The International Conference on Horticulture (ICH-2009) was held in Bangalore-India from 9 to 12 November 2009. The theme of the conference was “Horticulture for the livelihood security and economic growth”. In this international scientific meeting, a total of 647 lead and contributory papers were presented covering all aspects of modern horticulture research and development. The papers were grouped into 17 sessions covering the following theme areas:
i) technology domain;
ii) institutional and policy support: socio-economic domain;
iii) producer-consumer’s domain;
iv) technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC);
v) seminar-challenges and opportunities in horticulture, and;
vi) future thrusts and recommendations.

The Plant Production and Protection Division contributed three papers and partially supported the participation of one Research Scientist from Nigeria. The conference was very successful in many respects. It achieved a high attendance with the participation of over 600 scientists. The conference proved that a huge potential exists to foster south-south cooperation. Given adequate support, horticulture can contribute to diet diversification and improved livelihood of rural and urban poor.

Apart from scientific lectures and discussions, registered participants who attended Hortivar training sessions highly appreciated the opportunity to become acquainted with the FAO database on the performances of horticulture cultivars.