Tainan, Taiwan, Dec. 18 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Wednesday that the government will continue its financial support for the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC). "Taiwan's donations to the AVRDC will only increase and will never decrease under my administration, " Chen said during a visit to the center, located in Shanhua township, Tainan County, in southern Taiwan.
The AVRDC is the only international organization to be headquartered in Taiwan. Chen himself is a native of Tainan County.
Chen said the AVRDC has contributed greatly to the improvement of vegetable production and preservation, as well as to the collection of vegetable plasma and the promotion of fine vegetables.
Over the past 29 years, Chen said, the AVRDC has not only helped resolve nutrition issues in many developing countries around the world but has also helped boost Taiwan's agricultural development.