Topics ranging from strategic directions to increasing production and productivity, pests and disease management, postharvest management, best agronomic practices, new potential underutilized fruit crops, and potential markets were discussed during the concurrent session on fruits of the International Symposia on Horticulture (ISH) in Bali, Indonesia on 27-30 November 2018.
Aptly themed Promote the Exotics of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits to Enhance Competitiveness and Penetration into Modern Markets, the session under the main umbrella of ISH was organized by the Indonesian Center for Horticultural Research and Development (ICHORD) of the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD), Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture.
Two hundred and fifty participants from various institutions in Indonesia, including government agencies, universities, and the private sector attended ISH. The foreign participants who attended were from Belgium, Brazil, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The objectives of the Symposia were (1) to deliberate on recent advances, latest information, and research findings on horticultural crops in adapting to a changing global agricultural landscape, (2) to discuss on issues related to agribusiness, market access and profitability in horticultural crops, and (3) to enhance networking among horticultural experts, researchers and industry players. The symposium consisted of a main plenary session on the first day and four separate concurrent sessions on subsequent days. The concurrent sessions were separated according to crop types: tropical fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and socio-economics studies.
In his opening remarks, ISH President Dr. Hardiyanto emphasized that besides sharing information, participants should take the opportunity to establish network contacts that would open more collaboration between agencies and individuals within and outside their country.
During the field trip, participants visited a bio-industry themed project, which depicted a green environment-friendly integrated agriculture production system at Atapan.
Representing TFNet in the Symposia were TFNet Advisor Mr. Yacob Ahmad, Project Officer Mr. Arifurrahman Rusman, and Dr. Tran Thi Oanh Yen, Deputy Director General of the Southern Horticultural Research Institute ̣(SOFRI), Vietnam. Mr. Yacob presented a paper entitled Adapting to Changing Trends in Tropical Fruit Production, Consumption and Market in SE countries and Dr. Tran presented on the research strategies and priorities in developing tropical fruits in Vietnam.