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

Around the world, people who grow food face countless challenges, and the severity of those challenges is increasing. The Feed the Future Innovation Labs created solutions for those challenges, benefiting agriculture in the United States and globally. The food we eat comes from everywhere, so these efforts to improve agriculture have universal impacts.

The Horticulture Innovation Lab, based at the University of California, Davis, focused on improving the value chains of fruit and vegetables — from seed systems to postharvest processing to market access. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and based in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, the lab's work was terminated mid-cycle on February 28. 

“Our program is one of the few global initiatives focusing on fruits and vegetables and supports hundreds of researchers working to bring these critical crops within reach for every family,” said lab Director Erin McGuire. “Closing our 16 research projects was a huge loss, but I am hopeful this important work will find a way to continue.”

Fruit and vegetables matter

We all rely on fruit and vegetables to improve our health, help our children grow strong and to be part of meals that bring friends and family together. Yet, cost and access make it hard to consistently have these critically nutritious products on our plates.

Generating solutions that increase people's access to lower-cost fruit and vegetables is vital, but few resources are dedicated to researching these crops.

“Although critical for human health, horticulture is under-researched,” said Associate Director Archie Jarman. “This opportunity to have worked with researchers around the world who are striving to find solutions to challenges in this sector will be a highlight of my career. Knowing the network of people connected to the Horticulture Innovation Lab and their dedication, these efforts will continue in a new capacity to help make fruit and vegetables affordable and accessible to all.”

The Horticulture Innovation Lab's research from 2009 to 2025 was instrumental for fruit and vegetable sectors in Africa, Asia and Central America. The Innovation Lab leveraged fruit and vegetable production as a tool for:

• Establishing new frontiers in "opportunity crops," including diversity and nutrient cataloguing.
• Testing and releasing new varieties of drought-resistant vegetable crops.
• Increasing incomes for small-scale producers.
• Engaging youth in agricultural entrepreneurship.
• Empowering women through horticultural opportunities.
• Achieving greater supply of produce at lower prices in markets.

Our impact by the numbers

• 400+ Graduate students supported (200+ in the U.S., 200+ abroad).
• 100+ Innovations developed or validated.
• 30+ Countries with active research projects.
• 1,500+ Organizations strengthened through institutional capacity building.
• Tens of thousands of farmers, business people and officials trained.

Through agricultural training programs in the United States and on three continents, researchers and farmers alike gained knowledge on a spectrum of topics critical to the horticulture value chain. Critical research by the Horticulture Innovation Lab has closed some of the broad knowledge gaps the world faces in fruit and vegetable production.

Key innovations

• CoolBot™ - Low-cost cold storage technology adopted by more than 125,000 farmers worldwide.
• DryCard™ - Simple, reusable tool to determine if dried foods are dry enough for safe storage.
• Chimney Solar Dryer - Fast-drying solar technology that works in hazy conditions.
• Zero Energy Cool Chamber - Brick-and-sand structure for cooling fresh produce inexpensively.
  

Horticulture Innovation Lab at UC Davis

Since 2009, the Horticulture Innovation Lab has brought faculty expertise and student engagement from UC Davis to the global stage, serving for many years as one of the largest programs within the Department of Plant Sciences. Through the lab, 60 horticultural research projects were housed through UC Davis. Closely aligned with the international agricultural development master’s degree program, the lab provided graduate students with hands-on research opportunities and field experience around the world. It also offered experiential learning through its on-campus demonstration center, which showcased global crops and small-scale agricultural innovations. Further, the lab supported 76 Trellis Fellows, supporting UC students' experiences in low- and middle-income countries to conduct research and collaborate with local organizations.

In October, the Horticulture Innovation Lab organized Global Agriculture Day at UC Davis — an event that brought together leaders from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR), the Gates Foundation and other international institutions. These global voices joined Congressman Ami Bera (D-Sacramento) and UC Davis leaders to discuss resilience in international food systems.

Building networks that last

The Horticulture Innovation Lab established an irreplaceable network of hundreds of U.S. universities, U.S. private companies, global institutions, in-country universities, non-profits and private companies to conduct this vital research. Representing these organizations are dedicated experts who are relentlessly striving to make sure we continue to have fruit and vegetables in our diets.

Regional Hubs: Leadership in action

A cornerstone of the Horticulture Innovation Lab's approach was its network of Regional Hubs, which served as centers for research, innovation and knowledge exchange in East Africa, West Africa, Central America and South Asia. These hubs embodied the program's commitment to local leadership and global collaboration.

"As the Horticulture Innovation Lab program comes to a close, it has been incredibly fulfilling to collaborate with a team of dedicated scientists to drive innovations that enhance horticultural productivity, improve nutrition and increase incomes for small-scale farmers across East Africa," said Penina Yumbya, East Africa Regional Hub director, based at International Centre for Evaluation and Development (ICED) in Nairobi, Kenya. "While the program has ended, its impact lives on through groundbreaking research, strengthened partnerships and policies that will continue to shape a more resilient and nutritious food system. Seeing our work contribute to shaping horticultural policies in the region is truly rewarding."

"FORWARD Nepal was privileged to coordinate and lead the South Asia portfolio for the Innovation Lab for Horticulture," said Krishna Prasad Sapkota, South Asia Regional Hub director. "We successfully managed initiatives focused on youth entrepreneurship and urban horticulture, and we promoted circular economy approaches to managing soil-borne diseases. The sudden closure of USAID support has disrupted ongoing research, undermined trust among farmers and left many students who are pursuing master's and Ph.D. degrees in limbo, despite being midway through their field research."

The regional hubs are located at the International Centre for Evaluation and Development in Kenya (East Africa), University of Ghana (West Africa), Zamorano University in Honduras (Central America) and the Forum for Rural Welfare and Agricultural Reform for Development in Nepal (South Asia). They served as bridges between global expertise and local priorities. By identifying region-specific challenges and opportunities, the hubs ensured that research addressed the most pressing needs of each area's horticultural sector.

The Horticulture Innovation Lab took an approach of local leadership and global support. On-the-ground experts guided research while benefiting from expertise from the United States and around the world. This approach encourages resource efficiency and ultimately promotes future capacity to address national challenges without outside support.

This approach also promotes an exchange of knowledge about fruit and vegetables that benefits the U.S.

Program origins and context

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 though the Global Food Security Act, passed by Congress with bipartisan support and reauthorized in 2022. 

"It seemed natural, and a responsibility, that UC Davis would be the leader of the Horticultural Collaborative Research Program, designed to improve nutrition and income through horticulture," said Ron Voss, first Hort CRSP director, professor emeritus and vegetable specialist for UC Cooperative Extension. "The literally dozens of project leaders from UC Davis and many collaborating institutions around the world assumed the mission of introducing new technologies and practices, and helping others help themselves in literally dozens of countries. The positive impacts of the past 15 years will be felt forever, but greatly lessened by the termination of USAID Innovation Lab funds."

Originally scheduled to operate through fall 2026, the program concludes earlier than planned following recent changes in U.S. foreign assistance priorities. Following an Executive Order in early 2025, oversight of USAID programs, including the Innovation Labs, was transferred to the Department of State as part of a broader federal realignment of international development assistance. Shortly after that, the program was terminated.

"I am very proud of the innovative approach to development that the Horticulture Innovation Lab implemented with their current funding; fully empowering local experts to lead horticulture research with global support," said former Director Beth Mitcham. "I mourn the lost ability to fully capture the impact of this approach due to the sudden termination of the program, but the benefits were already apparent."

Our consortium over the years included many of leading US Universities

• University of California, Davis (Lead Institution)
• 2021 to 2025
  • Florida A&M University
  • Michigan State University
  • Texas A&M University
  • World Vegetable Center
• 2009 to 2019
  • Cornell University
  • North Carolina State University
  • University of Hawaii, Manoa
  • University of Florida

Looking forward

Among all of these connections are many individuals whose primary goal was to make the world better through fruit and vegetables. They all recognized that these commodities are critical drivers for the health and well-being of people around the world.

Countries rely on one another to enjoy a year-round supply of fruit and vegetables or products that cannot be grown at home; agriculture is global.

"What I'm most proud of is how we've empowered local leadership while building global connections," McGuire reflected. "The relationships forged and knowledge shared will outlast any single program. That's the true measure of success."

For all of the partners, collaborators, growers, friends that were part of the Horticulture Innovation Lab – thank you. Though our program concludes earlier than anticipated, the innovations, knowledge, and connections we've fostered will continue to bear fruit long after our formal work has ended.

Stay connected

• Access our research archive: All publications and technical reports remain available at horticulture.ucdavis.edu/info-products.
• Explore our technologies: Find implementation guides and specifications at horticulture.ucdavis.edu/technologies.
• View our project archive: Our network of researchers continues their work at institutions worldwide. Learn more at horticulture.ucdavis.edu/projects.