2014 ASHS Annual Conference

Investment in horticulture is important because of the close link between poverty and hunger and malnutrition. Horticultural development offers the opportunity to meet food needs and improve nutrition and health in the developing world, while providing prospects for income diversification and economic advancement of the rural poor. In addition, women are, in many regions, the main producers and marketers of horticultural crops, so increasing horticultural production often leads to an improved income stream for women and their children. Typically, horticultural crops are both highly nutritious and economically valuable. Horticultural research is crucial to enable small-scale producers to overcome agronomic market barriers and realize the benefits offered by horticultural development.

For the past five years, a collaborative team lead by the University of California, Davis, has managed the Horticulture Innovation Lab (formerly Horticulture CRSP), with the mission of building international partnerships for fruit and vegetable research to improve livelihoods in developing countries. The Horticulture Innovation Lab is about to enter its second five years (Phase II). We have reflected on the unique opportunities and challenges presented by horticultural development, and enter Phase II committed to building international research partnerships to sustainably reduce global poverty and hunger. In order to achieve this goal, we will focus on horticultural value chain research, innovation and scaling, capacity building, nutrition-sensitive horticulture, empowering women and the most vulnerable, and sharing information. The Horticulture Innovation Lab partner universities are the University of Hawaii, Manoa, North Carolina State University, the University of Florida, and Cornell University. We will share our work and results from the past five years, reflect on some of the opportunities and challenges that we have encountered while working in horticultural development, and discuss our plans for the next five years.