Articles
THE COMPARISON BETWEEN ITALIAN AND DUTCH FLORICULTURE TECHNICAL AND ECONOMICAL ASPECTS
Paris, London, and the Ruhr area are within a 500-km radius from Amsterdam and Rotterdam and are accessible by means of a dense network for transport by road, rail, air and ferry.
Moreover, in this century to challenge the unfavourable climate and morphology of the soil, Dutch horticulture built up a large glasshouse industry which is becoming more and more sophisticated.
At the moment, computerization has come to be a standard item at several levels, such as climate control, fertigation, high technology, etc.
New technical developments and the increasing economic knowledge result in increasing yields and a better productivity.
Marketing, financing, budgeting, planning are taken into account as early as at the production stage.
Recently, the floricultural sector has been considered a large industry: "a pillar of the economy".
The situation of horticulture in Italy is quite different where it is still a branch of the agricultural sector, even one of secondary importance in comparison with the motorcar industry.
Italian horticulture consists of a few large enterprises and a myriad of small nurseries scattered all over the country, using obsolete technology and labour-intensive production strategies.
The production is characterized by a traditional structure, family management and few employees.
Growers harbour minds a firm belief: in the advantages of the mediterranean climate which is believed to free them from the need to consider the possibilities of high technology.
High technology is regarded as too risky and too expensive.
To tackle urgent problems concerning physical improvements, specialization of production techniques (field production as well as glasshouses), producers can address themselves to the public experimental station of San Remo.
This institute is oriented towards public and private research-projects, rather than farmer-oriented practical development work.
At the moment the necessary finances are lacking.
For a suitable floriculture the growers have tried to set up cooperatives, but with limited success.
The large number of federations and associations with the purpose of organizing courses, meetings, exhibitions and promotion may be confusing.
For this reason 35 Chambers of Commerce have created the "Organo Nazionale di Collegamento" to integrate several tasks into one organization.
In the Netherlands the assistance to the growers is better