Vincent van der Wijngaard, Horticompass, is proud when he is able to, in spite of the language barrier and the difference in opinion about management, still manages to strike the right cord with his client, who follows his cultivation advice and then harvests a beautiful quantity of tomatoes at the end of the line.
Vincent van der Wijngaard during Greentech 2019.
Golden opportunity
When he had the golden opportunity to go to China in 2017, Vincent, at that time already working for tomato nursery Dukker in Tinte, took the leap and went to the far east. "I was a substitute for two months in a project of Lentiz in Greenport China. I was very happy, and once I was back in the Netherlands, it started to itch. I was looking for an opportunity to go back, and a year and a half later I found one in following a Chinese horticulture course. In the months after, I had various jobs, a mix of cultivation and consultancy. The jobs have been increasing ever since.
Differences
It does not come as a surprise that cultivation in China is something quite different from cultivating in Tinte. "You notice that a lot of knowledge has really sunk in in the Netherlands, which you sometimes miss in China. What is logical to us, is not logical over there at all. As a consultant, I have my work cut out for me."
"Another difference is that the processes are a bit slow, because a lot of decisions have to travel a long way to the top. In Dutch companies, employees have more autonomy. In general, Chinese are great people to work with. They are always kind and hang on your every word if you talk about cultivation. And what you see less and less in the Netherlands, is that the young people have a lot of interest in horticulture. And that is necessary, because also over there, companies have difficulty in finding sufficient employees. The system of temporary agencies has not been developed as far as it is over here."
To China every month
These days, Vincent can be found in China or Mongolia for a week per month. When he is in the Netherlands, he gives remote advice. "A great solution with current technology. You can simply log in to the climate computer and you can see exactly what is going on. Sometimes I am amazed at what they can get done with limited knowledge and means." He does not only give cultivation advice for tomatoes, but also for cucumbers and the cultivation of lettuce. "It would be great if the number of jobs keeps increasing, so I can build a real team."
For more information: 
Horticompass
Vincent van der Wijngaard
T +31(0)652307698