Organisation - April 7, 2011

Wageningen scientists to teach horticulture in China

An agricultural development centre is being opened in Xiamen. China is to get its own Wageningen Road.

The first courses are due to start this summer in the brand-new Sino Europe Agricultural Development Center (SEADC) in Xiamen. This centre in the Chinese coastal city will officially open on Friday, 8 April. Wageningen UR is an important partner in the project, in which the EU and the Dutch flower sector are also participating.
According to the China coordinator Jan Fongers (Wageningen International), SEADC is a training centre for pot plants and vegetable cultivation. The aim of the centre is to raise the standards of horticulture in Fujian province and to facilitate collaboration between the Dutch and Chinese horticulture sectors. The centre has greenhouses, training facilities and offices for Dutch companies. Dutch businesses set up the greenhouses.
Road named after Wageningen
Over the next few years, Wageningen UR will be giving courses at the centre in such subjects as plant breeding and vegetable supply chains. SEADC is located on the Xiamen University campus. The Mayor of Wageningen, Geert van Rumund, and Aalt Dijkhuizen will be attending the opening of the building. Wageningen has friendly relations with Zhangzhou, a large city close to Xiamen. Symbolic recognition of that friendship is expressed in the name of the road to the new centre: Wageningen Road.
Wageningen UR's involvement is the result of the close links Executive Board Chairman Aalt Dijkhuizen maintains with China. Dijkhuizen is technical advisor to the governor of Fujian Province, which includes Xiamen. Dijkhuizen was even made an honorary citizen of Fujian last year.