Knowledge and technology from the Netherlands to improve yield, product quality and safety of Indian fruit & vegetables

• Region: India
• Sector: Horticulture
• Duration: 2017-2021
• 12 Project partners
• Public-private partnership co-financed by the Dutch government

Providing knowledge and technology from the Netherlands to improve yield, product quality and safety of Indian fruit & vegetables.

HortiTechIndia

The Netherlands is a global leader in greenhouse cultivation and protected cropping. The consortium “HortiTechIndia” consists of highly innovative Dutch companies and knowledge institutes operating in the horticulture sector. Together, we aim to collaborate with Indian partners to upgrade the quality of the Indian horticulture sector and thereby enhance productivity and profitability. This partnership will do so along the entire horticulture chain, from seeds to the end consumer, giving special attention to mid-tech solutions.

Key Achievements

• • Provided knowledge transfer on improved yield, product quality, and safety.
  • Conducted webinars on food safety in the horticulture supply chain.
  • Highlighted the importance of better inputs (e.g., seeds) for crop production.
  • Showcased mid-tech greenhouse technology solutions for Indian horticulture.
  • Positioned the Netherlands as a leader in Indian horticulture knowledge and technology.
  • Increased awareness of food safety challenges and solutions in India.

More with less; better inputs:

The Dutch horticultural sector makes a big contribution to producing more with less through robust starting materials and research into resistant plant varieties and sustainable cultivation methods. One of a grower’s most critical management decisions is the selection of inputs. The cost of seeds usually is less than 5% of total production costs. Yet seeds can affect the yield potential of a crop more than any other input factor.

Knowledge transfer:

Besides technology, knowledge and management skills are key to the successful operation and implementation of greenhouse technology. As the leading exporter of food products, the Netherlands has many educational institutes that offer education and training modules in the field of horticulture and supply chain management.

Vision and mission:

By combining better inputs, technology and knowledge transfer, our vision is to increase the yield of vegetable crops per square meter and growers’ income as a consequence; improve product quality and safety to increase the domestic sales and export of Indian vegetables; and transfer (mid-tech) technology and knowledge to increase competitiveness.

The mission of HortiTechIndia is to position the Netherlands as the leading country in the field of horticulture in India and, as such to upgrade the current horticulture sector to a higher level and to gain market access.

Webinar series: From Plant to Plate

Are you a Horticulture enthusiast eager to learn more about topics related to food safety? During the HortiTechIndia webinars we held Indian and Dutch experts will tell you more about the food safety challenges, opportunities and solutions covering the entire horticulture supply chain. You can find all recordings here and on YouTube.

• Webinar I – Food Safety from Harvest to Plate
  Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT0KltHIeq8
• Webinar II – Food Safety and High-Tech Production
  Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXGD1SAyOZc
• Webinar III – Food Safety and Plant Management within the supply chain
  Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBDaGQq9nt4

Companies

The consortium initiated and coordinated by Larive contains the following sector experts jointly improving yield, product quality and safety of Indian fruit & vegetables:

• Rijk Zwaan is active worldwide as a vegetable breeding company that focuses on the development of high-quality vegetable seeds for professional growers.
• Koppert Biological Systems is the international market leader in the field of biological crop protection and natural pollination.
• Ludvig Svensson provides innovative climate screen solutions that control humidity, temperature and UV radiation according to requirements, creating excellent conditions for better and greater production in greenhouses.
• Hoogendoorn Growth Management develops and provides innovative solutions in climate control, energy management, water management and labour & harvest registration.
• Hendic B.V. is a supplier of water storage systems used in agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, and industry.
• Dutch Plantin produces innovative, sustainable and customer-oriented coco substrates for the professional horticulture sector.
• VEK adviesgroep designs and supervises the construction of greenhouse projects worldwide. VEK also provides business plans including a detailed design of a greenhouse with an accurate estimation of the total investment, operational cost, yields, market prices and finance.
• TwinsYeald has extensive knowledge and experience realising the most complex and large-scale horticultural projects worldwide and has broad experience from the development of business plans to harvesting and tracking of products.
• The Lentiz onderwijsgroep provides pre-vocational secondary education (VMBO), general secondary education (HAVO), pre-university education (VWO) and senior secondary vocational education (MBO). Over the past decades, Lentiz has gained international experience and knowledge in the fields of horticulture, floriculture, food(processing) and supply & cold chain management and has been active in India.
• Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences, is an international green knowledge institute that combines education, delivered by passionate experts, and applied research within amongst others food & dairy. In India, VHL has a partnership with the Agriculture College of Baramati.

News

These Dutch articles describe the opportunities of Horticulture in India and the state of the sector in today’s world.

India lijkt rijp voor opschaling bedekte teelt

Veiligheid van groente en fruit in India