Focus on . . . Horticulture
People's appetite for fresh vegetables is growing fast. Not only are the nutritional benefits of fruit and vegetables more widely understood but, as affluence increases, people reduce their intake of cereals in favour of more interesting, colourful additions to their diet. Urbanisation and better transport links, combined with government willingness to support this high value sector of agriculture, mean that horticulture, for both domestic and export markets, represents an important and increasing opportunity for national and local economic growth. Despite the demand, growers have a tough time producing the quality required. Pests and diseases threaten crops in the field or under glass. Post harvest handling, packaging and transport is especially difficult for what are often fragile and highly perishable products. Food safety legislation, from WTO standards to the new European supermarket code, EUREP-GAP, raise the question of whether small scale producers can compete in international markets. In this edition of New Agriculturist we focus on some of the challenges and opportunities that horticulture presents.
High value horticultural export crops have been one of the major agricultural success stories out of Africa in recent years. But why are the export companies prepared to work with small scale growers when it would be logical to suppose they would prefer to deal with fewer, larger growers? One reason is...
Quietly, so as not to wake her sleeping children, Mary Pakoa leaves the house. Loading herself with the heavy, hand-woven baskets brimming with kumala (sweet potato), cucumber, manioc, plantains and island cabbage, she makes her way down through the silent village to the beach where other women are also ready...
At bus stops, control points and restaurants, roadside selling of fruit and vegetables is as popular in Nepal as elsewhere. But the vegetable buying phenomenon is relatively recent. It seems that efforts by NGOs to educate people to the nutritional benefits of vegetables has meant that Nepali families now eat them far more regularly than before. This is what has created the new and lucrative market that many would like to exploit...
At the height of the tomato season, some 200,000 boxes of tomatoes arrive from the Indian hill state of Himachal Pradesh and pass through Delhi market in transit for the other parts of the country. The tomatoes are packed in wooden crates, each holding 15kg. Just imagine the number of trees that were felled to make them, and the impact that a ban on tree felling would have on the trade.This was the dilemma to which an Indian NGO, International Development Enterprises (India), brought their special style of problem solving...
For decades, market gardeners in Africa have struggled to grow exotic vegetables, despite their poor resistance to local pests and diseases, knowing that they will fetch a better price than traditional varieties. However, in the last ten years or so, there has been a noticeable resurgence of consumer interest in African traditional vegetables...
Putting a picture to the puzzle
For a temperate crop, introduced into tropical areas, how does an agricultural officer from the islands of Samoa get the advice that he needs? The answer may lie in learning online...
Getting vegetables off the ground
The horticulture industry is one of the fastest growing non-traditional export sectors of many African countries. Yet without representation from an international marketing organisation, small scale growers struggle to break into the lucrative European markets where horticultural products are mainly sold...
Biological agents of micro-destruction
Below ground, invisible to the naked eye, yet causing huge economic losses, root knot nematodes are a hidden enemy to growers of horticultural crops throughout the tropical world. Not only can they by themselves cause yield losses of up to 30% but the tiny burrowing holes made by these microscopic worms let in soil fungi and bacteria...
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