The Horticulture Innovation Lab Regional Center at Kasetsart University connects researchers, extension workers and members of the private sector as a repository for horticultural technologies and knowledge. The center provides training programs, facilitates the evaluation and adaption of horticultural technologies, and develops mechanisms for sharing ideas within and across borders.
The center serves Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia by providing:
- Training for farmers and horticultural professionals
- Technical assistance and innovative technologies
- Curricula and material development
- Information dissemination
The center brings together key regional players to improve livelihoods of poor farmers and small businesses in Asia.
The Regional Center at Kasetsart University spans the entire university, involving faculty members from diverse departments, including food science, agronomy, horticulture, and agricultural engineering. Dr. Poonpipope "Poon" Kasemsap, of the Horticulture department, is the director of the center.
Horticulture Innovation Lab Regional Center at Kasetsart University
Print or share this one-page PDF introduction to the Horticulture Innovation Lab Regional Center at Kasetsart University, which includes featured technologies, activities and who to contact for more information.
Technologies at the center
The center includes adaptations and demonstrations of horticultural technologies. These are some of the technologies demonstrated at this center, with links to basic fact sheets:
- Pest-exclusion nets
- Drying beads
- CoolBot for cool rooms
- Chimney solar dryer
- Solar pump for irrigation
- Zero-energy cooling chamber (ZECC)
Inauguration and events
An opening ceremony for this center was held Feb. 8, 2012 (at which time it was called the "Horticulture CRSP Regional Center of Innovation at Kasetsart University"). The opening ceremony was also part of the program's annual meeting.
USAID GLEE on Scaling Agricultural Technologies: In January 2014, the center helped host a tour of technologies for USAID's Global Learning and Evidence Exchange (GLEE) on Scaling Agricultural Technologies. Faculty members from Kasetsart University provided explanations and displays related to several horticultural technologies, including a solar chimney dryer, CoolBot-equipped cold room, and a solar pump system. Read more about the event from this CRSP Digest article, "Innovation Labs participate in Feed the Future's GLEE on Scaling Agricultural Technologies".
International Vegetable Training Course: Each year, the Horticulture Innovation Lab collaborates with the World Vegetable Center and Kasetsart University in support of the International Vegetable Training Course. This annual 3-month training course brings together participants from throughout the world to learn about various aspects of vegetable production, postharvest handling and marketing, and agricultural extension. Mark Bell of the Horticulture Innovation Lab is one of the trainers for a module on agricultural extension, focused on how to best provide farmers with information they need and in forms they can readily understand and act on.
Fact sheets and more info
See also the Regional Center at Kasetsart University fact sheet (PDF) for more details.
Find out more about the Horticulture Innovation Lab's work in Asia (pdf) and about Horticulture Innovation Lab partners in Asia.
More about the Horticulture Innovation Lab Regional Centers
The Regional Center at Kasetsart University is the first of such centers opened by the Horticulture Innovation Lab. Find out more about our Regional Centers.
