"The knowledge generated by the scientists at the IGZ makes an important contribution to global food security and the preservation of biodiversity, as well as to the preservation and improvement of human health.

The knowledge gained here at the IGZ is of utmost importance to tackle many current problems. The population on our planet is growing rapidly, and all these people need to be fed in a sustainable and healthy way, preferably without damaging our environment and vital biodiversity in the process. IGZ scientists are already providing the scientific basis for plants that can withstand climate change and survive periods of heat and drought. Others are creating models that predict how we can produce vegetables with fewer resources such as peat or fertiliser, thus contributing to mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss.

In summary, the IGZ can be a key player at both the German and European levels in shaping the sustainable horticulture of the future, from the molecule to the production system. In horticultural parlance, it is here at the IGZ that the scientific seeds germinate for the urgently needed solutions to the problems with which horticultural practice struggles in Germany and far beyond. Within the IGZ and in cooperation with the many experts at the Leibniz Institutes and the universities in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, we will use synergies to further increase existing potential.

I see it as a positive challenge to continue and further develop the IGZ's mission to create scientific foundations for sustainable and healthy horticultural production."

Prof Nicole van Dam, Scientific Director since 1 October 2022