NEW CONCEPTS IN HORTICULTURAL RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION (IN AFRICA)

Research and extension work in horticulture will have to be more specialized in the future if they are to meet the more exacting demands of modern horticulture in Africa. This specialization will make research and also extension workers more interdependent. This is at least one reason for horticultural research being concentrated in one central establishment and redundant sub-stations discontinued. Horticultural research in Africa should solve practical problems and should be "down to earth". Research projects should be chosen on a sound economic basis, comparing inputs with probable benefits.

Many African countries have inherited monoculture systems of production, such as coffee, cocoa, rubber and sugarcane. By promoting additional horticultural crops, farms have become more diversified. However, in some areas, and especially with small-holdings, farms have become excessively fragmented on a subsistence level. The size of a horticultural production unit (micro-unit) affects its economic impact. But also the macro-unit should not be spread too thinly over too large an area in order to make optimum use of the infra-structure serving that particular crop.

Irrigation can, in many areas with seasonal and erratic rainfall, turn hazardous farming ventures into highly productive and profitable horticultural enterprises.