News

20 April 2006

ICUC participates at the Launch of the Global Horticultural Initiative

On March 23 the Global Horticultural Initiative was launched during a conference in Montpellier, France. The initiative had been initiated and guided by the World Vegetable Centre (AVRDC) with support of the Centre de Cooperation International en
Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement (CIRAD) and the International Society for Horticultural Sciences (ISHS)
Over 70 participants from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, amongst them ICUC's director, supported the Initiative which intends "to improve the health and income of the poor in developing countries through sustainable, demand driven, horticultural production, processing and marketing systems."

The participants adopted a declaration which encourages AVRDC to continue spearheading the initiative and to establish
an interim Steering Committee which was tasked to develop the governance structure and fundraising plan for the initiative.
The launch was accompanied by the announcement that USD 2.5 million was pledged in support of the GHI to develop
horticultural systems in the world's poorest countries.

For more information, please look up http://www.globalhort.org