News Crops Vegetables
FVGC launches Canadian Greenhouse Excellence Network at inaugural summit

The Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC) held its inaugural Canadian Greenhouse Excellence Network (CGEN) Summit in Ottawa last week, bringing together growers, government, academia and allied industry for a day of discussions and workshops.

The summit, hosted on Feb. 14 at the Lord Elgin Hotel by FVGC’s greenhouse vegetable working group, was an opportunity for the national association to officially launch CGEN, which will use a public-private partnership (P3) model to support growers, researchers and solution providers with better ways to connect, collaborate, validate and commercialize, based on grower-identified challenges and opportunities.

“For the last year, CGEN has been driven by the need for a unique road map for the greenhouse vegetable sector,” said Linda Delli Santi, the working group’s chair. “Canadian growers are dedicated to excellence and known for their early adoption of new technology and sustainable practices. CGEN will help bring stakeholders together to ensure the industry can be successful in the future, while supporting emissions reduction targets and promoting food security.”

“It is an excellent opportunity for government to collaborate with the Canadian greenhouse sector to encourage ongoing investment in our thriving sector,” added Jan VanderHout, FVGC’s president.

Discussions explored ideas relating to climate change, food security, economic growth and trade, setting the stage for CGEN to bridge the gap between today’s realities, emerging research, new technologies and the policies, resources and investments required for implementation.