This success has been attributed to many factors, key among them being the favourable climatic conditions around the equator, availability of educated and resourceful workforce, an economic climate that encourages internal and external investment, willingness to obtain knowledge and technical know-how from internal and external consultants, the ability to innovate rapidly and adopt new technology, and the market awareness and information to develop new products and add value.
New realities
One of the many challenges faced by Kenyan floriculture growers is the management of disease and insect/mite pests. The prevailing equatorial climate is the boon and bane of floriculture. The warm and sunny year round climate that favours flower production also favours pest growth and multiplication. Chemical pesticides have traditionally been employed to mitigate this threat.
However the stark reality of pesticide resistance, environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity and risks for human health has led to the recent rise of strong industrial lobby groups advocating for more environmentally friendly and socially acceptable pest management tactics. Individual customers, numerous certification schemes e.g. Fair Trade, Milieu Programma Sierteelt (MPS), GLOBALGAP (previously EUREPGAP), and the Kenya Flower Council’s silver and gold standards are placing restrictions on permitted pesticides. Furthermore, the flower industry has been the focus of several damaging media exposés and academic research documenting extensive human rights and environmental abuses.
Change of tack
These new realities are gradually forcing a change of tack, pressuring a transition to more ethical business practices and credible accreditation. A recent development has been the adoption of biological control (biocontrol), the deliberate release of an organism in an environment with the intention of keeping pest populations below economically injurious levels. Kenya is leading the world in the successful implementation of biocontrol in floriculture, hitherto un-heard of and un-thought of.
How did it happen?
The Kenyan government through its crop protection authorities, research institutions and the industry identified inappropriate regulation to be a major impediment to adoption of biocontrol as biological control agents (BCAs) were initially registered under the same legislation as conventional pesticides. Landmark legislative framework for the use of natural pest control products including natural enemies, biopesticides, botanical pesticides and semiochemicals was developed in 2003. This enabled Kenyan companies to start mass production of biocontrol agents for major horticultural pests, sorting out the challenges of affordability and accessibility. The Kenyan premier biocontrol company, Dudutech, pioneered the Kenyan mass BCA production and remains a market leader in the production and distribution of BCAs used in management of various pests and diseases in Kenya and beyond.
The huge successes in the biological control of spider mites in roses and leaf miners in peas realized from this pioneering work catapulted biocontrol to the limelight as a viable alternative pest management tactic leading to rapid increase in adoption. These two success stories were mainly driven by pesticide resistance and the scarcity of conventional pesticide products available to growers. Successful biological control in flowers provided the sector with adaptive tools to weather pesticide resistance as most pests are unable (or very slow) to develop resistance to biocontrols.
Training and technical expertise
As adoption of biocontrol rapidly increased, many growers were struggling with the dramatic transition required to shift a reactive pesticide-based control approach, often used for many decades, to one that requires a more proactive and patient approach even when pests are not yet visible in a crop.
Adopting biological control on a greenhouse flower farm requires many years of trials, a dedicated and committed management and staff to stick with it for the long term, a strong network of technical experts and a strong biocontrol sector that can provide the right tools needed by growers. Training, therefore, is an integral component as it engenders an increased capacity, confidence and willingness to change, to seek and adopt innovative technologies and best-practice management techniques.
Dudutech’s robust training department has over the years offered diverse courses on various aspects of environmentally intelligent farming methodologies to varied groups ranging from growers, consultants, and small-holder farmers, custodians of GAP standards in the industry like Kenya Flower Council (KFC) and consumers.
No silver bullets
History has taught us that there are no silver bullets in the fight against pests and biological control is no exception. While there is an acceptance that biocontrols can form the basis of most floricultural pest management programmes, they cannot be relied on completely for adequate pest management all the time and for all pests. Biocontrols need to be integrated with cultural, physical and chemical controls The bigger picture For the floriculture industry to surpass/sustain the success so far realized, one of the overarching goals must be adaptability and sustainability. This would ensure that the industry can anticipate and adjust to the dynamic external environments through innovation and institutional and physical infrastructure. Since biocontrol agents are living organisms, the interactions they have with the environment, the host plant and the target pest is very complicated.
This added to the complication of numerous flower varieties grown under numerous growing conditions make the permutations of biocontrol recommendations and technical advice become massive and very complex. Kenyan flower growers have proven to be great innovators, but they need a strong biocontrol research network to provide growers with unbiased technical advice.
Biological control has been shown to contribute to increased consumer demand for sustainably grown crops and has the potential of increasing Kenyan growers’ share of the market. Today’s sophisticated consumers are educated to recognize and request for flowers grown with minimal effects to the planet and its people. But the customers’ requirement for aesthetically perfect flowers continues to be a major hurdle to adoption of biological control. A marketing strategy that educates the supply chain, especially the retailers and consumers that a few blemishes on their flowers is a small price to pay for responsible growing needs to be developed.
The author is the Chief Trainer at Dudutech IPM Solutions