Partnerships of paramount importance for development of Chinese horticulture

Population growth is a global question, especially in countries where densely populated megacities are on the rise. Take China for example; a country where topics like food-security and the availability of fossil fuels are high on the agenda. Will building Dutch greenhouses simply solve these issues, or is a different approach required?
To find out, a group of Dutch horticultural suppliers and research bodies founded the Dutch Sino Horti Cooperation. In 2013 they kicked off their ‘Partners for International Business’ (PIB) consortium in order to find out how to help the Chinese horticulture with adaptive Dutch technologu and know-how. It resulted in the opening of a Chinese Solar Greenhouse at the Research location of Wageningen University in Bleiswijk, The Netherlands. The greenhouse has been used to better adapt the Dutch solutions and practices to Chinese standards, level of knowledge and habits.

Presenting results
After more than a year of trials with Dutch horticulture solutions in a Chinese setting, the findings of the research were highlighted during a special seminar that was organized in Beijing last week. The event was opened by Ridder sales manager and seminar-chairman Joachim Keus. He explained that the future success of horticulture development in China will be determined by more factors than just offering a tailored greenhouse design or adaptive solution. “Aside of providing our technology, we need to share our knowledge and increase partnerships with Chinese government, businesses and research institutes”, ten Haaf said.

Golden Triangle
The PIB consortium is a good example of the opportunities that these partnerships create. “In this consortium we have been working together with other companies, researchers and governments. We have shown that cooperation between countries like Holland and China, but also between government, researchers and business, the so-called Golden Triangle, is very important. It’s all about bearing challenges and solving issues together.”

Agrofood development
Various Vietnamese investors are showing interest in injecting their capital into the resurgent domestic agriculture and horticulture sector. There is much demand for agricultural products and some big industrial heavyweights see a chance to invest in the horticulture chain. These developments are associated with the necessary contributions from Vietnam’s export partners. Although the Vietnamese government designated the Netherlands as a preferred partner for agrofood development, many Japanese and Korean partners are also involved in projects. These countries are interested in Vietnam’s export potential and realise that further technological development of the Vietnamese horticulture sector is needed.

Asia’s market garden
Jan Hoogewoning, Business Development Manager for Southeast Asia at Ridder, is following the developments in Vietnam closely. He notes that much more knowledge and support will be needed to help the local horticulture sector get going. “Vietnam, and particularly the higher altitude southern region round Da Lat, have everything that’s needed to become the primary horticulture area in Southeast Asia. There is a favourable climate for greenhouse cultivation and also an increasing demand for safe and year-round cultivated products. However, many growers are not yet capable of raising a high-quality, uniform and food-safe product. They lack the right technological resources, and also frequently the knowledge and insight to invest in these. Often they don’t know all the possibilities. ”