The initiative Valuable Vegetables started early April 2019 with an expert meeting in The Hague. Dutch horticulture experts provided input for the agenda of the envisaged multi-stakeholder learning loops, which have the aim to improve practices and policies in the international horticultural sector, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Priority knowledge and learning subjects mentioned: 1. how to foster the sustainability of horticulture business models; 2. capacity strengthening and education of horticulture entrepreneurs; 3. effective public-private collaboration in adapting Dutch knowledge and technology to local contexts. The participating experts are interested to collaborate in joint learning and recommended that the risks associated to complex joint learning endeavours are well managed.
The aim of the Valuable Vegetables learning initiative is to boost Dutch impact in the international horticulture sector. It facilitates so-called “learning loops”, mutually reinforcing multi-stakeholder learning trajectories with the aim to improve practices and policies in the international horticultural sector, particularly in LMICs. The main agenda is to learn about the interventions and innovations that have worked for successful horticulture sector transformation, focusing particularly on Dutch private and public investments in the vegetables sector. This includes the lessons about how to enhance the food and nutrition security impact and the sustainability of the sector. Geert Westenbrink (former Ministry of Agriculture) commented that this is a challenge that the Dutch sector needs to take up as a community: “We have to deliver on our learning. First, getting the basics right, thereafter further scaling and innovations can happen.”
Maarten Hermus of Holland Green Tech shared some success factors from experience in the horticulture sector in East Africa: having good partners and a dynamic young team; sharing knowledge; using a commercial model which connects LMIC horticultural farmers with relevant Dutch companies; using quality inputs and providing good services to clients. Challenges are: imports and regulations; involving all actors of the whole value chain, making sure they all learn and improve; entrepreneurs are not always seen as partners in PPPs. Please download his PowerPoint presentation (PDF) “Experiences and lessons from practice in Africa” here.
Irene Koomen of Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation shared the lessons from HortiFresh Ghana. This is a comprehensive programme that contributes to boost sector transformation, fostering its professionalization. It includes a business platform with 150 members from a/o. companies, business service providers, universities. Challenging is to guarantee the continuity of the platform after the project. A lesson from HortiFresh is that fruits and vegetables are two completely different sectors. Another lesson was related to the Dutch ‘aid and trade’ agenda: collaboration between Dutch companies and Ghanaian companies is rather difficult, except for the seed companies, because of the low-input-low-output character of current horticulture sector initiatives in Ghana and the slow development of the SME sector. A real challenge is incorporating nutrition, gender and youth to achieve more impact. Please download her PowerPoint presentation (PDF) “Horticulture sector transformation: lessons & challenges from Ghana” here.