Kenya’s flower industry has been on impressive highs, having surmounted several lows to remain among the most preferred globally.
Changes in weather which have hit Kenya’s competitors like Ecuador have worked to the benefit of Kenya. Brazil which is clearing more of traditional flower farms and converting them into real estate has equally given Kenya a competitive edge.
The irony however is that the same factors working for our country are in a few years going to work against us. Already the effects of climate change are being felt particularly in agriculture. Land meant for production, of even flowers, is quickly being subdivided and turned into commercial plots. However the noise to oppose such moves is not loud enough.
This is one of the major problems of our flower farmers. Markets still continue to pose challenges, growing conditions are not quite streamlined, yet the demand keeps coming. Farmers keen on question their information thirst are turning to international companies because there is no local information.
Trouble with this is that international companies don’t know local solutions and are therefore not better placed to give homegrown solutions. According to a Horticultural Crop Development Authority (HCDA) report, there is enormous growth potential in the small-scale flower growers if appropriate financial and technical assistance as well as a supportive policy can be put in place.
The overall enormous growth in value, acreage and volume of Kenya’s cut flower industry has been largely attributed to a robust private sector involvement and externally-sourced knowledge and technologies. Kenya has adequate technical and human capacity and skills but this has not been adequately utilized by the industry.
A recent study jointly showed weak interactions between the flower farmers and the local research system causing the floriculture industry to rely on external knowledge to solve the industry’s problems.
This over-reliance on external knowledge has contributed to the under-utilization of indigenous research capacity in Kenya, even though most of the stakeholders agree that Kenya has adequate skilled and well-trained manpower.
The slow, bureaucratic procedures in the public research institutes undermine their ability to respond to urgent farmers’ requests. Most farmers’ experiences with public research institutions are heartrending, whereby it takes more time to get results from local laboratories, whereas if they sent samples to laboratories abroad, it would take them less to get results by email.
Farmers’ needs, such as disease outbreaks are usually urgent and require immediate solutions.
The delays from the local public research system forces farmers to seek solutions from international research establishments. underscore the need to improve the interface between and among scientists, researchers, farmers, policy makers and service providers and build the capacity of industry stakeholders to conduct demand-led research.
For any research activity to be useful, it must be sensitive to local needs and priorities as well as allow ownership of its agenda by the intended beneficiaries. In the case of floriculture research, flower growers and exporters are the key stakeholders and their views should help inform research decisions.
Information on market trends demands, tastes and preferences, transactional costs and prices should be easily available and updated.
Market access is closely related to phyto-sanitary compliance and proper (pre- and post-harvest) handling of flowers. As yet, there is minimal emphasis on post-harvest handling and training for growers. This constitutes an opportunity for the research and training institutions.
Companies like Elgon Kenya which commands over 80 percent of all flower customers in the country has a wealth of information about market needs, and trends which if turned into documented study would play a key role in providing informed guide to growers and other industry players while making the Kenyan flower competitive in the global arena.
Elgon Kenya’s extensive network of agronomists and field officers has enabled them interact with different growers who have shared with them their farming experiences.
Such information could be key in addressing gaps that stands in the way of profitable and internationally competitive flower production business.
Our role in supporting government and the flower producing fraternity bloom remains unflinching and we call on a hybrid partnership to make this a reality now more than ever.