Factors determining a successful socioeconomic introduction of horticulture in foreign countries - Academic Consultancy Training Report

Course: Academic Consultancy Training (YMC 60809) Project: Sustainable development of greenhouse horticulture in developing countries (756) Commissioner: Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture Contact person: Ir. C.J.M. van der Lans Coach: Dr. Ir. J.W. Hofstee Expert: Prof. Dr. O. van Kooten A lot of capital is attracted in the initiation of Dutch horticulture businesses abroad. There is however a lack of knowledge about what is known about the critical factors determining success or failure of a horticultural initiative in a foreign country. The goal of this project is to achieve socio-economic sustainability of the greenhouse horticulture in foreign countries. Therefore a model is presented which contains all the necessary factors that an entrepreneur should keep in mind to achieve socio-economic sustainability. In order to get an overview of all the important factors literature was studied and interviews were conducted. This led to a detailed description of all the issues that should be considered when setting-up businesses abroad. Those factors are represented in a ‘dial’ model pointing out what issues an entrepreneur should consider. The model is subdivided in three topics: market, production and trade & logistics. Important factors related to the market are whether there is a market and how to influence the whole production chain. Important factors for the production are the physical place and the employees. A very important factor of the trading is the legalization and the bureaucracy of the country you are producing in.