Horticulture, Institutional and Policy Issues

Horticulture, Institutional and Policy Issues Overview

Horticulture is a branch of agriculture. It deals with the cultivation of garden crops including perishables like fruits, vegetables and ornaments; and non-perishables like nuts. While a specialization in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables for food is referred to as pomology, floriculture is another branch of horticulture that deals specifically with the cultivation of flowers and other ornaments.
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Considering its relevance, there are several institutional arrangements constituted to handle issues relating to horticulture. The first and oldest is the Royal Horticultural Society established in England in 1804. Others are the American Horticultural Society, the International Society for Horticultural Science in Belgium and the Nigerian Horticultural Research Institute. These bodies cater to various needs in the field including facilitating production and distribution, engaging in research, organizing conferences and publishing research findings which are expected to form the basis of policy formulation. However, despite the existence of these bodies, horticulture receives far less attention than it deserves.

At a time when the world is focused on increasing the production of common foods like grains to meet the needs of an increasing population, policies and funding are rarely targeted at horticultural activities. Unavailability of favourable industry related policies affect the institutional capacities of these institutions. It also affects the conduct of research on other problem areas like pest and disease management, production, labour and environmental issues. This emphasizes the responsibility of horticultural bodies at local, state and national levels to facilitate policies and secure more funding opportunities that will ensure that horticulture contributes more to global food systems. As a function of encouraging all branches of agriculture to thrive, Tengrain Science provides a range of services that enable research for agricultural development.