International Horticulture and Management

The flowers and food sectors in most economies worldwide are undergoing rapid change. The development of new products, the increase in demand in non traditional markets, as well as the relocation of production to areas with a favourable production climate, both in the physical and in the business sense, are contributing to a form of globalization that is specific to these sectors. There is hardly a field in business activities where the interests of production and those of sales and marketing are so closely linked.
Agricultural production in Europe faces important challenges on how and where to produce for increasingly demanding consumers and a competitive market. The future managers and advisors in this sector need more than ever first-hand knowledge about innovative techniques in horticulture and plant breeding and skills of international business management.
Graduates of this course will have first-hand knowledge of practice in the Netherlands, one of the leading EU countries in horticulture and plant breeding.
Therefore, a middle manager in Flowers and Food needs to be aware of both the primary process in horticulture, the issues that are paramount there, new developments stemming from research, and on the other hand the marketing and sales process, including the logistics that are paramount for these perishable goods. To this, the successful manager will add international awareness and experience of international setting in which both the production and sales will take place, aided by proficiency in handling cultural differences.
Successful graduates will be competent to work in the following areas of expertise:o Live and think in plants and their enormous potential for contributing to human well
being and nutrition, while respecting the sustainability of the ecosystems that provided
the original material
o Handle the business process in large-scale production units, or in the inputs industry,
in order to provide a balance between flexibility and continuity
o See, and transfer to others, the possibilities of physical, fiscal and economic environments
other than one´s own
o Provide leadership and motivation to partners and colleagues, or employees, for a
wide variety of backgrounds in such a way that respect is given where it is due