Category: Past Featured Articles

His Excellency Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, Farmer number one for those who grew up in 80s and 90s, a flower farmer and chairman to one of the fastest growing group in the sector, former president and crusader for agriculture as a whole, was promoted to glory on Tuesday, February 4, peacefully. He was 95. All the flowers used during the occasion came from his farms. It was a fitting salute to his dedication, not only to his farms, but to the industry he loved.

True be said, the industry lost an international investor the flower industry, an enthusiastic educator, a devoted volunteer and a friend to many.

The Flower industry is but one of many sectors who will feel an enormous void with Mzee Moi’s passing. “Mzee Moi was a prolific contributor of practical, easily relatable and accurate GAPs, both as government policy and as a farmer. In more than 20 years of working close to Mzee Moi’s farms, they are professionally run and most of the other farms have benefited immensely from their professionality. I have also learnt a lot every time I visit them.

Due to the impact of the 2019- CoV, the 2020 China International Floriculture & Horticulture Trade Fair (Flower Expo China) will be rescheduled for a new date and venue.

The event was originally slated for March 16th-18th, 2020 at Guangzhou International Sourcing Center, and is now moved to May 11th-13th, 2020 at Hall 3 – Hall 4 at Guangzhou Poly World Trade Center Expo.

Coronavirus impacts international flower trade
“Gesundheit startet hier!” That’s what the disinfection gel dispensers read at the IPM Essen last week. The Chinese hall was empty during the Fruit Logistica show in Berlin. The effects of the coronavirus outbreak in the industry though are more broad.

Since the Chinese holidays are extended and many flights are canceled, projects will be delayed. Due to the coronavirus the trade at the markets is shut down as well: with no logistics and no trade on the markets, the market is silent. We spoke to several people in the industry to learn more about the situation and the impact on the international horti- and floriculture industry – particularly now, in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.

“Dr Lisbeth Riis, founder and CEO at Scarab Solutions, has explained how the cut flower industry can significantly benefit by replicating the principles of digital mapping of pests and diseases to the plants in their greenhouses Using satellites, GPS tracking and mapping software to create Geographic Information Systems, very detailed maps were produced from the data collected.”

Pest and disease mapping in any environment has far-reaching effects. Thirty years ago, wild poliovirus was present in more than 125 countries and paralysed 350,000 people every year, primarily young children. Now incredibly targeted tracking and mapping efforts, combined with a global immunisation program by Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), have reduced the number of cases by more than 99 per cent, saving more than 13 million children from paralysis.

Lessons learned from human diseases can be applied to horticulture
It seems that while these advanced techniques are now prevalent for human diseases, not enough has changed in the cut flower greenhouses in Africa and Latin America, where a large amount of the world’s cut flowers are grown. Mapping of pests and diseases in horticulture is still often a manual, inaccurate and inefficient process relying on paper-based analysis and individual knowledge.

Typical farmers expect to lose five to 10 per cent of yield to pest and diseases, which is why effective control can greatly increase the number of plants sent for harvest in the first place. Not only do they benefit in terms of the total yield—but they can also better focus staff and resources on the farm and even limit wastage of pesticides and biological control agents.

Florist Zhong Wenping is usually racing around at valentine’s time, preparing for Valentine’s Day. But this year her flower shop in Jingshan, a small city in central Hubei province, was quiet.

Like many places in the province at the centre of a deadly coronavirus outbreak, the streets of Jingshan were empty. Wedding banquets and other events were on hold. The shops are shut, as are cinemas, karaoke bars, restaurants and even banks. Checkpoints and guard posts have been set up at the entrance to every public building, and residential communities are in lockdown as authorities try to contain the outbreak that is believed to have started at a live animal and seafood market in the provincial capital Wuhan in December.

“It should have been the busiest day of the year for me because the Lunar New Year holiday is over and everyone should have been back to work,” Zhong told the South China Morning Post.

“I should have started preparing roses a week ago, but people haven’t been able to leave their homes since late last month – let alone do any celebrating,” she said. “Also, how can you really sterilise flowers?”

If you are feeling anxious about Valentine’s Day, spare a thought for those working in the floral industry. For them, this is the busiest time of the year, and it’s largely about just one flower: the ubiquitous red rose.

Ahead of February 14, Gulf News visited Black Tulip Flowers, the region’s largest floral company, to gain an insight into how they deliver millions of Valentine’s Day roses in 35 countries worldwide.

The Sharjah-based company begins operations at 3.45am when most of us are still in bed, to prepare for their biggest days of flower sales.

“We are the third largest flower grower in the world and this is the peak time for our business so one can well imagine what’s it like here,” said the company’s owner and chairman M.M. Ehiya, an Indian expert who started from a small flower shop on Sharjah’s King Faisal Road in 1990.

Stimulating and reflecting good practices in floriculture, the FSI Basket of standards is evolving and including additional environmental benchmarking criteria with an emphasis on reliable data and record-keeping.

Supporting mainstreaming of good practices
The additional environmental benchmarking is not a new standard nor replacing current benchmarks. It is a set of benchmarking criteria supporting the mainstreaming of environmental principles across compliance standards, strengthening the FSI basket as international reference for sustainable practices.

It is noteworthy to assert that Kisima is setting a good example of sustainable farming and innovative ways of cutting the cost of production without compromising quality and quantity in production. These practices are worth emulating as they deliver results based on what Kisima has achieved from these strategies.

“We want to be remembered as the farm which integrated their farming systems to enable sustainability both environmentally and socially to conserve soils for the future generations while improving livelihoods of people in the community” asserted Craig General Manager Kisima Floriculture Kisima which sits at an altitude of 2400M produces large headed premium roses which are sold through the auction. They export over 20 million stems annually, being a smallholder grower with less than 30ha to survive in the sector of big giants; you have to design a unique way of operations. For this, Kisima believes in two major unique ways; cutting cost innovatively and practicing environmentally and socially sustainable farming.

Kisima’s commitment to environmentally and socially sustainable farming has not only enabled them to manage their farm operations successfully but it has also attracted notable accolades for them both locally and internationally. Kisima emerged victorious for the best imported rose in the recently concluded Keukenhof awards with Rosa Hurricane has their headlining variety. They managed to get this award after growing Rosa Hurricane for one year. Rosa Hurricane variety is owned by select breeding. The judges at Keukenhof awards based their judgment on head shape, the opening of the head, the vividness of color, health of foliage, strength of the stems, distribution of thorns and vase life. Rosa Hurricane successfully checked every box to enable Kisima to claim the award.

For the 8th year in a row, Kenya hosted the International Flower Trade Expo (IFTEX) at the Oshwal Centre, Parklands Nairobi.

IFTEX which was launched in 2012 has grown tremendously to be a renowned exhibition brand worldwide. Currently it attracts more than 250 both national and international exhibitors ranging from; growers, buyers, breeders, suppliers, regulatory and compliance institutions and logistics. Over time IFTEX has contributed to promotion of Kenyan cut flowers which its demand continues to rise in world market. This action has enabled the Kenyan flowers to compete well with other giants like Ecuador, Colombia and also Ethiopia who are coming up well.

This year’s IFTEX show kicked off on 5th June 2019 with the chairman of HPP international exhibition group inviting exhibitors, buyers and all other participants to the event; “it is with great pleasure to welcome you the 8th edition of Kenya’s trade fair for the floriculture industry, it is without doubt the most important international trade fair for fresh flower trade” said Dick Van Raamsdonk.

The growth of IFTEX over the years has been boosted by its unique approach of reversing the culture of exhibitions across the globe. IFTEX brings buyers and growers under one roof, which makes it so special. “It is a place where you meet buyers and growers together, it is a business platform, international buyers source flowers directly from the Kenyan growers, this makes IFTEX so different “reiterated Dick Van Raamsdonk.

A great team start with a great leader. This involves setting goals for the team, communicating the mission, setting proper systems and standards and leading by example, Team motivation- Simple recognition of your team’s efforts and celebrating their achievement can go a long way.

Who is Nancy Kurgat? Describe yourself as concisely as you may.
Nancy Kurgat is the production and technical manager, Sian Agriflora. She is also a team leader and has over 15 years experience in the floriculture sector. She has a training in Horticulture (Egerton University), Business & strategic management (Moi University) and several in job trainings on supervisory and leadership among others. Over the years, she has grown and progressed through the ranks from supervisory level to management level.

Ladies have a natural affinity for the world of flowers, and show much greater appreciation for it than men do. Even then, very few go about establishing their careers in the flower production industry, like you have done. What spurred you to do so? Any role model or someone who inspired you?
My role model in the industry is Mr Andrew Wambua, the General Manager of Molo River who was my boss when I first joined the industry at Equator flowers. I attribute a lot of my success to the first trainings and mentorship I attained from him. I cannot forget our Chairman Mr. Micah Cheserem whose leadership really inspired and geared me to another level of leadership and creativity. I have not words to express my gratitude other than a big thank you.

In addition, it has been noticed by men of all ages is the affinity of women towards flowers; the freshness, gorgeousness and the innocent blooms have always been a dire favourite of women. Even with this love for flowers women perceived the career as hard for to pursue because of the associated obstacles for instance, growing is tasking and needs a lot of commitment in terms of time. Most women will wish for careers that ensure they are home early and over the weekends to take care of the family.

I joined the industry immediately after I cleared my studies and I must say that I also had the same reservations but after working for some time I realized that I enjoyed more than I thought! I cheered myself that, “YES, I CAN, and will be, a significant part of the floriculture industry in spite of all the obstacles.”

A trade show is a big investment of time, money and energy, and you may be asking yourself: is it even worth it? With the rise of digital and online events, YouTube and social sharing, traditional trade shows can feel outdated and inefficient.

However, trade shows are still the one of the best ways to make an impression with a relevant audience. According to the 2017 report from the Content Marketing Institute, 68% of B2B marketers utilize in-person events as part of their marketing strategy, and 36% of them say the events are effective. While trade shows may no longer be top dog for B2B marketers, they are still one of the five most critical tactics for content marketing success and are a major part of many B2B marketing plans.

Get the most out of your trade show by building a comprehensive B2B digital marketing plan to support it.