Last week you received Floriweek slightly later than usual. The delay was caused by a computer crash that disrupted the production process. Restoring files and reorganising everything to ensure the issue was published took time. It also raised a sobering thought: what if there had been no backup? In that case, there would simply have been no Floriweek.
That experience offers a useful lesson for the floriculture and fresh produce sector. How strong are our own backup systems?
Any system in the world can fail. Computers crash. Cold rooms break down. Irrigation systems can stop working. Even advanced AI-driven crop protection tools can malfunction. Logistics networks can be disrupted, flights cancelled and cool chains interrupted. In a business built around highly perishable products, there is very little room for failure.
The fresh produce sector survives on reliability, timing and trust. One breakdown can mean missed markets, rejected consignments and financial losses. That is why contingency planning must always be part of the business model.
Today, we are already seeing warning signs in the Middle East market. Geopolitical tensions, logistical disruptions and shifting consumer behaviour are slowly eroding what had become a promising destination for Kenyan flowers.
But the real question is larger. Suppose such disruption were to occur in the European Union market, the backbone of Kenya’s flower exports. What immediate alternatives would we have?
Just as farms build backup systems for water, energy and cold storage, the industry must also build backup markets. Diversifying destinations, strengthening emerging markets and exploring new trade corridors is no longer optional.
Systems fail. Markets shift. The time to explore and secure new markets is before a crisis arrives, not after.