‘IFTF World of Flowers’: a unique threeday event for florists will take place under that name at the IFTF floriculture trade fair in The Netherlands (4-6 November). With its eyes set firmly on the future, World of Flowers will erect the ‘Flower Shop of Tomorrow’. Within that framework, solutions will be brought up for various issues which florists find themselves confronted with – now as well as in the near future. The event is being organized by International Florist Organisation Florint, Green Team Consultancy+ and IFTF.
The Flower Shop of Tomorrow
The immense challenges that the future will bring are central to the IFTF World of Flowers event. You may think, for example, of the rapidly changing market and the parties that (will) define that market, but also the exponential growth of modern media and digital technology, which demands a lot of the florist. Meanwhile, the consumer and his buying behaviour keep changing as well. How does a florist formulate answers to these complex challenges?
To contribute to solutions to these vital issues, IFTF World of Flowers will present the ‘flower shop of tomorrow’ for the florist of the future! What does such a flower shop look like? It’s a shop where change is embraced, and passion reigns; a shop where the consumer is regularly rediscovered; a place where, in this case, inspiring floral design demonstrations constantly take place, by Dutch top florists like Dini Holtrop, Bert Kuiper and other luminaries.
Naivasha Growers To Pay Cess
The Nakuru County government has struck a deal with flower farmers over the payment of cess after two years of delay.
Under the agreement with the Lake Naivasha Growers Group (LNGG), the flower farmers will be paying 20 cents for every kilogram of produce harvested annually. The farmers have also agreed to clear the two years’ debt as the county moved in to enforce the recently enacted finance act. This emerged recently when Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua received a Sh10.3 million cheque from the flower farms for the pending debt.
Mr Mbugua said his government did not want to overburden the group with more taxes as they were already paying 48 different fees. He said his government was engaging other flower farms to start paying cess to the county to improve service delivery. “We have agreed with the Lake Naivasha Growers Group that it will collect the cess on behalf of the county on quarterly basis from its members,” he said.
LNGG Chairman Richard Fox said 22 of the more than 70 flower farms in the county had agreed to pay cess to the county government. Fox said the group would be collecting the cash on behalf of the county government at a premium fee and challenged non-paying farms to comply.