A bibliometric analysis of scientific publications by the World Vegetable Center
Creators: name: Bannor, RK
name: Oppong, D
name: Akber, Nusrat
name: Schreinemachers, P
Publisher: name: World Vegetable Center
Year: 2025
Subjects: subject: PUBLICATIONS
subject: AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
subject: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
subject: World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg)
subject: Bibliometric analysis
subject: Scientific publications
subject: Vegetable research
subject: Agricultural development
subject: Peer-reviewed literature
subject: Publication trends
subject: Geographical focus
subject: Research collaboration
subject: Funding sources
subject: Citation analysis
subject: Policy impact
subject: International collaboration
subject: Research productivity

description: The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) was founded in 1971 as the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) to address poverty and malnutrition by pushing for greater production and consumption. It opened in 1973 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. Over this period, the Center has significantly contributed to vegetable research and development for low—and middle-income countries. While some of its developmental impacts have been well-documented, the impact of scientific publications has not been analyzed. This bibliometric study aimed to analyze WorldVeg’s contribution to the peer-reviewed scientific literature (excluding institutional reports). It analyzes publication trends, geographical focus, partnerships, funding sources, and the h-index of its scientists and identifies potential new research areas. Data were extracted from Scopus and Web of Science. Following the PRISMA framework, 1,353 articles were selected for this study covering 1977-2024. In addition, citations of WorldVeg research in policy documents were extracted from Overton. From a handful of publications in the late 1970s, the Center’s scientific output has grown exponentially at an annual rate of 6.8% with a 9.8-year average document age and 22.5 mean citations per publication. This output is fuelled by a highly collaborative environment that sees slightly more than six authors per publication, with 80.2% of publications involving international collaboration. Over the past five decades, 3,899 scientists contributed to WorldVeg research. The Center’s thirty most prolific writers contributed to 1,431 of these publications (20% of all publications after accounting for multiple authors). Of the 1,353 publications, 45% had a WorldVeg staff as the first author. The most prolific author, Srinivasan R, contributed to 146 publications. Talekar NS was most frequently listed as the first author (52% of his publications), followed by Barchenger DW (38%). However, the mean h-index of the ten most prolific WorldVeg scientists is lower than that of the ten most prolific scientists at four comparable organizations (CIP, CABI, Icipe, and WorldFish). This indicates a need for more high-impact publications, prioritizing quality over quantity. WorldVeg contributed to 20 categories of science (based on the Web of Science classification). Acta Horticulturae is the leading journal outlet for WorldVeg research. Regional analysis shows an overwhelming concentration of research focusing on East and Southeast Asia, with South and Central Asia and Eastern and Southern Africa following. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is the most frequent collaborator on WorldVeg publications. Funding agencies from the United States dominate the list of key sponsors of WorldVeg research. An analysis of policy documents shows that WorldVeg research influenced 592 documents crafted by 96 intergovernmental organizations, think tanks, and government agencies.