food production (HFP) programs, village model farmers (VMFs), after training, implement agriculture and nutrition activities to improve household knowledge and practices. Little evidence exists on what enables VMFs to remain actively engaged and for impacts to be sustained. Objective To examine variables explaining active e...

Planetary health brings together intrinsically linked issues of human health and natural systems. This paper reviews evidence of how agrobiodiversity underpins dietary diversity for current human populations in the context of fruits and vegetables, and ways to maintain and improve these for future generations. Both the conservation and sustainable...

This book stands on the pedestal of the experience of Vegetable Go to School (VGtS) Project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) from 2013-2016, and technically supported by AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center. The materials in the book have been synthesized from the research findings of the authors and other published ma...

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected global food security, but analyses of the impact of the pandemic on the cost and affordability of a healthy diet are limited. This study examines the immediate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cost and affordability of a healthy diet among urban households in Ba...

Home garden interventions combining training in agriculture and nutrition have the potential to increase vegetable production and consumption in lower-income countries, but there remains a need for better evidence for impact. This study contributes to filling this gap by evaluating the impact and distributional effects of a home garden intervention...

Background Vegetables are an essential element in healthy diets, but intakes are low around the world and there is a lack of systematic knowledge on how to improve diets through food system approaches. Methods This scoping review assessed how studies of food systems for healthy diets have addressed the role of vegetables in low- and middle-income...

The overuse of agricultural pesticides creates high costs to ecosystems and human health. One important reason for overuse is that markets in lower-income countries do not sufficiently differentiate agricultural produce based on quality aspects, making it difficult for consumers to select safe produce. Ecolabeling is a voluntary method of certifica...

Multiple recent global nutrition initiatives have recommended actions to transform food systems to improve food environments and food choice. This study aimed to identify actions recommended by these initiatives and understand their similarities and differences. Twelve global nutrition initiatives were reviewed, collectively spanning 13 action them...

This book will convince the reader to care about fruit and vegetables and to see that the small-scale production of these crops is fundamental to achieving sustainable development goals. In five chapters, the reader will learn about the challenges and rewards for producers, sellers, and consumers. Chapter 1: a working definition for fruit and veget...

The COVID-19 pandemic has particularly affected the supply of perishable foods such as vegetables, which could adversely affect food and nutrition security. Here, we study the mechanisms by which COVID-19 has affected vegetable production and the coping strategies adopted by smallholder farmers. We use cross-sectional data collected through individ...

Low fruit and vegetable consumption characterizes poor quality diets in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) leading to millions of premature deaths. While healthy diets based on fresh vegetables are unaffordable for more than half the households in SSA, traditional African vegetables (TAVs) offer opportunities to improve diets at lower costs with locally adap...

Food systems in many countries are experiencing a shift from traditional foods toward processed foods high in sugar, fat and salt, but low in dietary fiber and micronutrients. There is an urgent need to better understand drivers of changing food behavior, particularly for lower-income countries. This study analyzes drivers of food choice among chil...

Context The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting health and economies across the world, although the nature of direct and indirect effects on Asian agrifood systems and food security has not yet been well understood. Objectives This paper assesses the initial responses of major farming and food systems to COVID-19 in 25 Asian countries, and consid...

Agricultural mechanization has spread across much of Asia since the 1960s. It has increased agricultural productivity and reduced arduous farm work. However, differing impacts for smallholders and hired laborers, and for men and women, require careful consideration. This study analyzed, ex-ante, the likely social and economic tradeoffs of mechanizi...

There is a need for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to diversify into more nutrient-rich crops to meet the subcontinent’s nutritional needs in terms of micronutrients and reduce health risks related to high and rising rates of overweight/obesity. Many traditional African vegetables (TAVs) are nutrient-dense and have much potential to reduce malnu...

Background Improving the productivity of grain legumes is important to address global challenges of food security and soil degradation. This study’s objective was to quantify the adoption of improved mungbean ( Vigna radiata L.) varieties and agricultural practices and to identify production constraints for six countries in Southeast Asia and three...

Farm mechanization can promote the economic sustainability of small farms and in the context of cereal-legume systems strengthen plant protein-based diets, which support human health and environmental sustainability. However, mechanization inevitably displaces hired laborers who depend on manual farm work for their income. Few studies have systemat...

Background There is a need for better evidence for the impact of plant breeding research on nutrient-rich crops such as pulses to guide policy-making and investment. Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L). Wilczek) is one of the major pulses of South and Southeast Asia and makes an important contribution to food security and agricultural sustainability. The o...

The mission of the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) is research and development to realize the potential of vegetables for healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods. WorldVeg operates across Asia and Africa, and its breeding portfolio comprises global as well as traditional vegetables. Cucurbit crops make an important contribution to global f...

Plant diseases cause major crop yield losses and affect food security in lower-income countries. A limited understanding by farmers about the identity of plant diseases, transmission pathways and appropriate management methods is a key, but underexposed, problem. This study uses a sample of 260 farmers producing chili pepper in Bangladesh to elucid...

This chapter provides an overview of the economic importance of mungbean globally and the status of mungbean improvement research. The global mungbean area is about 7.3 million ha, and the average yield is 721 kg/ha. India and Myanmar each account for 30% of global output of 5.3 million t. Other large producers are China, Indonesia, Thailand, Kenya...

Background: The Nepal School Meals Program reached 600,000 schoolchildren in basic education in 2017 and plays a key role in the government's strategy to increase children's academic and nutritional outcomes. A large part of the program is implemented through cash transfers with schools responsible for the school meal delivery. Home-grown school f...

Malnutrition caused by lack of micronutrients in the daily diets of people in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda is an urgent problem. In these countries, between 26 and 35% of young children are stunted, while between 69 and 73% of young children are anemic. Micronutrient undernutrition of pregnant women and young children has permanent negative effects o...

This paper quantifies the extent of pesticide overuse in vegetable production systems in Southeast Asia. Pesticide overuse was defined as levels of use in excess of an economic (profit-maximizing) optimum. A production function with an exponential damage abatement term was estimated. Data come from a representative sample of 1000 farmers producing...

Integrated home garden interventions combine training in gardening practices with education about nutrition knowledge. Such interventions have been shown to improve nutrition behaviour in low income countries. However, to date rigorous evidence is lacking for their long-term impact. We test the impact of an integrated home garden intervention on ve...

This study evaluates the combined impact of school vegetable gardens linked to complementary nutrition education on the nutritional awareness, knowledge, perceptions, and eating behavior of 8–14-year-old schoolchildren in Burkina Faso. The study uses a repeated cluster randomized controlled trial and a sample of 30 schools and 1,760 schoolchildren....

The adoption of improved varieties is an important indicator of the effectiveness of agricultural research. This study quantified the adoption of improved mungbean (Vigna radiata (L). Wilczek) varieties and agricultural practices in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Pakistan using an expert elicitation approach. Data were collected from 19 expert pane...

This study quantifies the adoption of improved amaranth varieties in Kenya and Tanzania, and the extent to which these result from international vegetable breeding research conducted by the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) and partners. The study used expert elicitation and a questionnaire survey among vegetable seed producers. Nine expert panels...

Genebanks explore new partnerships with farmers and other user groups to provide smallholder farmers in Africa better access to crop diversity for improved nutrition, climate change adaptation and agricultural diversification. This paper shows how the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) genebank of traditional African vegetables and its partners dist...

Agricultural mechanization is important to increase farm incomes through greater farm labour productivity, but could also have adverse social consequences, for instance, by marginalizing the role of women in agriculture. The study aims to gain a better indulgent of how mechanization of the smallholder farming affects the role of and benefits for wo...

Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L). Wilczek) is a hardy early-maturing legume that can be used as a catch crop in the wheat and rice systems of South and Central Asia. To facilitate increased production, this study surveyed 345 mungbean growers and 336 non-growers in areas of Pakistan and Uzbekistan where there is potential for expansion. Low seed quality...

This study analyses changes in livelihoods of resettled and host households affected by the Son La hydropower project in Vietnam. Data come from a questionnaire survey of 52 host and 56 resettled households in five villages affected by the project and refer to the situation before, immediately after and 5-years after the resettlement. Data were ana...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a straightforward method to quantify volume and value of postharvest losses in the tomato postharvest value chain in Nepal and estimate the monetary loss shouldered by value chain actors. Design/methodology/approach The study combines interview data to quantify volume and prices with produce sampli...

This study quantifies the impact of training vegetable farmers in integrated pest management (IPM) in Bangladesh. Data come from a random sample of 300 trained and 300 non-trained farmers producing either bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) or eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). Propensity score matching and inverse probability weighting was employe...

There is a lack of evidence for impact at scale of vegetable research and development, although the importance of vegetables for human nutrition and smallholder incomes is generally understood. We therefore study adoption and impact of improved tomato and African eggplant varieties developed through international agricultural research, released by...

Crop breeding research by international agricultural research centers usually serves public sector crop breeding, but does it still have a role when research and development have shifted to the private sector? This paper explores this question for vegetables in India using data from 27 private companies and 9 public organizations. We focus on tomat...

School gardening interventions have been touted as an effective approach to improve children’s eating habits in developed countries, but there is little evidence for their impact in developing countries. We studied the combined effect of school gardens linked to complementary lessons and promotional activities on the eating behavior and nutritional...