Australasian horticultural organisations have strengthened ties with a leading Dutch research institution through a new memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed in the presence of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands today.
The royals attended the MoU ceremony at Cockatoo Island, off the coast of Sydney, which saw Horticulture Innovation Australia, the University of Tasmania and New Zealand’s Lincoln University officially enter a collaborative partnership with world-leading agricultural institution, Wageningen University.
“Increasingly, Australian horticulture is attracting the eye of major industry players around the world, which is in no small part due to our reputation for delivering quality, clean produce, and our drive to continuously develop and innovate,” Horticulture Innovation Australia Chief Executive John Lloyd said.
The MoU will see the creation of the Masterclass in Horticultural Business, the first project of its kind in Australia. The masterclass is available to growers and people working in the supply chain looking to take their business to the next level. Under this investment, up to 30 selected industry leaders each year will be exposed to a nine-month programme of learning that focuses on global trends in agriculture and horticulture, international business, innovation, value chains and governance and risk.
Australia’s peak industry body for vegetables, Ausveg, signed a separate MoU with Dutch seed company Rijk Zwaan during the ceremony, which will see the Australian vegetable industry work closely with one of the world’s leading producers of vegetable seeds.
“Australia and the Netherlands have a strong relationship when it comes to horticultural production and information transfer, with local vegetable growers having benefited from world leaders in greenhouse technology,” Ausveg chief executive Simon Bolles explained.
