Greenport West-Holland is the world's most innovative region in the field of greenhouse horticulture, with the world's best growers of vegetables and flowers, suppliers, trading companies, breeders, consultancies, personnel services, etc. They work closely together: with each other, with local and regional authorities, with top education institutions and with international research institutes. When it comes to greenhouse horticulture, Greenport West-Holland is one of the most important regions in the world with a concentration of state-of-the-art production, delivery, trade, distribution and processing companies, all strongly interlinked. The governments in the region - together with entrepreneurs, educational institutions and research institutes - have united in a network organization: Greenport West-Holland.
Greenport West Holland Cooperation between governments, entrepreneurs, education and research The organisation Greenport West-Holland is actively committed to a healthy, sustainable and vital future for the horticultural cluster in the region. It is a so-called golden triangle, so a collaboration between governments, entrepreneurs and knowledge institutions (education and research).
Our strategy Horticulture is an important economic activity for the region. It is therefore important that the horticultural cluster continues to develop. Greenport West-Holland started the 'Feeding & Greening the Mega-cities' strategy for this. The core of this strategy is that the region remains the leader in terms of knowledge and innovation, provides mega cities in Europe with food and happiness and develops concepts for mega cities elsewhere in the world.
Our ambitions Greenport West Holland wants to be the first climate-neutral Greenport in the Netherlands. That goal has been translated into a number of concrete ambitions:
Enlarge Value & Margin Horticulture cluster Leader in Knowledge & Innovation Leading in Health & Happiness Climate neutral & Circular Smart & Efficient Logistics
All these ambitions have been selected in consultation with the network, collected in the Greenboard. And for a reason: we use and strengthen the power of our network, so that joint ambitions can be realized.
National and international cooperation Collaborations gets you further, is our motto. That is why we collaborate at provincial, national and international level. Greenport West-Holland, for example, has European partners that work on breakthroughs on a number of themes, such as big data and the bio-based economy. www.greenportwestholland.nl/en GreenportWest About the Greenport West-Holland region
Greenport West-Holland is a region in the province of South Holland, and contains leading horticultural municipalities such as Westland, Lansingerland, Pijnacker-Nootdorp and Barendrecht. In addition, there are three cities in the region: The Hague (where the government of the Netherlands is located), Rotterdam (with one of the largest ports in Europe) and Delft (the knowledge city of the Netherlands, including Delft University of Technology).
Accessibility In and to Greenport West-Holland is a large number of highways and important train connections. For a quick connection of horticultural products, the Holland Rail Terminal will be installed. Large quantities of fruit and vegetables are handled daily in the port of Rotterdam. Moreover, the region has its own airport: Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
Complete cluster The companies and knowledge institutions in Greenport West-Holland are internationally leading. The top of the Dutch SMEs and corporates are located in the region. Some appealing examples are: FloraHolland (the largest floricultural trade organization in the world), Koppert Biological Systems (inventor of organic crop protection) and Koppert Cress (which develops and grows healthy mini vegetables). But the other thousands of companies in the Greenport are also at a great international level.
Strong region The export value of horticultural a significant contribution to the regional and national economy in Greenport (from breeders to trading companies) of € 5.4 billion. The region thus makes a significant contribution to the regional and national economy. Moreover, in the regional horticultural sector, there are many tens of thousands of jobs.
Knowledge and innovation The horticultural sector in the Greenport West-Holland region is a global leader in knowledge and innovation. This is partly due to the presence of four top universities (Leiden University, TU Delft, Erasmus University and Wageningen UR) and large research bodies (such as TNO).
Collaboration The Dutch horticulture has grown by working together. Growers joined forces in areas such as knowledge and sales. Today, this collaboration exists in many forms. So flower auction FloraHolland still collectively owned by ornamental growers, and many vegetable growers banded together in producer organizations. Most companies are also affiliated with a sector or professional organization.
Greenport West-Holland
Jolanda Heistek, B. Sc. Director
The Netherlands
www.greenportwestholland.nl/en GreenportWest