Projects

In order to enable horticultural companies to operate in a more sustainable manner, it is essential to independently and transparently define what sustainability means for the various sectors of horticulture. However, sustainability assessment systems that meet these high requirements and integrate the three dimensions of 'social,' 'ecological,' and 'economic' are either not yet available for horticulture or remain largely unknown to many stakeholders in the sector. 

As part of this project, a scientific basis for sustainable development in horticulture and a prototype for a sustainability assessment system will be developed. The modular approach, which takes into account the unique characteristics of different horticultural value chains, is intended to enable application across various specialist areas within horticulture. The foundation of the assessment is a catalogue of indicators that reflect the sector-specific characteristics of horticulture. Experts will define reference values for each indicator, which will then be used to assess sustainability in practice. Through a participatory process, various stakeholders will be involved via a multi-stakeholder committee, interviews and workshops. 

Team at the CBMH: Robert Luer, Iris Hattenbach, Pierre Adrian Filohn, Anastasia Hermann, Dr. Telse Zimmermann, Caspar-Friedrich Weßler

Project duration: 01.05.2024 - 30.04.2027

Funding organisation: Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH)

Project manager: Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE)

Please contact us by e-mail: nachhaltigkeit-gartenbau@uni-hohenheim.de

Business decisions in German horticultural companies are largely based on experience and intuition. Controlling is rarely used and not very intensively. This is due to the lack of business knowledge and the difficulty to recognize the benefits in relation to the effort. Digital technologies in the areas of data acquisition, processing and integration offer potential for information and controlling systems to reduce the effort of data management and to rationalize decision processes. The research project will investigate how digital transformation can act as a driver for controlling in horticulture.<o:p></o:p>

Files for download:

Presentation - 59. Betriebswirtschaftliche ZBG Fachtagung 2021, Thema "App-basiertes Controlling als Werkzeug in der Entscheidungsfindung – Ein Treiber für betriebswirtschaftliches Engagement im Gartenbau?"

conference contribution - Digitale Transformation als Treiber von Controlling im Gartenbau – ein konzeptioneller Ansatz, in (M. Gandorfer, C. Hoffmann, N. El Benni, M. Cockburn, T. Anken, H. Floto, Hrsg.): Referate der 42. GIL-Jahrestagung in Tänikon (virtuell), 21.-22. Februar 2022, Lecture Notes in Informatics (LNI)-Proceedings Vol. 317, Bonn, S. 201-206

Presentation - 55. Gartenbauwissenschaftliche Tagung 2023, Thema "Wie werden Nachwuchsführungskräfte im Gartenbau im Zuge der Meisterfortbildung an den Nutzen betriebswirtschaftlicher Praktiken herangeführt und wie werden dazu digitale Technologien eingesetzt?"

Article - Digitale betriebswirtschaftliche Werkzeuge – Unterstützung für den Obstbau, Gartenbauprofi 05/2022, S. 18-17

Presentation (PDF) - Modeling of the harvesting process as a subsection of an information and controlling system for horticultural production, ISHS Horchimodel 2023 Konferenz in Spanien

Article (PDF)- Wie werden Nachwuchsführungskräfte im Gartenbau im Zuge der Meisterausbildung an betriebswirtschaftliche Praktiken herangeführt und wie werden dabei digitale Technologien eingesetzt?, DGG-Proceedings 2023, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 1 - 7. DOI: 10.5288/dgg-pr-11-01-lm-2023. 

Publication: Müller, L. Luer, R. & Lentz, W. (2025): Smart support for fruit farm business decision-making: A framework for digital controlling adoption, Smart Agricultural Technology, 12, 101157. doi.org/10.1016/J.ATECH.2025.101157

Publication: Müller, L., Luer, R., & Lentz, W. (2025). Modeling of the harvesting process as a subsection of an information and controlling system for horticultural production. Acta Horticulturae, 1425, 247–254. doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1425.32

Luis Müller