On Thursday, October 2, Hortivec officially opened its doors. This brand-new demonstration, meeting, and experience center in Sint-Katelijne-Waver aims to help the latest innovative technologies find their way to horticultural businesses.
The opening drew a large crowd, with Flemish Minister of Agriculture Jo Brouns officially inaugurating the first demo areas and trial fields. Hortivec offers growers, researchers, and suppliers a space to discover, test, and exchange ideas about the future of sustainable and high-tech horticulture.
© Thijmen Tiersma | HortiDaily.com
Els Berckmoes (Test Station for Vegetable Cultivation), Alain Van Raek (EFRO), Jinneh Beels (Deputy of Agriculture Province of Antwerp), Jo Brouns (Minister of Agriculture and Environment), and Didier Algoet (Chairman of Vegetable Cultivation Test Center). View the photo report of the opening here (link in Dutch).
With the creation of the Hortivec Centre (Horticulture Vegetable Skills and Experience Centre), the Proefstation voor de Groenteteelt (PSKW) in Sint-Katelijne-Waver has taken an important new step in supporting horticultural businesses. This was emphasized by PSKW director Els Berckmoes and Antwerp's Provincial Deputy for Agriculture Jinnih Beels during the opening ceremony.
Demonstrating and implementing
Hortivec is designed as a demonstration, meeting, and experience center that helps bring practical knowledge and hands-on skills directly to the people working in horticulture. It's not only aimed at growers and farm managers, but also at crop workers, and even future horticultural employees who are still in school. Special attention is also given to workers who don't speak Dutch. To make knowledge more accessible, the center has invested in software that delivers information in multiple languages.
"The goal in Sint-Katelijne-Waver is not only to demonstrate and learn, but above all to implement," said Els Berckmoes. "We're also setting up a skills database. Through short, easy-to-follow videos on the platform Manual.To, we'll offer accessible tutorials on everything from basic tomato harvesting to attaching implements or identifying pests and diseases across different crops. These videos will be available in more than 100 languages, ensuring everyone can learn in their own language."
Research budgets under pressure
The new center was established with support from EFRO and VLAIO. "Ensuring that solutions are ready in time and can actually be applied on farms sounds straightforward, but it takes a huge amount of ambition and effort," Berckmoes explained. "As a research station, you need to set clear, ambitious goals that align with the growers' needs and pursue them relentlessly. Until now, we've mostly done this through project-based funding. However, securing project subsidies is becoming increasingly difficult. Research budgets are under serious pressure, sometimes even cut back, while the demand for research keeps rising. If a project isn't approved, you lose at least a year before you can try again."
Companies can become members of Hortivec, and several have already joined, including Biobest, Bayer-De Ruiter, Ridder, Hortiplan, Van der Hoeven, Fravebot, Crodeon, Agri-GPS, Aisprid, Signify, Octiva, and Grodan.
Earlier this year, PSKW and the Proefcentrum Hoogstraten announced that they will merge on January 1, 2026, to form Harvestis. In the long term, Hortivec will also become part of this new organization, continuing its mission to connect research, technology, and hands-on horticultural practice.
© Thijmen Tiersma | HortiDaily.comSam Gui (Biobest) demonstrates the Entomatic during the tours
View the photo report of the opening here.
For more information:
Hortivec
[email protected]
www.hortivec.be
