The inaugural international horticultural immersion program is supported by Agmardt and the horticulture industry and includes both Lincoln and Massey University students well as several young growers. The group reaches across the supply-chain from plant science to food marketing.
Programme leader Professor Hamish Gow of Massey University hopes to challenge the participants to think about different systems and business models through exposure to vertical and urban farming operations, leading-edge genetics and plant-breeding innovations, personalised nutrition trends and 3D food printing.
“One of the visits was to the World Horti Centre near Rotterdam where students were impressed by the culture of open industry collaboration on technological innovation, research and education all under one roof.”
The centre is the home to more than 100 leading horticultural businesses. Co-created by the government and industry, it provides a unique, open innovation hub where industry can converge to exchange, demonstrate, catalyse and create horticultural innovation and knowledge transfer.
Centre members can talk about their neighbours’ technology as easily as their own.
Massey Horticulture Society president Molly Green, a third-year plant science student, said “I was surprised to find how well the horticultural businesses here work together even though they are competing with each other.
“They even have a name for this, Concullega. It means that they are both competitors and collaborators-colleague at the same time. I’d like to see NZ transition from a DIY to a DIT, Do It Together culture,” Green said.
Van der Knaap senior area manager Dick Verweiji said “We are all part of one open clubhouse – a community of innovators supported by a common purpose and culture within a common meeting place.
“We are part of a competitive team that makes each other stronger by standing together shoulder to shoulder.”
AgFirst consultant Leander Archer said the unique, collaborative ecosystem created at the World Horti Centre between industry, research and education creates business models that focus on corporate social and environmental responsibility.
“What surprised us most was that despite the cost of sustainable production Dutch businesses are expected to compete on price with imported products that do not have the cost of meeting their social and environmental responsibilities.
“This outlook drives the extremely efficient, innovative and sustainable systems we have observed in the Netherlands.
“We believe this sustainable business model will become the expectation of the consumer and New Zealand horticulturalists will have to meet these new standards.”
The group is also visiting Belgium and Korea.
