ISHS Acta Horticulturae 49: III Africa Symposium on Horticultural Crops
PREFACE |
| Authors: | Dr. G. De Bakker, R.T. Wurster | ||||||||||||
| Abstract:
It is a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to write a few words as introduction for the proceedings of the "Third Africa Symposium on Horticultural Crops", held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1973. The fact that it was possible to organize this event so soon after there had been already one symposium in 1970 and another one in 1971 in Africa, gives very clearly evidence of a rapid growing interest for the production of horticultural crops and for the wish to cooperate to solve the problems which are inherent to the production of these crops in the tropics. As Secretary General of the ISHS I am very pleased with this development and I hope sincerely that the ISHS with all her members can help the African countries to attain their aims in the field of horticultural production. I compliment the organizers of this Symposium that in spite of all the troubles and problems they brought this conference to such a successful end. In this connection I have to mention the names of Mr. J.J. Ondieki, who acted as Programme Convenor, Prof. C.L.M. van Eijnatten, who gave extremely valuable service in reconciling and dealing with the financial aspects and with the housing of the participants. Then I want to thank Mr. J.H.G. Waithaka, who has been the Chairman of the Organizing Committee. Further I like to thank the Minister of Agriculture and Dr. J.J. Njoroge from this Ministry for all the help they have given to make this Symposium possible. Finally I want to mention the names of Mr.
H.D. Tindall, Chairman of the ISHS Commission "Tropical and Sub-tropical Horticulture" and Dr.
R.T. Wurster, who was up to the time of the Symposium, Vice-chairman (East Africa) of this Commission, who have assisted so much in the preparation of this Symposium. On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Kenya, I wish to welcome you all to Kenya on this historic occasion when, for the first time, horticultural scientists from many parts of the world have decided to meet here to discuss a subject in which we have a great deal of common interest. Until recently, many African countries developed their agriculture on the basis of one or two main cash crops, for example coffee, oil palm or tea. Now the trend has changed and the search for and the development of new crops has assumed great importance in some countries. We in Kenya have decided to develop our horticultural industry so as to diversify our agricultural production and also contribute towards the potential that exists for the development of horticultural crops, especially since they have assumed a new place in international trade. We are now exporting fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, also flowers, to the European markets, thereby exploiting new sources of foreign exchange for our country. The growing of horticultural crops is a complicated form of farming which requires intensive and sophisticated practices which can only be formulated after considerable research effort. In the field of scientific research, no one can work alone and success in research requires team work. It is, therefore, very pleasing to note that those who are charged with this challenging job of developing new crops and investigating the problems associated with their growing and processing are meeting here to exchange their knowledge. We fully support this kind of conference. Horticultural research, and indeed the horticultural industry in Kenya, is young and relatively small. We are, however, determined to develop it in all aspects as rapidly as time and resources will allow. I am sure that, during your stay, you will have the opportunity to hear about and see some of our current activities in the field of horticulture in Kenya. We have a well established programme for the production of pineapples, cashew nuts, coconuts, onions and potatoes. We have recently started to develop macadamia nuts, pulse crops and citrus. We have a few farmers who are now growing flowers on a commercial scale. All these are just the beginning of our national efforts to develop the horticultural industry in Kenya. We estimate that the c.i.f. value of Kenya's horticultural exports will reach K£ 4 000 000 by 1974/75, while processed products will raise a further K£ 6 000 000. We would like to see this industry grow more and more so as to sustain and even improve the returns to our rural population who depend entirely on agriculture as their source of income. I am informed that the International Society for Horticultural Science is one of the many well established international scientific associations. I am pleased to say that Kenya is a member of this Society and, although there are relatively few individual members from Kenya, we will do everything possible to publicise the work of the Society to our scientific officers and encourage them to join. We are very concerned with some of the problems facing developing nations in their efforts to improve the standards of living of their people and particularly the adequacy and quality of foof products which are so essential in improving the health of the people. We are also concerned over imbalances in trade between developing and developed countries. I should like to ask you to examine this issue in relation to the role that horticulture can and should play in the solution of some of these national problems. During the time that you will be in Kenya, I wish you the best of luck and please try and see some of our natural heritage such as our wild life and the way that Kenyans live. I wish you success in your deliberations. Apart from the technical benefits that meetings such as these give to the participants, they also contribute substantially to world peace and understanding. This is no small matter and we in Kenya value it very much. I now have the pleasure in declaring the Third Africa Symposium on Horticultural Crops officially open. On behalf of the President of the International Society for Horticultural Science, Dr. S.A. Pieniazek, the Secretary General, Dr. G. de Bakker, and the Chairman of the Commission for Tropical and Sub-tropical Horticulture, H.D. Tindall, it is a pleasure for me to officially represent the Society at this Symposium. The first International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) horticultural symposium organized in East Africa was held at Makerere University in Kampala in February 1970, and was called the First East African Horticultural Symposium. Seventy-six participants, mostly from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, attended, but there were also representatives from 5 other countries, indicating a wide geographical interest in such a meeting. The second horticultural symposium was held in 1971 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the name was changed to the "Second Eastern Africa Horticultural Symposium" to indicate the wider geographical distribution. However, at this symposium at least 9 countries were represented, including several West African countries, so it became evident that the name "Eastern Africa" would not cover all the countries represented. Thus the membership voted to change the name of the next symposium to the "Third Africa Symposium on Horticultural Crops". These changes indicate the rapidly growing interest in horticulture in Africa, and ISHS is very pleased to be associated with the horticulturists from the many different countries represented at this meeting and to assist with the organization of regional horticultural symposia. In 1970, the Chairman of the Commission for Tropical and Sub-tropical Horticulture, Mr. H.D. Tindall, reviewed the history of the development of the International Society for Horticultural Science. I would like to repeat only the main points here. The first International Congress which can be identified as a horticultural congress was held in Belgium in 1864. This first Congress was followed by other horticultural Congresses which were held at regular intervals until 1923. In 1923, an International Committee for Horticultural Congresses was formed. Unfortunately, this early international committee lacked the permanent staff or secretariat to keep it functioning between Congresses. It was not until 1955 that a proposal was made at the Congress held in The Netherlands to form an International Society for Horticultural Science. The Government of the Netherlands offered to provide a headquarters for the Society. The proposal for the organization of ISHS was implemented at the next Congress held in France in 1958, and Dr. G. de Bakker became the first Secretary-General of the Society. Membership of the Society grew quickly and by the time of the International Horticultural Congress in Maryland in 1966, there were 26 member countries, 107 affiliated organizations and 1 299 individual members had joined the Society. By 1969, 33 member countries, 138 affiliated organizations and 1 499 individual members had joined the ISHS. The early meetings were attended mostly by representatives of the European countries. However, for the Society to become a truly international society, the participation of many countries from other continents was essential. New members and member countries were welcomed from all over the world. Kenya, for example, is one of the ISHS member countries from Africa. The holding of ISHS symposia in Africa has been a significant step toward giving recognition of the importance of horticulture in tropical and sub-tropical Africa. The principal purpose of ISHS in Africa, as in other regions, is to promote horticultural development throughout the world by providing means of communication between members. Through its publications, ISHS seeks to give recognition to the achievements of its members in horticulture. For example, in the First East African Horticultural Symposium, 35 papers were presented and published in an issue of Acta Horticulturae. Chronica Horticulturae is a periodic publication of the Society which is issued free to all members. The publication gives a calendar of events, notes on current research work and reports on symposia and meetings in various parts of the world. Horticultural Research International is a third publication which lists research stations, information about research workers and details of horticultural research projects throughout the world. In all of the activities and functions sponsored by ISHS, the greatest emphasis is placed on people. It is for this reason that the Society considers a meeting of this kind as extremely valuable in promoting contacts between horticulturists from many different countries in Africa and overseas. The ISHS has continued this role in sponsoring the Third Africa Symposium on Horticultural Crops and I am pleased, on behalf of ISHS, to extend a cordial welcome to the delegates of the many countries represented here today and to join the Assistant Minister for Agriculture in wishing this Symposium successful deliberations.
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