The South Africa-Netherlands Horti Business Platform

5 - 7 March 2013. Pretoria. South Africa. The South African intensive farming industry gathering at in Irene for the Undercover Farming Expo & Conference.

Niek Schelling of the Dutch Embassy in Pretoria,

 Elton Jefthas (ASNAPP) and Harm Maters 

(Greenport Holland International) revealed 

the logo of the platform during the Holland Reception.

Three speakers from The Netherlands who shared their knowledge with the diverse audience, ranging from the private sector (large commercial as well as new developing farmers) to government and civil society organisations.

The South Africa Netherlands Horti-Business Platform was launched after a multi-stakeholder meeting that took place in the afternoon.

Background: The South Africa-Netherlands horti Business Platform.

Harm Maters of Greenport Holland International (GHI) and Elton Jefthas of Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural African Plant Products (ASNAPP), are co-chairs of the platform. 

Greenport Holland International, is an independent foundation of leading companies in Dutch horticulture, knowledge institutions and government. By combining the Dutch knowledge and technique and the South African expertise on the horticultural development in South Africa, the ambition is to upgrade the South African sector to a profitable and sustainable sector, and to secure food availability, food safety and job creation. By the support of the Dutch government, innovative projects on Capacity Building, Technical Innovation and Empowering the Sector are encouraged and facilitated.

Related: Horticulture Training Centre Opens in Kenya
Published on 7 Mar 2013
Horticulture accounts for 5% of the 25% agricultural sector's contribution to Kenya's GDP. To steer up this critical sectors contribution, Kenya's Agricultural research institute and fresh produce exporters association, this week launched the first ever practical training centre. ABN's Loise Wachira was at the launch to find out more on this new centre's offering to the sector.

Developed under the auspices of the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK), with a Ksh120 million grant from the Netherlands government, the 40-hectare centre is situated in Thika, where everything horticulture will be showcased.

The PTC is set to benefit from a new grant of 1.5 million euros from Netherlands under the NUFFIC project - that specifically finances capacity building in higher education (NICHE). This is a joint project with the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology (JKUAT), the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), with the PTC taking the lead in managing the project locally.

A yet-to-be identified Dutch service provider (usually an institution of higher learning/ practical training) will manage the funds and the project in the Netherlands. This financing is limited to curriculum development and research capacity development, and is different from the current one that has been developing training facilities.

Under this project, all courses at the PTC and JKUAT on horticulture will be reviewed, and detailed curriculum including training materials/booklets developed. There is also a plan to accredit the courses locally and internationally, and undertake a detailed Training of Trainers for the PTC and JKUAT.

South African programme for farm animal breeding and reproduction technology

7 December 2012. Brussels. The South African Mission to the European Union organised a lunch info session for a presentation by Mrs Ravini Moodley, Agri-Biotech Sector Portfolio Manager at Technology Innovation Agency, about the South African programmes for agriculture and biotechnology innovation, especially for farm animal breeding and reproduction technology.

Mrs Ravini Moodley is a Small Enterprise Development Researcher with the Technology Innovation Agency in Pretoria, South Africa.The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) was established in 2008.

TIA’s core business objective is to support the development and commercialisation of competitive technology-based services and products. The Agency primarily uses South Africa’s science and technology base to develop new industries, create sustainable jobs and help diversify the economy. It invests in the following technology sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Industrial Biotechnology, Health, Mining, Energy and ICT.

TIA was formed through merging seven DST entities previously tasked with supporting and promoting innovation in the country. These entities included the Innovation Fund, Tshumisano Trust, Cape Biotech Trust, PlantBio Trust, LIFElab, BioPAD Trust, and the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS).

In a bid to revitalise the animal vaccine development and manufacturing in South Africa, which is crippled by insufficient funding and the lack of co-ordination between agricultural research institutions, the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) established the Tshwane Animal Health Cluster to improve services for livestock farming and agribusiness.

The initiative is a result of the outcry by livestock farmers and the value chain industry in South Africa that has been crippled by the country’s failure to prevent the spread of viral outbreaks that have lost the country billions of rands following the suspension of trade in sectors, such as beef, due to foot and mouth diseases, and ostrich meat, hides and feathers due to avian flu.