The Flemish Minister for Culture, Jan Jambon, recently recognised the Ghent Floralies as intangible heritage. This recognition values the event as intangible heritage; the jury appreciated that the traditions surrounding the Floralies also look to the future through innovation and the link with the coming generations. The recognition comes at an excellent time because on 1 May 2020, Ghent will once again prepare for a new edition of the Ghent Floralies.

This spring LAVA will launch a pilot project for its new multifunctional digital platform. As the first step in this digitisation process, LAVA wants to provide growers with a handy tool that helps them perform their everyday tasks. A ‘digital assistant’ in the field that combines
existing and new services. 
This pilot project will serve as the basis for a high-quality and future-oriented IT platform that will be further expanded with new intelligent functions to help growers. At a later stage, LAVA will build a ‘digital ecosystem’ around growers and their producer organisations.

The rhododendron simsii Hortinno® Magisnow Winter Beauty® by Hortibreed NV based in Lochristi, Belgium, won two awards at the IPM international horticultural trade fair in Essen: after winning the "IPM Novelty 2020" award in the category "Flowering indoor plant", it was also elected the most popular novelty by the public.

From 4 to 9 October 2019, the world’s food sector will once again be welcomed to Cologne. VLAM will be there, together with 37 export companies of Belgian meat, dairy, poultry and rabbit, in three different pavilions. Traditionally, the sector plays an important role in the economy of Flanders, the northern half of Belgium. In 2018, Flemish companies exported goods worth 328 billion euros. Around 13.2% of those exports were agri-food products. Flanders is not just a major food producer for itself, its food specialties are also prized in the neighbouring countries and even far beyond Europe. So naturally the Belgian suppliers of meat, poultry, rabbit and dairy will be there at Anuga 2019.

The Morus rotundiloba Mojo Berry (Matsunaga PBR) won the gold medal in the ‘Varieties’ category at the FLORALL awards. It was one of the highlights of a trade show already bathing in a noticeably positive ambience.

Belgapom, the association for the Belgian potato trade and processing industry, can announce that in 2018 the 5 million tonne mark was passed with regard to processed potatoes. This is absolutely a new record and what makes it even more remarkable, is that it is the sharpest annual increase since the nineteen-nineties.

As of 1 July, Filip Fontaine will become the general director of VLAM, Flanders’ Agricultural Marketing Board. Fontaine succeeds Frans De Wachter who will retire on 1 July 2019 after a long career with VLAM.

On 12 March, the FLORALL trade fair was held in Waregem. There is also a competition for novelties connected to the trade fair. The Hydrangea ‘Runaway Bride’ by tree nursery Willy De Nolf from Waregem won the gold medal in the ‘varieties’ category. In the ‘concepts’ category, the ‘Berroo Pure’ by Dataflor from Zonnebeke won with a completely ecological strawberry plant product.

Sustainable development is a dynamic and very topical subject: it affects us today, tomorrow and also into the future. The cooperative fruit and vegetable sector, wants to further improve its sustainability.
VBT President, Rita Demaré rolled out the VBT’s renewed sustainability strategy on 7 February 2019 at the Fruit Logistica trade show in Berlin. The collective quality label Responsibly Fresh remains a way for people to identify fruit and vegetables which have been produced with a concern for sustainability. The new slogan ‘Goodness by nature’ emphasises the fact that the products, which are healthy by nature, are grown with the minimum impact on the environment.