16 years of innovation: The enduring impact of the Horticulture Innovation Lab (2009-2025)

Background
The Horticulture Innovation Lab was first awarded to UC Davis in 2009 as a Collaborative Research Support Program when a global study found a critical need for more research in fruit and vegetables. Later, it became the Horticulture Innovation Lab, as a part of the Feed the Future initiative through the Global Food Security Act, passed by Congress with bipartisan support and reauthorized in 2022. 

Originally scheduled to operate through fall 2026, the program will close on April 30, 2025, following an Executive Order that transferred oversight of USAID programs to the Department of State as part of a broader federal realignment of international development assistance. 

The program's global research network advanced fruit and vegetable innovations for farmers to earn more income while better nourishing their communities. Led by a team at the University of California, Davis, the Horticulture Innovation Lab built the capacity of local actors across the horticulture value chain, helping smallholder farmers improve their ability to grow, store, and sell high-value fruits and vegetables. These crops play a crucial role in U.S. fruit and vegetable supply chains, serving as vital imports during the off-season. 

Improving livelihoods — through higher profits and diversified, nutrient-rich diets — was a primary goal, strategically creating stability in regions where farming is the primary economic driver. The program’s work wais guided by improving information access, targeting innovative technologies and increasing research capacity, while supporting diplomatic and economic interests and influence abroad for the benefit of the American people.

Projects spanned the value chain of fruit and vegetable production, from seed systems to postharvest processing. Collaborations included more than 18 U.S. universities and 200 organizations in more than 30 countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Through partnerships and collaborative research, the program aimed to build the capacity of researchers, institutions and farmers to advance horticultural science and ultimately reduce the need for foreign aid in the long term.

Goals and objectives

Program Goals: Through collaborative research, extension, and capacity building, the Horticulture Innovation Lab worked to build resilience and increase incomes by:

• Advancing horticultural science, from seed to consumption, both domestically and abroad
• Creating economic opportunities for small-scale producers and entrepreneurs
• Expanding horticultural and technological market and trade opportunities with the U.S  
• Improving diets and nutritional status
• Facilitating the exchange of innovative ideas and technologies

Program Objectives:

• Identify and address key knowledge gaps through research and development of innovative technologies.
• Increase stakeholder access to and adoption of reliable information and technologies to improve the horticulture value chain.
• Build capacity of stakeholders to conduct research and effectively apply and disseminate information and innovative technologies.