EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Horticulture Innovation Lab improves how smallholder farmers grow and sell fruit and vegetable crops, with research activities targeting all stages of the horticultural value chain from seed systems to marketing. The Horticulture Innovation Lab manages a portfolio of horticulture research projects primarily led by researchers at U.S. universities and actively working in 14 countries, including Uganda, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Tajikistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand and Cambodia. We are proud of the accomplishments of our extensive network of researchers over the past year to advance knowledge of how to use horticulture to increase income generation and reduce malnutrition in emerging economies. Engagement in horticulture value chains enhances resiliency by diversifying income streams and diets. The short growing period for vegetable crops mean that vegetables can contribute to food security and resiliency in times of conflict or following weather-related crop failures. There are also many employment opportunities within horticultural value chains. Our projects have enhanced their engagement of youth, supporting youth development as entrepreneurs. As our program enters the final year of its five year cycle, our research projects and our management entity are emphasizing information delivery to share program learnings broadly.

GLOBAL IMPACT OF RESEARCH OUTCOMES

During this year, Horticulture Innovation Lab researchers have field-tested or scaled 57 new technologies (not including seed varieties), and 8,314 farmer beneficiaries report using improved technologies with more than half of these being women. Highlights from our production research include the following. In collaboration with the World Vegetable Center, the Improving postharvest practices for tomatoes in Burkina Faso project introduced a rainy season tomato variety for farmers to grow during the typically off-season period for tomato production. A Guatemalan women’s farming cooperative, which received training through the Expanding tomato grafting for entrepreneurship in Guatemala and Honduras project, has started producing grafted seedlings to sell to other farmers in their area.

Improving postharvest handling and reducing losses in quantity and quality of fruits and vegetables after harvest are important areas of focus for the Horticulture Innovation Lab. Several projects have scaled the Postharvest Training and Services Center (PTSC) model, wherein improved practices for handling of produce after harvest are  demonstrated and related supplies are sold. The Improving postharvest practices for tomatoes in Burkina Faso project is building one PTSC, the Reducing postharvest losses in Rwanda project has already established three PTSCs, and the Building safe vegetable value chains in Cambodia project has built one PTSC-like center they call the Hub for Safe Vegetables.

The two Horticulture Innovation Lab Regional Centers continue to expand their influence in their respective regions, and develop strategic alliances to better position the Centers for sustainability through strategic leveraging of funds. The Centers are engaging with local industry, USAID Mission projects, Horticulture Innovation Lab projects, and university students to share the research outcomes of Horticulture Innovation Lab projects within their regions. Of particular note, Kasetsart University has continued their collaboration with Winrock’s Feed the Future Asia Innovative Farmers Activity project.

In Honduras, the Panamerican Agricultural School, Zamorano, has continued collaborations with Fintrac, the Directorate of Science and Technology (DICTA), Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (ICCA), the Foundation for Rural Business Development (FUNDER), and Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

HUMAN AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING

Progress has been made in developing the human and institutional capacity of local universities to critically think about horticulture problems, develop research questions, conduct experiments and gather data that addresses pressing horticulture problems. At Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania, a mini packhouse, fabricated using old marine containers, was established and equipped with a CoolBot controller and air conditioner, and research has been conducted by Sokoine University of Agriculture students utilizing the CoolBot cold room. In addition, the project team is working with Sokoine to upgrade their horticulture curriculum. In Bangladesh, as a result of project activities, Patuakhali Science and Technology University submitted a proposal and secured a grant from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Science and Technology to further study the efficiency of the UC Davis designed chimney solar dryer. A final round of Trellis Fund projects linked 16 U.S. graduate students with 15 small organizations in Feed the Future countries to address horticulture challenges and provide international experiences for U.S. students and enhanced capacity for local organizations. During the past year, our network trained 79 graduate and undergraduate students (long-term training) and 10,514 shortterm  trainees.

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN HORTICULTURE

There are many employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth within horticultural value chains given the perishable nature of these nutritious products. Our projects have stepped up their engagement with youth. A few highlights include the “Postharvest Innovation Competition”, through which the Reducing postharvest losses in Rwanda project team is growing and nurturing startups working on postharvest innovations and helping them to commercialize their ideas. Young Guinean AVENIR agents trained by our project team focused on establishing a youth-led Horticulture Training and Services Center have built and sold more than 20 chimney solar dryers that reduce waste of fruits and vegetables and increase the availability of dried products in Guinea. The Developing farmer-led irrigation solutions in Uganda project has built the capacity of young agricultural and engineering professionals to work effectively on small, farmer-managed irrigation and horticulture projects.

LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR

Collaboration with the private sector is critical to scaling new technologies and practices, and has many benefits for small-scale farms. We have engaged with several private companies as partners on our research program. Agribusiness Associates Inc., a strategic agribusiness advising company in Davis, CA, leads two projects in the Horticulture Innovation Lab portfolio. As a private company, Agribusiness Associates’ expertise in entrepreneurship in horticulture, and specifically postharvest handling of horticulture products impacted 70 private enterprises, 19 producer organizations, 4 trade and business associations, and 21 community-based organizations. The Horticulture Innovation Lab has developed a franchise model for scaling out the DryCard, a technology developed just last year. DryCards are now available in Thai, Khmer, Spanish, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, French, English, and Bengali and commercially sold by 8 partners in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Mexico, Guatemala, and the United States. The DryCard team was recognized as the UC Davis Chancellor's Innovators of the Year and was awarded $10,000 for continuing scaling efforts.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP BY OUR NETWORK

The Horticulture Innovation Lab and its global network is committed to being a thought leader and source of information within the horticulture-for-development community. This year, the management team was invited to present at the Global Goods Event in Seattle; Global Food Security Conference in South Africa; Rwanda Postharvest Week, Rwanda: the International Conference on Food Safety and Food Security, Cambodia; Royal University of Agriculture (CE-SAIN), Cambodia; ILSI Research Foundation conference on Protected Production of Fruits and Vegetables, Washington, DC; the Dry Chain Workshop at the University of California, Davis; the American Society for Horticultural Sciences Annual Conference, Washington, DC; the International Horticulture  Congress in Turkey; the Food Tank Summit on Food Loss and Waste in New York City; Scale Up Conference at  Purdue University; World Congress of Food Science and Technology, Elevator Pitch Contest. At the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue, the Horticulture Innovation Lab took the initiative to co-host a side event in collaboration with WorldVeg and CRS called “The Power of Produce,” to highlight the importance of fruits and vegetables for global nutrition and poverty alleviation.

Our research network has also contributed to thought leader in horticulture for development. A few examples include the research by Penn State University in the Empowering women through horticulture in Honduras project that spotlight policies, regulations, and cultural norms that limit the participation of women and other marginalized groups in the horticultural value chain. The project is also creating a Gender and Agriculture certificate program at Penn State. The University of California, Davis is developing a locally relevant toolkit and policy recommendations for organizations in the horticulture sector of Uganda based on the results from their Developing farmer-led irrigation solutions in Uganda project.

Browse the 2017 - 2018 Annual Report for additional details