Horticulture and floriculture are an important vehicles for pro-poor growth and development. The research 'Pro-Poor Horticulture in East Africa and South East Asia' aims to show governments and donors that they should include fruit, vegetables and flowers in their strategies for agricultural growth and livelihood development. This focus should include development of the domestic market, away from the often-dominant attention for export orientation only. The focus in the research is on value chain analysis, and on the variation of poverty alleviation impact across alternative marketing channels.
On 7 July 2005, observations from field research on horticultural development and poverty reduction in Uganda and Vietnam were presented before officials in the European Commission. At the seminar, recommended trade policies and priorities for aid assistance of the EU were discussed. Officials present were from the ranks of DG Development, DG Agriculture and AIDCO (the implementing body for development assistance).
Funding for the research from DFID (through the EC PREP programme) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in The Netherlands is gratefully acknowledged. The research is part of a work programme at LEI on horticultural development in Africa and Asia, which covers a wide range of issues including: supply chain development and marketing; agrobiodiversity; environmental protection; livelihood development; and public-private partnerships.
Follow the link to the project website for more information: www.growoutofpoverty.nl or contact Thom Achterbosch for more information (phone: +31-71-3358194; e-mail: thom.achterbosch@wur.nl).