Effectiveness of Investment in Applied Horticultural Research

A study on the cost benefit analysis of applied horticultural research was carried out in two EU Member States: the Netherlands and Poland. Four crops were selected for the study; two fruit crops ¿ apple and pear and two vegetable crops ¿ carrot and onion. A developed spreadsheet model was applied to calculate the effectiveness of applied research and the returns to society. Important indicators for return are the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The returns to society were mostly high. IRR¿s outcomes ranged from 81 to 14,113%. The NPV¿s ranged from 1 million ¿ for the least profitable project to 464 million ¿ for the most profitable project. The results confirm that governments should continue and not abandon applied horticultural research because it contributes substantially to society. The agriculture and food production sector are subject to strong dynamics to which the research system must be able to adapt. This will require an effective set-up of a system of applied research in horticultural crops on at least four elements: purpose, priority setting, organisational structure and funding strategies