Acta Horticulturae

Using audited figures, the Balance Sheet for the
period under review (Table 2) shows that the
Society business is growing steadily. An increasing
membership base and more published
Acta account for this growth, which is balanced
by greater expenses at the Secretariat and
increasing publication costs (Table 1). The financial
report was approved by the General
Assembly.
Extending the Science Base
Major gains were made to broaden the
Society’s “product line” through strategic partnerships
with other societies serving horticultural
science. Thus, the agreement with the
International Society of Citriculture will generate
more citrus-related symposia, an agreement
with the International Peat Society makes
that Society a partner in symposia initiated by
our Commission on Substrates, and recent
negotiations with the International Network for
the Improvement of Banana and Plantain have
led to the formation of a new ISHS Section on
Banana and Plantain.
This approach to making our science program
and knowledge database more reflective of all
horticultural crops and disciplinary specializations
continues to be explored. Discussions are
underway with several other societies including
the International Society for Tropical Root
Crops, the International Plant Propagator’s
Society and the International Society for
Mushroom Science.
Outreach
A major thrust of the outgoing
Board was to
increase the Society’s involvement
with the horticultural
research for development
community worldwide. Board
interaction with seven international
development specialists
(the Committee for
Research Cooperation) led to
the conclusion that ISHS can
play an important role in
achieving the millennium
development goals of the
United Nations relating to
reducing poverty and food insecurity. It is widely
recognized that encouraging the production
of high-value horticultural crops by smallholder
farmers can improve family income and improve
the diet of farmers and their community.
However, the growth of horticulture industry in
many developing countries is constrained by an
inadequate capacity to educate people about
horticulture and conduct horticultural research.
Furthermore, many of our colleagues working in
developing countries are poorly supported and
often unable to make connections with their
colleagues around the world.
The strategy developed and implemented by
the Board was to identify and engage partner
organizations that recognize and appreciate the
strengths of the ISHS membership base, its
science program and its database of horticultural
knowledge. Several of these partners were
represented on the Committee for Research
Cooperation - the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the
French Agricultural Research Centre for
International Development (CIRAD), the World
Vegetable Center (AVRDC) and two Future
Harvest Centers of the Consultative Group for
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
Another key organization identified and cultivated
by the Board was the EU’s Technical Centre
for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation serving
79 ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries
(the CTA).
On the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding
with the CTA, signed at Montpellier,
France in March 2006, representation at the
Seoul Council meeting was increased by colleagues
from 7 ACP countries and regions.
Similarly, cooperation with FAO resulted in two
other countries being represented at Seoul as
Country/State members. Arrangements with
several CGIAR Future Harvest Centers has
strengthened our efforts with respect to protecting
horticulture crop genetic resources and
supporting colleagues working on horticultural
crops in tropical countries (e.g., banana, plantain
and tropical root and tuber crops).
Representation by the President at the last four
World Food Prize ceremonies has brought horticulture
to the attention of that prestigious body.
Cooperation with AVRDC, CIRAD, the CGIAR
and other agencies has resulted in ISHS playing
a prominent leadership with respect to the
Global Horticulture Initiative (see Chronica
Horticulturae Vol. 46 No. 2).
Clearly, ISHS is recognized as a significant and
serious player within the international ‘research
for development’ community. With the Global
Horticulture Initiative as the vehicle, ISHS can
expect in coming years to provide networking
opportunities for thousands of professional colleagues
living and working in the developing
countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and
Eastern Europe. In so doing ISHS can effectively
contribute to building an indigenous capacity
for horticultural research and education.
Advocating for the Profession of
Horticultural Science
Attention was paid to the serious decline in the
number of institutions of higher learning that
support faculties of horticultural science - a
phenomenon most evident in Europe, North
America and Australasia. The Board had supported
several initiatives aimed at understanding
this trend (e.g., the ISHS-ASHS Forum on
the Future of Horticultural Science within
Academia). Lectures on the general theme
“Horticulture: An Essential Life Science” were
presented in six countries. A Memorandum of
Understanding with the International Association
of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) will
provide ISHS with an opportunity to make contact
with the hundreds of thousands of people
visiting horticultural exhibitions sanctioned by
AIPH around the world. Discussions on cooperation
with organizations like the Royal
Horticultural Society of the UK that serve urban
horticulture and publish magazines read by
serious gardeners around the world, are
ongoing.
A New Strategic Plan for the Society
A Strategic Plan was developed by the Board in
early 2006. This document was presented to
the Council and Executive Committee at Seoul
and was accepted by Council without amendments.
See page 3 for additional comments
about the formulation and the nature of this
Strategic Plan intended to guide the development
of the Society over the next four to eight
years.
AMENDMENTS TO THE
STATUTES
Amendments, published in Chronica Horticulturae
volume 46(2), make it possible for a
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