Issue No. 13 September - October 2010 KSH 250, USD $3 NEWS SEPT- OCT.pdf · Issue No. 13 September...

Managing fruit flies Focus: Oserian, Xpressions Flora Strawberry farming

www.kenyaflowercouncil.org / www.hortnews.co.ke

Issue No. 13 September - October 2010 KSH 250, USD $3

● KCB Naivasha Horticultural Fair 2010● Selling in Japan● War on counterfeits

Coaching�program�of�research�for�development�projects

Commissioned�proposalsAsian�Fruit�Fly�ManagementIn�2009�Taiwan�ICDF�commissioned�a�research�project�to�GlobalHort on�the�Asian�Fruit�Fly.�These�emerging�and�invasive�fly�species�cause�enormous�damage�on�tropical�fruits�and�more�recently�on�vegetables�like�melons�and�other�cucurbits.�This�justifies�a�global�approach�based�on�public�private�partnership�and�integrated�pest�management.�The�Asian�Institute�of�Technology�is�coordinating�this�2�year�regional�project.

Call�for�proposals�in�2009Recipes for Success From�this�successful�call�and�severe�selection�from�GlobalHortSecretariat,�one�project�proposal�has�been�granted�focusing�on�Health�and�Nutrition.�“Recipes�for�Success”�is�coordinated�by�Crops�For�the�Future�and�involves�three�countries�in�West�and�East�Africa.�It�is�granted�for�one�year�and�additional�funding�is�one�expected�output�of�its�work�plan.

Facilitating�capacity�building�and�knowledge�management

The�concept�of�regional�innovation�platformsCORIPHAGlobalHort is�coordinating�a�proposal�to�fill�the�gaps�of�knowledge�management�and�information�sharing�in�horticulture.�The�main�objective�for�each�regional�platform�would�be�strengthening�national�taskforces�in�horticulture�and�networking�them�at�regional�level.�GlobalHort will�facilitate�information�flows�between�the�Eastern�and�the�Western�African�platforms�in�order�to�make�them�useful,�efficient�and�sustainable.�This�proposal�called�CORIPHA�is�to�be�funded�by�the�European�Thematic�Programme on�Food�Security,�and�possibly�by�USAID�through�the�Hort CRSP�program�for�regional�Excellence�Center.

Video�conferences�on�high�value�markets�in�AfricaGlobalHort has�been�mandated�by�The�World�Bank�to�organize�a�series�of�ten�seminars�on�various�topics�related�to�regional�trade�of�horticultural�produce�in�Eastern�and�Southern�Africa.��The�network�of�Global�Development�Learning�Centers�network�will�be�hosting�participants�from�seven�countries�to�share�information�and�discuss�strategies.

Increasing�consumption�of�fresh�and�safe�F&VGlobalHort is�collaborating�in�the�FAO�WHO�initiative�for�the�promotion�of�fruits��and�vegetables�for�human�health�and�higher�incomes.�The�workshop�of�Yaoundé,��2007,�gathered�representatives�from�Agriculture,�Health�and�Education�of�tropical�Francophone�Africa.�The�Arusha workshop�of�2010�will�gather�those�from�tropical�Anglophone�Africa.

Executive SecretaryRémi KAHANEGlobalHortc/o AVRDC-RCAPO Box 10 DulutiArusha –TANZANIATel: +255-272553093Fax:+255-272553125Email: [email protected]@globalhort.org

ContactBoard ChairNorman E. LOONEYPresident -International Society for Horticultural ScienceP.O. Box 500, 3001 Leuven, BELGIUMPrincipal Scientist EmeritusPacific Agri-Food Research Centre4200 Highway 97S -PO Box 5000Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0 CANADATel: (1) 250-494-6361Home tel/fax: (1) 250-494-9689Cell: (1) 250-460-1211Email: [email protected] www.globalhort.org

Global Horticulture InitiativeGlobalHort is an international consortium for the promotion of innovation in

horticulture, with a pro-poor vision. Its constituencies are its members, and it is an open initiative: visit www.globalhort .org and contact us!

“Empowering Women • Reducing Child Mortality • Improving Maternal Health

“INNOVATION IN HORTICULTURE FOR HEALTH AND PROSPERITY”

GlobalHort is an international consortium for the promotion of innovation in horticulture, with a public-private partnership approach.

Core activities• Promotes and advocates horticulture

for development• Networks diverse and dispersed

communities• Facilitates funding and coaching of

research for development projects• Stimulates training, education and

capacity building at regional level

GlobalHort in action• Creates and co-organizes events like

the All AfricaHorticulture Congress -Nairobi 2009 -Nelspruit 2012

• Organizes workshops and conferences for stimulating regional coordination - Concept of Regional Innovation Platform (CORIPHA) -Series of interactive seminars on horticulture inSouthern and Eastern Africa

“INNOVATION IN HORTICULTURE FOR HEALTH AND PROSPERITY”

GlobalHort is an international consortium for the promotion of innovation in horticulture, with a public-private partnership approach

Core activities• Promotes and advocates horticulture for development• Networks diverse and dispersed communities• Facilitates funding and coaching of research for development projects• Stimulates training, education and capacity building at regional level

GlobalHort in action• Creates and co-organizes events like the All Africa

Horticulture Congress - Nairobi 2009 - Nelspruit 2012

• Organizes workshops and conferences forstimulating regional coordination

- Concept of regional innovation platform (CORIPHA) - Series of interactive seminars on horticulture inSouthern and Eastern Africa

Visit www.globalhort.org and support our activities!

Empowering Women

Reducing Child Mortality

Improving Maternal Health

H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I S E P T E M B E R - O C TO B E R 3

Nairobi Office, P. O. Box 43340 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Office Tel: +254 (0) 20 6608000,Office Fax: +254 (0) 20 6608240+254 (0) 20 6608000,Office Fax: +254 (0) 20 660824020 6608000,Office Fax: +254 (0) 20 6608240Office Fax: +254 (0) 20 6608240 Mobile: +254 (0) 722 120777

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Head Office, P. O. Box 2010 - 20117 Naivasha, KenyaOffice Tel: +254 (0) 50 2030210 / 2021036, Office Fax: +254 (0) 50 2021035, Mobile: +254 (0) 722 120888, Fax: +254 (0) 50 2021035

Courier Service, Specialized Cargo Area, 1st AvenueJomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya

Our drive for perfection has led us to implement the most efficient advanced

technological and biological research unit

OserianDevelopment Company Limited

We are proud to be associated withNaivasha Horticultural Fair

Part of Mavuno Network




H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I S E P T E M B E R - O C TO B E R , 2 0 1 04

Horticultural News

is published six times a year by

Karuri Ventures and circulated

to personnel in the horticultural

industry, foreign missions and

Kenya embassies abroad, exten-

sion officers in the Ministry of

Agriculture, research officers

and suppliers of inputs and

services.

Contributions are welcome,

and, although every effort will

be made to return manuscripts

and photographs, these are

submitted at owner’s risk.

The opinion expressed by the

contributors does not neces-

sarily reflect the views of the

editorial board of Horticultural

News.

Karuri VenturesNature Hse 3rd Fl (513) Tom Mboya St

P O Box 1066 - 00518 Nairobi

Tel: 020 35566911

254-722 403103

Email:[email protected]

www. kenyaflowercouncil.org

www:hortinews.co.ke

E d i to r i a l b oa r darim ogollaCatherine riunguGilad MilloJane NgigeJoseph KariukiSteve New M a N aG i N G E d i to rCatherine [email protected]

M a r K E t i N GNelson [email protected]

W r i t E r Sben omondi tony NjugunaSteve MucheruWilson Maina

d E S i G N a N d l ayo u tSamuel [email protected]

This is among the best times to be a Kenyan in Kenya and in Kenya. We have made history by ushering in a new constitutional dispensation, and with that engaged our country’s high gear to prosperity. In a country where August has always evoked sad memories because, by a strange coincidence, it is a month known for unfor-tunate, tragic events. However August 2010 was exceptional for two dates that will forever be entrenched on the right side. We voted peacefully on August 4, and celebrated the promulgation of the new constitution on August 27. That the two events defied predictions of a possible breakout of violence associated with voting in the country is the clearest indication yet that Kenya can only get better. The air of optimism is at a seven-year high, and there is every reason to believe analysts’ projections that the passing of the constitution would give the economy a shot in the arm. Considering that 2010 has been a fairy wet year and that food production has so far been bountiful, the economy will achieve a 5 per cent growth. The agricultural industry has reason to toast in doubles. The new constitution came within weeks of the launch of a new agricultural policy seeking to accerelate the development of this critical sector in the next 10 years. The government has pledged to give agriculture the attention it deserves on the basis of its being key to the realization of Kenya’s economic and social development blueprint, Vision 2030. Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgey recently said she would propose that all ministries dealing with agriculture be amalgamated to create efficiency in the sector. Her reasoning is that when ministries were split to accommodate a bloated Cabinet, related services were scattered in differ-ent ministries creating confusion and unnecessary bureaucracy. The ministries of agriculture and irrigation, fisheries and livestock should surely be under a single portfolio. Agricultural officers at the grassroots have echoed frustration at having to deal with different ministries for one project leading to wastage of resources and time. Under the new constitution, the number of ministries will be limited while ministers will be hired on merit as opposed to the current system where they are appointed for political expediency. Although horti-culture has many issues that require urgent attention, let us, for now, welcome the new constitution and look forward to the realization of a better environment for agriculture to thrive.

Jane NgigeCEo, Kenya Flower Council

[email protected]

Jane Ngige

Although horticulture has many issues that require urgent attention, let us, for

now, welcome the new constitution and look forward to the realization of a better

environment for agriculture to thrive. .

Managing fruit flies Focus: Oserian, Xpressions Flora Strawberry farming

www.kenyaflowercouncil.org / www.hortnews.co.ke

Issue No. 13 September - October 2010 KSH 250, USD $3

● KCB Naivasha Horticultural Fair 2010● Selling in Japan● War on counterfeits

Opinion

Contents

Electronic certification on the way Highlights 5

KCB sponsors fair NHF 8

Corporate Social Responsibility oserian 12

Selling in Japan Marketing 15

Starting off on the right footing Xpressions Flora 18

Growing Strawberries Strawberries 22

War on counterfeits Counterfeits 26

Managing fruitflies infestation 28

Floriculture executive forum Forum 32


H I G H L I G H T S

by aNdrEW douGHMaN

Flower growers could rid themselves of reams of paperwork if governing bodies successfully imple-

ment online inspection and export documents.

A pilot programme slated for October will test the paperless sys-tem among select rose growers ex-porting to the Netherlands.

If the programme succeeds, growers could use a system that fast-tracks certification, traces doc-uments and serves as an online file cabinet of past consignments.

Such a data system would allow government officials to easily see whose consignments meet stand-ards. Collecting such data over time would reveal trends, meaning that bodies like the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) could begin to assign “green,” “yellow,” or “red” ratings to growers. These ratings would be based on data and would reveal the extent to which growers have complied with standards.

Once a rating like this has been established, KEPHIS could tailor its inspections to individual farms based on their rating. For instance, a grower whose consignments consistently have problems would be subjected to a more thorough inspection than a grower who has largely adhered to the rules.

In another shift, KEPHIS officials have said that they want to change where inspections happen.

“KEPHIS will continue the same service but with more focus shift-ing away from the airport,” said Washington Otieno, from KEPHIS.

He said that farm-based inspections would help the industry since prob-lems could be fixed before the prod-ucts arrive at the airport. The approach, though, will be limited to farms at which this approach is feasible, he said.

One grower had lamented that she would have to wait for an in-

spector at her isolated farm while her export-ready flowers wilted. Dr Otieno, however, said that airport inspections will only be phased out for those growers whose farms are easily accessible.

KEPHIS has yet to decide the criteria for an on-site inspection, but the results could be hosted on secure, online databases that

would reduce paperwork for both growers and government.

For growers, the online program that handles export certifications is relatively simple. The program would require little more than an Internet connection and some basic computer knowledge. It’s also cheap. KEPHIS officials have said that growers should not incur any

costs associated with the online sys-tem since registration will be free. In fact, costs for the government might even drop since they no longer would have to invest time and mate-rials for administrative paperwork.

KEPHIS plans to staff some IT ex-perts who can help growers under-stand and use the pilot system.

Electronic certification on the wayA pilot programme slated for October will test the paperless system

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P.O. Box 42571- 00100, Kampala Road, Industrial Area, Nairobi, Kenya.Tel: + 254 20 53 10 20, Fax: + 254 20 53 10 25, Mobile + 254 734 295 101.Email: [email protected] Website: www.dplkenya.com

Manufacturers of:CORRUGATED CARDBOARD BOXES FOR INDUSTRIAL,

HORTICULTURAL, FLORICULTURE AND FISHERIES

Please provide us with logos and advise accordingly


The Ministry of Agriculture has de-clared that it will review tax laws for the horticulture sector in move to increase revenues beyond the Sh220 billion the sector made last year. Agriculture minister Dr Sally Kosgei said yesterday that the min-istry would try to simplify the 13 taxes currently applicable to the horticulture sector. Talks of further incentives for infrastructure and export tax holidays are also on the table.“We could coordinate this as a government so we could review and consolidate so it’s better for the farmers and government so we are not wasting time collecting a little when we could coordinate it in one agency,” the minister said. Dr Kosgei made the remarks as members of the Kenya Flower Council, Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya and farm own-ers met at the ministry to hammer out a blueprint for a specific tax in-centives package.Jane Ngige, CEO of the flower council, said the coun-cil will form a technical committee with the agriculture permanent secretary Romano Kiome and pro-duce an industry-specific incentive plan before the next year’s budget reading.“What we are discussing now particularly is the tax structure,” Mr Kiome said. “We think there are too many taxes.” Furthermore, the minister argued that the industry needs infrastruc-ture incentives to deal with high costs. Horticulture sectors reforms such as this, she said, are vital to Kenya’s export market and need to adapt to a shifting market as competition from Ethiopia and other flower ex-porters becomes fiercer. Responding to a query concern-ing how workers or the environ-ment might be affected by industry changes, Dr Kosgei defended farm owners, whom she said have made serious reforms that meet interna-tional certifications. “This industry has been given a bad name,” she said. “In my view this is an industry that needs to be understood a bit more.”She echoed remarks made by Kenya Flower Council chairman Erastus Muriithi at a Nakuru flower farm tour several weeks ago. Mr Muriithi, also a flower farm owner, had invited journalists or other con-cerned parties to investigate farms to prove that the industry had rid it-self of bad labor and environmental practices. In other words, both the minister and the KFC challenged the media to find fault with farms that had been self-regulated through bodies like the KFC. For the others, Dr Kosgei said she would “weed out” those who do not comply with labor and environ-mental standards. She also flipped the labor debate on its head when she advocated for owner’s rights. First, she said the lowest paid flower farm workers earn more than the lowest paid civil servants.She continued, saying that own-ers currently have zero compen-sation for variable weather and natural disasters, which put them in a position where they have to con-tinue paying workers even as they lose money.

Oserian Development Company scooped five awards at the Nakuru Agricultural

Show.It was judged the the best agri-

cultural-based non-statutory board stand. Among the visitors to the firm’s elegant stand was President Mwai Kibaki who was impressed by the show of flowers and technology.

The stand was a showstopper what with the expertise decoration done with flowers of different varie-ties and colours.

According to Oserian’s Samson Lukoba, the flower firm was encour-aged by the by the high number of visitors to its stand despite this be-ing its debut appearance in a local show, and will particiate in more lo-cal events and in the process reach out to the ordinary mwananchi and help them understand the business.

the awards were:l The best agricultural-based

non- statutory board stand. l The best medium commer-

cial trade stand. l Second best demonstrated

technology innovation. l Third best agri-business

trade stand l Third best environmental

management trade stand.

Oserian wins 5 awards in Nakuru

Samson lukoba of oserian (left)taking President Mwai Kibaki round the firm’s stand.

Syngenta East Africa has launched Revus, a product that dries and bonds quickly to the waxy layer of the leaf in just under an hour. Revus is meant to combat Downy Mildew in roses and other ornamental crops, a fungi that is notorious causing farmers huge losses. The launch of Revus got farmers excited with some noting that they have already used the product with amazing results. Revus’ main advantage lies in its abil-ity to filter through the waxy layer of the leaf surface after application assuring excellent rain fastness as soon as the spray liquid has dried, explained Syngenta Technical Development Manager Susan Njoroge.

The absorption ability dubbed ‘Lok+Flo Action’ ena-bles the active ingredient to bond quickly and strongly regardless of the weather conditions. Once the active ingredient ‘mandipropamid’ in the spray liquid has dried, it cannot be washed away by the rain.

The active ingredient gradually penetrates the the leaf tissue, protecting both surfaces by translaminar movement.

Mandipropamid is fundamentally highly active and de-livers powerful disease control at low application rates.

Other advantages of Revus include being non-toxic to fish, birds and other beneficial insects. It is also safe, thus workers-friendly as breaks down fast in the soil.

The product, a member of the Mandelamides chemical class is also safe to most of the crops around the spraying area.

Application: 250SC Revus applied on 0.6 hectares costs Sh3,860. Going by the advantages realized, Revus is pocket friendly.

Product benefits J It has consistency and excellent efficacy against

Downy Mildew disease no matter the weather.J Revus is compatible with IPM programmes

meaning it fits well in Integrated Crop Management protocols.

J It leaves no visible residues or taint on the crop.J The ‘Lok+Flo Action’ provides the unique com-

bination of three ways of action providing a reli-able and long lasting disease control.

J Revus meets industry needs concerning worker safety and environmental profile.

J It dries within one hour of application and as-sures excellent foliar protection against Downy Mildew even in wet weather conditions and un-der frequent rainfall.

J Revus shows no phytotoxicity at the recom-mended use rates.

Syngenta launches new fungicide – REVUS

Horti Fair 2010-

october 12 to 15

This year’s Horti Fair , to run un-der the theme ‘earning sustain-ably’, will be held in Amsterdam. For paticipants and visitors, Horti Fair is a unique platform where effective business deals are struck alongside introduction of new products and services, besides acquiring and rein-forcing contacts.

FloraHolland and the Horti Fair recently announced that from 2011 they will be working together to organize the international Holland HortiWeek in the first week of November.


The Ministry of Agriculture has de-clared that it will review tax laws for the horticulture sector in move to increase revenues beyond the Sh220 billion the sector made last year. Agriculture minister Dr Sally Kosgei said yesterday that the min-istry would try to simplify the 13 taxes currently applicable to the horticulture sector. Talks of further incentives for infrastructure and export tax holidays are also on the table.“We could coordinate this as a government so we could review and consolidate so it’s better for the farmers and government so we are not wasting time collecting a little when we could coordinate it in one agency,” the minister said. Dr Kosgei made the remarks as members of the Kenya Flower Council, Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya and farm own-ers met at the ministry to hammer out a blueprint for a specific tax in-centives package.Jane Ngige, CEO of the flower council, said the coun-cil will form a technical committee with the agriculture permanent secretary Romano Kiome and pro-duce an industry-specific incentive plan before the next year’s budget reading.“What we are discussing now particularly is the tax structure,” Mr Kiome said. “We think there are too many taxes.” Furthermore, the minister argued that the industry needs infrastruc-ture incentives to deal with high costs. Horticulture sectors reforms such as this, she said, are vital to Kenya’s export market and need to adapt to a shifting market as competition from Ethiopia and other flower ex-porters becomes fiercer. Responding to a query concern-ing how workers or the environ-ment might be affected by industry changes, Dr Kosgei defended farm owners, whom she said have made serious reforms that meet interna-tional certifications. “This industry has been given a bad name,” she said. “In my view this is an industry that needs to be understood a bit more.”She echoed remarks made by Kenya Flower Council chairman Erastus Muriithi at a Nakuru flower farm tour several weeks ago. Mr Muriithi, also a flower farm owner, had invited journalists or other con-cerned parties to investigate farms to prove that the industry had rid it-self of bad labor and environmental practices. In other words, both the minister and the KFC challenged the media to find fault with farms that had been self-regulated through bodies like the KFC. For the others, Dr Kosgei said she would “weed out” those who do not comply with labor and environ-mental standards. She also flipped the labor debate on its head when she advocated for owner’s rights. First, she said the lowest paid flower farm workers earn more than the lowest paid civil servants.She continued, saying that own-ers currently have zero compen-sation for variable weather and natural disasters, which put them in a position where they have to con-tinue paying workers even as they lose money.

Dutch know-how and technology

for durable quality

Green Farming T: +31 317 491540 E: [email protected] I:www.greenfarming.nl

Dutch suppliers and advisors are offering their services to you under the bannerof “Green Farming”. Green Farming combines Dutch technology and experience

with your specific production needs, so that you can rest assured of a totallycustom-made product and service package, including on-farm training

programs, maintenance and service cycles.

Trade Mission Kenya 10 – 14 September

During this mission a delegation of the Dutch horticultural supply industry and governmentrepresentatives will visit Kenya in order to obtain more insight into the specific sector needs ofKenyan horticulture and to strengthen their network amongst growers, horticultural associations andpolicy makers.

We would be happy to meet you at the

Green Farming seminar on September 13th

14:30 hrs Hillpark Hotel, Nairobi

Green Farming Seminar 13th of September

We would like to invite you to the Green Farming Seminar, which will take place on Monday 13th ofSeptember 2010 from 14:30 hrs at Hillpark Hotel, Upper Hill Rd, Nairobi Hill in Nairobi. During theseminar the program will be introduced by the Green Farming chairman and presentations will begiven by the Dutch Agricultural Counsellor, a representative of KEPHIS, Dutch horticultural suppliersand Kenyan growers. The seminar will be concluded with a group discussion on the developmentneeds of the sector.

by aNdrEW douGHMaN

Kenyan flower growers have been granted an international label that recognizes good environ-

mental and social practices. Now growers with a Kenya Flower

Council silver certification or higher can register with Fair Flowers Fair Planters (FFP), which partners with more than 4,000 European flower vendors.

Growers who register stand to benefit financially since the FFP re-lationship opens the market to con-sumers interested in sustainable products. Growers may also gain a marketing boost, since they can now claim their operations adhere to strict labour and environmental standards.

“We are putting in a lot of effort

on the social and environmental standards and we should be able to capitalize on these efforts in the marketplace,” said Jane Ngige, CEO of the KFC.

The flower council and FFP for-mally signed their partnership agreement in August at a meeting at the Norfolk Hotel. FFP will rely on the flower council’s certification programme, although they have also requested that representatives from NGOs and trade unions ac-company KFC auditors who inspect and certify flower farms.

Growers at the meeting said the FFP label seemed a good public re-lations tool, at least one that would be worth more than the 50 to 200 Euro registration fee. Membership is good for one year, and during that year Kenyan flowers can be sold through FFP-supported auc-

tion houses and retailers. FFP has relationships with retail-

ers in 10 European countries. These retailers sell both flowers with and without the FFP label, but the FFP claims that their sustainability label attracts many European consumers. For Kenya’s growers, this wide reach means that the new label could have more strength than a KFC cer-tification alone.

International recognition“We must attach ourselves to the

labels that are recognized internation-ally,” said Erastus Mureithi, the chair-man of the Kenya Flower Council.

To secure the FFP label, growers must first attain a KFC silver certifi-cate. Then, FFP registration becomes an option. Growers pay the FFP fee, and then gain access to FFP’s retail partners and the label certifying the

grower’s farm as both environmen-tally and socially conscious.

Growers are required to register on the FFP website, which FFP uses to track growers and potentially re-voke the membership of those who are not following the rules.

At the meeting, FFP representa-tives sold the label as an important barrier to negative publicity. Apart from disarming critics, the new la-bels could have political value.

The agreement with the interna-tionally-recognized FFP could weak-en allegations that growers dam-age the environment and mistreat workers just as the industry makes its entreaties to government.

Since the FFP-KFC agreement came into effect, those growers who already have a KFC silver certi-fication should be able to apply for membership immediately.

A new label for flowers“We must attach ourselves to the labels that are recognized internationally,” said Erastus Mureithi,

the chairman of the Kenya Flower Council.


N A I VA S H A H O RT I C U LT U R A L FA I R

by bEN oMoNdi

KCB Bank has announced a Ksh4 million spon-sorship for the annual Naivasha Horticultural

Fair that runs from September 10 to 11 at the Naivasha Sports Club.

The sponsorship is a move by the regional bank to widen its footprint in all economic sectors as it contin-ues its growth momentum across the five East African countries where it operates.

While announcing the partner-ship recently, the bank’s corporate banking divisional director Wilfred Sang, said the sponsorship would be a long-term initiative aimed at improving the bank’s outreach to the sector.

“Naivasha is host to about 50

multinational flower and horti-cultural companies. This is a huge growth opportunity for KCB that is the region’s largest bank in terms of asset base standing at over Ksh226

billion,” said Sang.The horticulture industry is broad-

ly classified as fruits, vegetables and cut flowers and currently provides direct employment to an estimated 100,000 Kenyans, while a further

70,000 are employed in related in-dustries like packaging, chemicals, and freight services.

The industry is the fastest grow-ing agricultural sub-sector in the

country and is ranked second in terms of foreign exchange earnings after tourism. In 2009, the country earned about Ksh71.6 billion from the sector, down from Ksh73.7 bil-lion in 2008.

“This is an important growth channel for KCB Bank that has the fi-nancial capacity to meet the needs of agribusinesses in Kenya. Be it business expansion, asset finance, Mortgage or employee facilities we are able to offer banking services across all our 168 locations in the country,” said Sang.

He added that the Bank, currently exposed to the tune of Ksh1.038 bil-lion to the sector, is developing a horticultural finance product that would boost significantly the bank’s asset book in 2011 from the current 4 per cent market share.

Speaking at the event, Roddy Benjamin, the Naivasha Horticultural Fair (NHF) chair, said that NHF was the second largest exhibitors’ event of its kind in Africa, each year bringing together hor-ticultural producers and farmers alongside key buyers and suppliers in the industry showcase.

“The fair started in 2003 as a charity initiative but has since trans-formed into an important industry barometer, managing to attract managers and directors of almost all the flower farms in Kenya,” said Benjamin.

He added that the fair aims to show the professionalism in the in-dustry where clients and companies can network while updating grow-ers and customers on innovations and business opportunities.

In 2009, the fair attracted over 140 exhibitors’ mostly internation-al firms while the 2010 edition ex-pects participation of more than 150 exhibitors.

Proceeds from this year’s event will go towards local charities in-cluding the Rotary Safe House, Naivasha Children’s Shelter, Mary’s Hospital Elementaita and IDP camps in Naivasha among others.

KCB in Ksh4 million Naivasha Horticultural Fair sponsorship

The sponsorship is a move by the regional bank to widen its footprint in all economic sectors as it continues its growth momentum across the five East African countries.

“Started in 2003 as a charity initiative, Naivasha Horticultural Fair is the

second largest exhibitor’s event in Africa . “

KCb Corporate banking divisional director Wilfred Sang and roddy benjamin, Naivasha Horticultural Fair chair when KCb announced the Ksh4 million sponsorship.


by CatHEriNE riuNGu

What is NHF? How did it come about and how was the idea car-ried to fruition to the level where we are now looking at its 8th edi-tion?

N H F is a trade/business fair that is focused on the horticultural busi-ness in East Africa, conceived over a bottle of beer to show the rest of Kenya that the Horti business is a serious business open to everyone, and indeed affordable to most. We are where we are now, because we are open to the smallest exhibitor; our fees are probably one-fifth of other exhibitions

.What was the first show like? How has it grown year by year? Has it stuck to its original objective or have certain things changed?

The first show was a huge success - 55 stands - which encouraged us to go forward. Clients were very happy and urged us to do it again!! It has grown yearly and this year we expect over 150 trade stands of all types. When you are in business, you need many types of products, ranging from printing paper to lorries, to fertilisers to first aid kits. The original objectives were to be professional, have fun and keep it affordable. We feel we have done all the above: we attract the senior managers, CEOs of all the flower companies. Indeed, we are the place to be to learn about the industry as a newcomer or a seasoned grower learning new products/techniques, or just coming to browse and meet friends.

Why should i care about the show as an exhibitor/visitor?

Being an exhibitor in this fair, means you are participatiung in one of the

world’s leading fairs, where busi-ness is the password, meeting cli-ents both exisiting and potentially new. Some people thought this was just a whim that would die off, they are now the biggest clients !!

on the premise that its proceeds go to charity, how many has it supported to date? Can we have short profiles of each? is there someone who we can profile as a beneficiary?

Charities, there are literaly hun-dreds, from the Rotary Club of Naivasha Safe House, where it has been claimed it has saved the lives of hundreds if not thousands of children lives to sponsoring foot-balls - from “alive and kicking” for An aids awarenes tournament. Naivasha Childrens Shelter, Feed the Hungry, NACOHAG, Red Cross, St Marys Hospital, Aga Khan, doz-ens of schools desks and toilets, lo-cal market toilets in Ihindu, disaster relief, IDP’s, and dozens more. For more profiles, just contact me !!

How does it identify projects to be supported?

There are so many that do not need to be identified but we work closely with other groups, Rotary Club of Naivasha being one and an over-seas group, Children of the Third World. Cases like the IDP’s are right in our face, so no need to find them. Also, schools are so under funded there is a continous supply of letters asking for assistance.

Naivasha is usually in the news mostly for all the wrong reasons? What role does the show play in toning down the negative per-ception? How do the fair days transform Naivasha?

Naivasha being in the News for the wrong resasons!!! Cheap jour-nalism. The farms around the lake

generally are very good, socially etc etc, but journalists make up stories about the farms, which are mostly untrue. There was a report in a na-tional paper a few weeks ago that the growers had killed the croco-diles in the lake !!!! Well, excuse me ,who pays this reporter? Made up story: there has never been a croco-dile in lake Naivasha. The growers are attacked from all angles over the water. How much water does KenGen use? How much water is taken from the upper catchment area, by prominent people/sourc-es, and yet never reported? Who pays their water rates? The growers and who else? How much tax does the government get every year from the flower farms in Kenya, not just Naivasha. Are the stories about Naivasha farms purely because they are foreign investors? Sheer envy, I say.The Fair, if anyone is interested, is a platform where people can show what they do for the community. Most of these big farms have their own clinics, AIDS awareness pro-grammes, schools, hospitals etc, at

no cost to the staff. Where else in Kenya do you get this? Certainly not from the government. Just a few years ago, Oserian Fastac and Sher would have been one of the top football matches in Kenya, but al-leged corruption has put an end to this. It is not the fair’s “job” to teach the media about honest reporting.

Who are the faces behind the suc-cess of this show?

We have the Chairman Roddy Benjamin, senior manager at Oserian Development Company, and Vice Chair Richard McGonnell, Flower farmer and agrochemical supplier, also a keen Rotarian. The two are ably assisted by Chetna Sangrajka, a local busineess woman and Ruth Vaughan, Senior man-ager at Nini Roses plus the staff in Richard’s office.

Going forward?

For the fair, we will continue in the way we are going and try and keep up / improve standards.

Eight years and going strongInterview with Richard Macgonell, Vice Chairman Naivasha Horticultural Fair (NHF)

richard Macgonell, Vice Chairman Naivasha Hortcultural Fair.


by riCHard MaCGoNNEll

TThe Horticultural Fair was started in 2002 to bring together exhibitors and visitors in a spacious and

pleasant environment at affordable prices.

Naivasha is not only scenic and central but it is home to one of the largest horticultural communities in East Africa. We have seen the numbers of exhibitors and visi-tors rise every year as the Naivasha Horticultural Fair gets bigger and better!

Every year we manage to attract managers and directors of almost all the flower farms in Kenya, so the ex-hibitors are able to meet existing and potential clients of the highest level.

The Naivasha Horticultural Fair is run by a small group of hardwork-ing volunteers and is 100 per cent charitable. Big thanks go to our generous sponsors! All the money collected goes to local and national charities with a focus on, but not limited to, caring for women and children. Children homes, com-munity clinics, HIV/AIDS projects, schools and hospitals all benefit, as well as small desparate case by case donations that make an enormous difference to people’s lives.

The Horticultural Fair was able to make big, essential donations of food and primary neccessities to internally displaced persons. The

Horticultural Fair is pleased to give something back to the community that supports us.

NHFair Trust is completely chari-table with all the money raised go-ing towards local/national causes many of them children/girl/women organizations, to raise awareness about issues and living standards.

The Naivasha children are very much an integral part of the Hortifair and give back to us all 100 per cent and more than we give them! For more information on the Naivasha Children log onto www.ncshelter.org.

Naivasha Children Shelter is grateful to the NHFair Trust for its amazing support every year and for inviting the children to be part of the fair which is the highlight of the year’s activities.

In the past year we have sent a large number of children to govern-ment schools and have been able to buy more educational books and tools for our own school. We now have a carpentry department and at the end of the year, the boys will

sit the government certificate test and will leave the Shelter skilled in a trade, a goal which the Fair has ena-bled us to achieve.

We have also purchased sports equipment as the boys love football and now take part in tournaments. Our computer department is also doing well - the children are now

conversant with the internet. Our vegetable garden, chickens

and cows yield much of our food, Without funds the Shelter would simply not function and we are very thankful for the support of Naivasha Horticultural Fair.

The Safe House, a rescue shelter home for abused children, spon-sored by the Rotary Club of Naivasha, has received over Ksh4 million from the NHFair Trust. (www.rotarysafe-house.org.) NHFair also donates to many other joint effort community projects with the Rotary Club.

NHFair Trust sponsors the Red Cross office in Naivasha, the Naivasha Disabled Persons, the Kijani Clinic (a community clinic at the Chief’s Compound in Karagita),

have donated about Ksh1 million to build a maternity wing at Karagita Dispensary, the Feed the Hungry Campaign in conjunction with CFC, numerous HIV AIDS Projects, updat-ing and/or building toilet facilities in many local schools, and many small scale water projects. NHFair Trust buys the balls for the Annual Ladies Football Tournament organized by NACOHAG, to name but a few of the organizations that benefit from the Naivasha Hortifair.

Thanks for giving kids a chanceThe Naivasha children are very much an integral part of the Hortifair and give back to us all 100

per cent more than we give them!

The Naivasha Horticultural Fair is run by a small group of hardworking

volunteers and is 100% charitable.

bilashaka silver certificationBilashaka Flowers Ltd, a KFC member, qualified for the KFC Silver Certificate

for the first time. The farm is located on Moi North Lake road in Naivasha. The

farm started operations in 2001 by growing roses under ultra modern condi-

tions in line with European standards. The farm has a productive team under

Mr Jozef Zuurbier, the managing director, and is credited with the setting up

of one of the world’s largest solar heating projects for greenhouses, a huge

step in using green energy, and further proving that Kenya’ s flowers are

grown under the sun.

Carbon footprint standardKenya Flower Council participated in a workshop where it was given an

opportunity to prepare the countries in the EAC region to comment and

make a substantial contribution to the development of the international

standard(s) for carbon footprint (ISO)/CD 14067 parts one and 2), currently

developed within ISO (ISO/TC 207/SC 7/WG 2). The standard is based on life

cycle analysis. KFC’s proposal, well-supported by the region, is to include the

per capita emission factor with the formulation. The carbon footprint index

process of the standard developed should take about a year.


By CATHERINE RIUNGU

As part of responsible growing practices, Oserian, as a grower and exporting busi-

ness has committed to giving back to the community and employees some of its profits to improve their welfare.

Human resources manager Mr Ludovick Kezzah said the com-pany’s choice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) intervention is determined and driven by requests from communities, local authori-ties, and the government during public functions. These have mostly revolved around education, health and infrastructure.

In the external markets, con-sumers are increasingly turning to putting their money in businesses that embrace community support and are prepared to pay a little more if convinced that the products they put in their shopping baskets have been produced responsibly.

Around Naivasha and its environs, Oserian has built classes, sunk bore-holes, paid teachers and technical staff in an attempt to make life more bearable for the less privileged.

Some of the community projects undertaken by Oserian include the

Rubiri Water Project for the commu-nity around this area near Naivasha town.

In response to the adage charity begins at home, the company has built one high school, three pri-mary schools and three early child-hood development classes to cater for educational needs of company

employees and their dependants. These educational facilities are also open to the community but a lim-ited number of classes.

Oserian, through Fairtrade, has supported selected schools by building classes, and putting up permanent houses for teachers. One such beneficiary was Inkorienito,

a neighbouring community. In this community, Oserian also constructed a dispensary that is managed and drugs provided by the company.

Within its precincts, the com-pany has established a health centre for employees. The centre is also open to communities and neighbouring farms especially for emergencies. An ambulance is on standby. The ambulance is also used by the communities when-ever required. Medical care is free for employees, while dependants access at a minimal fee.

On infrastructure, the com-pany has graded roads and will do more subject to availability of

funds.Oserian has in conjuction with

other fair-trade certified companies wthin the Naivasha area supported the on-going construction of the Naivasha Women’s Hospital.

It has also established a voca-tional centre where employees and their dependants learn courses such as tailoring, information technology and business studies. The centre is open to the communities. “ We are striving to get our workers and their dependants to earn and learn to improve their lives.

One of Oserian’s best examples of CSR is the crèche or daycare cen-tre where employees’ children are taken care of - as their parents work - at a minimal cost. The children are under the care of trained caretakers while the centre is strategically po-sitioned adjacent to the health cen-tre – meaning in case of emergency, care is at hand.

Nursing mothers leave an hour early to breastfeed their infants.

The company strives to maintain

For the good of the workers ...

Charity begins at home. the oserian day Care Centre where workers’ babies get all they need.

O S E R I A N


a close relationship with its employ-ees by holding regular meetings for workers unions and employee committees so that any problem is handled effectively.

Oserian has developed a non-dis-criminatory policy on gender and health. HIV/Aids cases are taken care of by getting special food, coun-seling, and free ARVs. About 51 peer educators have been trained while VCT services are open. The compa-ny follows the Federation of Kenya Employers, government and the International Labour Organisation policy of not firing anyone due to their HIV status.

The company reports that HIV rate is going down - people are openly declaring their status and sharing experiences.

Primary healthcare is emphasized here, with employees encouraged to clear grass, collect garbage and keep toilets and compounds clean. Drinking water is treated while im-munization campaigns are not ig-nored.

The non-discrimination policy also applies in other areas. Oserian is probably the only flower farm em-ploying the deaf and training them to communicate. Lately, Oserian is training teachers to handle autism.

“It is demeaning to treat anyone badly,” Mr. Kezzah said.

For long, sexual harassment has been an issue and knowing this too well, Oserian observes zero-tolerance, with senior employees prohibited from having affairs with their juniors. Balanced gender com-mittees handle arising issues and stern action is taken against offend-ers, a practice that has rendered complaints on sexual harassment a rare occurrence at the farm.

Employees are encouraged to join unions and trained on new labour requirements to re-duce friction. During the March call by the Kenya Plantation Workers Union secretary gen-eral Francis Atwoli for flower workers to go on strike to force employers to implement a col-

lective bargaining agreement, Oserian was singled out as one of the farms the COTU boss had no quarrel with.

Not lost on Oserian is the need for coexistence between different communities to stymie ethnic ani-mosity. Negative ethnicity is blamed for the 2007/2008 post election vio-lence. Each community has an elder

who sits in a council that sorts out local differences while the union too is called upon to urge peaceful coexistence.

A good relationship with the lo-cal communities is proven by the fact that at the height of the PEV in early 2008, they came out in their numbers to defend the farm, and this is not taken for granted.

Green by name, green by nature

Green iPM: We use systems that nature has perfected to fight pests! This means reduced pesti-cides, safeguarding our environment.

Green recycling: We give our “waste” new life, helping to keep our workplace clean and reducing the need to dump!

Green Energy: We use clean geothermal energy, installed capacity of 3.21MW electricity ensuring we steam into the future with environmentally friendly energy!

Green Heat: We have invested in technology to use waste heat from our geothermal station to help our flowers fight disease and pest at-tacks!

Green Practice: Our farming style ensures we safeguard our environment for future generations. We opt for the greenest option in all our growing practices.

Green Forestry: Our nursery generates over 5,000 seedlings every year, helping to keep our company

and our country green!Green Conservation: We support wildlife conservation by invest-

ing in providing a suitable habitat for them to thrive.

Green Partnerships: We join hands with organisations that share our vision for a clean and healthy environ-ment.

Green people: By adopting Fairtrade Principles, we are making a real difference in the lives of our employees!

Green Water: our wetland cleans our effluent and waste water making it safe and re-usable

Green Hobbies: Oserian bird club members are building an inventory of the birds in our area. If we know them, we can help to conserve them!

Green Footprint: All the above activities help us to ensure that our processes are not destructive to the environment, but encourage sustain-able use and good management of earth’s resources

... and the community too

O S E R I A N

We are suppliers of office stationery, computers andcomputer consumable, accessories, office equipment and furniture

Corner of Likoni & Enterprise Road, Industrial Area. P.O. Box 38908 - 00623 Parklands Nairobi, Kenya.

Tel: +254-20-551081 / 651676 / 559591 / 550788 / 550789 / 552235. Sales Dept. Direct Line: 020-2054290, 020-2054291, 3541776, 0771-217485,

Fax; 0773007677 / 650799 / 651006E-mail: marutios@ africaonline.co.ke


Equal opportunity employerO S E R I A N

The sentimental music play-ing in the background is the only audible sound in the area.

At the entrance, a notice reads: “Deaf workers in this area, please take extra care.”

Welcome to Oserian flowers where deaf workers have been given an opportunity to earn a liv-ing, arguably one of the strongest pointers to the firm’s commitments to community support.

More than 40 deaf workers lend a hand in preparing the beautiful bouquets that have made Kenya proud in the eyes of the world. Ordinarily, they would be in the streets with begging bowls like many disabled people in Kenya.

The company decided to give people with disability an equal op-portunity to prove themselves.

“Most of them have not under-gone formal training but we always offer them a chance,” said human re-sources manager Ludovick Kezzah.

In cognizance of their special needs, they are housed within the farm for convenience, ease of move-ment and safety. They are also direct

nominees to the various decision-making committees including shop stewards.

Jane Nduku works at the farm’s laboratory. The department is re-sponsible for research on the differ-ent varieties of seedlings for export and those to be planted locally. Through an interpreter, Barrack Owaga, she says, “I have worked here for more than 13 years.” She was first hired by the company without formal training but has un-dergone a series of in-house train-ing and courses.

Armed with new skills, Ms Nduku has now learned the ropes and is at home working in the laboratory.

She expresses her joy for having been given a chance to work in the farm and earn a decent living.

“I am comfortably able to bring up my two children with my earn-ings,” she adds. Jane is a gender representative in the gender com-mittee, representing deaf employ-ees.

Majority of the deaf workers are stationed at the pack house which deals with packaging and grading.

Patrick Obilo, the shop steward

counts himself lucky. “Ours is a suc-cess story given our physical disabil-ity,” he says with a huge smile.

Charles Opayi has seen his for-tune skyrocket and take a turn for the better after joining the flower farm in the grading section. Mr. Opayi who doubles up as a pas-tor for the deaf says he had almost given up on life.

“I had no income to support my four children and no one was will-ing to offer me a chance,” he recalls through an interpreter.

A former tailor Loise Wangari says life behind the sewing machine proved a boring experience and de-cided to seek new challenges.

better opportunityAfter quitting her former job, life

became hard as it proved difficult to secure another one. Fortunately, the former Kerugoya School for the deaf alumni joined a Naivasha-based deaf association which helped her secure a job at the flower farm.

The workers have also been en-couraged to adopt new ways to in-teract with other employees, most of whom do not understand sign

language. The company, in an ef-fort to create a conducive environ-ment for all employees sponsored a group for sign language training. Those trained are from different sections across the farm to make communication easier.

The deaf workers have gone a notch higher, pooled their resourc-es and started a grocery shop at the farm. As an employee support policy, Oserian encourages its staff to own side businesses to supple-ment their income.

According to their interpreter Mr Owaga, the deaf share proceeds from the shop. “They are focused and determined to make the best of their working life,” says Mr Owaga.

He says the group has also bought a parcel of land which they intend to develop at a later date.

Deaf workers are proving them-selves and competing for excel-lence. Francis Nzioka, a grading em-ployee has won the best worker’s position twice for his hard working and was crowned one of the em-ployees of the Year 2009 and best worker at the packhouse in June.


by bEN oMoNdi

After years of attempt-ing to crack the Japanese flower mar-ket, only one hurdle

remains before Kenya can open its door to flower-yens.

According to the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) Nairobi office executive director Shintaro Matoba, Kenyans targeting Tokyo must start packaging in materials labelled in Japanese to enable con-sumers there to get a better grasp of the types of flowers coming from the country.

This, coupled with understand-ing the demands of the Asian mar-ket would improve prices, he said, and see Kenya’s flowers penetrate deeper into the sophisticated country.

“Flowers destined for the Japanese market need to be pack-aged in small and thin plastic film and printed in Japanese to indi-cate that they were made for the country,” he said.

The right packaging at the place of origin would further increase the value of the produce as subse-quent labour costs incurred while repackaging the flowers after landing in Japan are cut, he said and added that labour costs are

higher in Japan than Kenya.Jetro facilitates trade and invest-

ment between Japan and overseas countries and currently has of-fices in various sub-Saharan Africa countries including Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

Further, Japan-specific pack-aging would make it easier for importers to handle the product as it arrives ready to sell and all an importer needs to do is take it out and put on the shelves for display.

“Some of the flowers arrive damaged during shipment and have to be repackaged in Japan leading to losses in both revenues and time,” said the Jetro boss.

Kenya is already the leading exporter of flowers to Japan according to the World Atlas figures for 2009 which report a blossoming sale of cut flow-ers and rose buds. The coun-try’s flower export revenues to Japan have been increasing since 2007 when it earned $19 mil-lion, rising to $21 million in 2008 and further to $23.2 last year.

The volumes have also recorded a rise from 363.6 tonnes of flowers in 2007 to 397 tonnes in 2008 and then 418 tonnes in 2009.

This year, it is poised to be even better, according to the Kenya Flower Council (KFC) chief execu-tive officer Jane Ngige who says that after the Icelandic volcanic eruption shut the EU airspace leading to a frantic search for an alternative route in March, Kenya discovered a new market by de-fault.

“After our sales in Japan shot as it served as an alternative market, there has been a steady rise in ex-ports there,” she said.

Some exporters who have been shipping more and more stems to Asia, while admitting that they are

doing roaring business declined to divulge further details saying it was too early to celebrate.

Kenya’s other main flower exporting destination is the

European Union mainly Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Switzerland, where it is the leading exporter commanding a clear 40 per cent of all flow-er sales, followed by Columbia with 17 per cent and Israel at 16 per cent. Kenya is also pur-suing the US market.

The need for Kenya to consolidate its Japanese market stems

from concerns over its declining market share

there, despite the high sales. The country now

ranks 12th overall in terms of cut flower and buds exports to Japan. Its market position com-

pared with competitors has been reducing since

2007 when it stood at 3.54 per cent, then reduced to

2.21 per cent in 2008 before further declining to 2.01 per

cent in 2009, thereby record-ing an overall cumulative de-

cline in market share of 3.17 per cent.

Unlike the UK consumers who like many flower stems pack-aged in one bunch, the Japanese like fewer stems per package or bunch.

Mr Matoba urged the industry to focus on exporting varieties that

are more popular with Japanese consumers like different colours

of roses, head sizes as well as length of the stems.

Statistics from the KFC indicate that the share of Kenya’s exports to the UK

has been increasing due to a growing market especially of mixed bouquets as well as in-creased direct sales.

M A R k E T S

Want the Yen? Speak Japanese

Flowers destined for the Japanese market need to be packaged in

small, thin plastic film and labelled in Japanese


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by WiSoN MaiNa

The next big thing in Kenya’s flower industry could be in the offing in Nakuru. The town is the country’s third largest

and if the industry new kid on the block – Xpressions Flora – is any-thing to go by, the world’s largest exporter of cut flowers is making headway in the big-headed roses market.

“Nakuru is an ideal place to grow flowers”, said Inder Nain, the man-aging director of Xpressions Flora a farm associated with one of the big-gest names in East Africa’s manufac-turing sector, Bidco Oil Refineries.

By coincidence, Xpressions Flora has taken root in the town where its mother started, which Mr Nain says is by default. “It took us about six months of going round the country looking for a suitable place to set up and luck brought us here,” he said of the farm located off Elburgon Road, in Njoro, Nakuru.

While the location is a good coincidence, the possibility that Xpressions is likely to fit into the suc-cess associated with Bidco is rather obvious, barring the occurrence of developments beyond human control.

The three-year-old farm, accord-ing to the Kenya Flower Council chairman Erastus Mureithi, is the only addition to the flower frater-nity in the past three years, an indi-cation that all might not be well in a sector that has previously grown at 20 per cent per annum over the past two decades.

The farm has made history by becoming the first to be certified within a year after applying for au-diting, a feat KFC chief executive of-ficer, Jane Ngige, attributes to get-ting started on the guidance of the industry Code of Practice.

“When they decided to go into

this business, they visited KFC and requested to be shown how to do it right from the onset,” she said.

This way, they have avoided hav-ing to dismantle certain systems so as to comply with the code re-quirements, she added, and urged

investors who wish to get in the business to follow Xpressions’ example.

Another farm that that was estab-lished with the code of practice as a guide is Aquila, that is growing flow-ers on Naivasha ‘s North Lake Road.

Following in Bidco’s legacy, Xpressions also deployed the Kaizen Management System, ap-plied by firms to reduce time wast-age and improve efficiency, said Mr Nain, who exudes confidence say-ing that Kenya’s supremacy reigns

and is unlikely to be challenged, at least not in the next decade. He says he has travelled all over the world to borrow best practices, but he finally settled for what we have in Kenya.

“We have borrowed and con-

tinue to borrow best practices from the various world-class farms we have in Kenya and a mix of all that is producing another winning farm”, he said.

Mrs Ngige added that the flower industry has matured and is now concentrating on improving the value chain to sustain market domi-nance and diversify into new ones such as Japan, a fast growing fron-tier.

While the story of Xpressions so far reads rosy, the three years in which it has bloomed, have been baptism by fire, being arguably the most difficult period the horticul-tural industry in Kenya has faced.

At its weaning stage, violence broke out in Kenya after the December 2007 presidential elec-tions that plunged the country into two months of the chaos. Nakuru being a cosmopolitan political hot-bed had its fair share of the trouble. “We saw smoke everywhere around the farm and feared for the worst”,

x P R E S S I O N S F L O R A

Starting on the right footing

the farm has made history by becoming the first to be certified within a year after applying for auditing, a feat KFC chief executive officer, Jane Ngige, attributes to getting started on the guidance of the industry Code of Practice.

Following in Bidco’s footspets, Xpressions deployed the Kaizen Management

System, applied by firms to reduce time wastage and improve efficiency

CoNtiNuEd oN PaGE 21


Floralife_Kenya_2010_PRESS.pdf 1 7/23/10 3:02 PM


Mr Nain said. Fortunately, the farm was spared

the wrath, a situation he attributes to its good relationship with sur-rounding communities where the bulk of its labour is sourced making the neighbours cultivate a sense of

ownership.“As part of our community serv-

ice we have employed people with-in a radius of 10 kilometres , with the aim of improving livelihoods in the surrounding areas. People are now living better since they have jobs and can afford to feed and educate their children,” he said.

After the post election violence

fires died out, Kenya entered into a prolonged drought that persisted until December last year. The ef-fects of the drought, one of the worst in the country, was aggra-vated by the 2009 global financial crisis and an abnormal winter in Europe, which saw flower sales dip by 30 per cent, after enjoying a 20 per cent growth for 20 years.

“Due to the financial crisis and the extremely cold weather, people stayed indoors, ground logistics stalled, less flowers were sold,” said Mrs Ngige.

Towards the end of 2009, the global crisis began showing signs of easing and the rains came in tor-rents. The sector started preparing for a bountiful Valentine, the indus-try’s best sales day that also heralds the climax of the high season which prevails until mid-year.

Soon after a successful Valentine, and predictions from the KFC that all indications were that 2010 would be a rosy one, the Icelandic volcanic eruption shut the European airspace and for close to three weeks, tonnes of flowers never reached the market, with estimates that the sector could have lost some Ksh10 billion.

Just days after the dust settled, and farms were busy composting destroyed flowers, clearing the stock in cold rooms and replenish-ing the markets that were starved of the Kenyan flowers, the Kenya Plantation Workers Union secretary general Francis Atwoli called for a strike accusing flower farms of fail-ing to effect a collective bargaining agreement salary increment, and threw the sector into yet another crisis.

After the industrial court ruling, the organization and the farms were instructed to end the crisis, which was resolved without any worker downing tools.

Starting off in the right way

in the next edition of Horticultural News, we look at how Xpressions Flora weathered the three-year storm and why it is headed to becoming the next big name in the flower industry.

to participate in the supplement,contact: Nelson

Maina: 0722 403103,020 3556911


CoNtiNuEd FroM PaGE 20


Strolling into the exciting world of strawberry farmingS T R AW B E R R I E S

Though it can be commercially produced on a small farm, strawberry remains largely unex-ploited as the country spends millions of shillings importing the fruit

By WISON MAINA

Despite its high poten-tial to alleviate pov-erty, earn substantial foreign exchange

and suitability to grow in nearly every corner of Kenya on small par-cels of land, the strawberry remains largely unexploited as the country spends millions of shillings import-ing the fruit whose flavour reso-nates with many tongues.

It is a favourite in jams, yoghurts, juices, cookies and milkshakes among other products and un-confirmed reports indicate that a prominent personality is growing them for export while manufactur-ers are importing the berries from Europe.

Other reports indicate that the government has directed compa-nies which produce/manufacture straw berry products using flavours to use natural fruits, that are rich in calcium, vitamin e; calcium, phos-phorous, magnesium and fibre.

The companies have started im-porting the plants and fruits since the local growers cannot satisfy the demand.

This also means there is a ready market for the fruits, which Mr Mureithi said can be commercially produced on a small parcel of land

“Strawberry farming has a high potential to employ very many of our jobless youth,” said Joseph Mureithi, the Principal of Waruhiu Farmers Training Centre. During this year’s annual farmer field day held at the centre in July, a straw-berry stand was packed with curi-ous visitors, many as surprised as the Horticultural News team with the expert display of the fruits by Rogita Plants Consultants.

According to Robert Gitau, Rogita’s managing director, straw-berry farming may be easy but it demands dedication as it requires

regular watering, fruits continu-ously and harvested weekly.

There are 42 varieties of straw-berries, three for export and the rest for the local market. Chandler, Pajero and Sulphur fall in the hybrid category and are grown for export.

Local varieties have a red stem and a thick fur not found with the

export ones.Strawberries are grown from

splits, and are suitable for tempera-tures of between 10 degrees C and 30 degrees C therefore they can grow in every part of the country.

To produce strawberries, one has to prepare the land well. Make/uplift the beds to one metre width

making a path of 50cm between the beds for easier spraying and watering. One has to prepare the bed well by leveling it with a rake.

Mix the topsoil with manure at 20kg buckets per square metre then water the bed well with water-ing cans/drips. From the edge of the bed one has to leave a space of

Strawberries on show at the rogita Consultant s stand at the Waruhiu Farmers training institute farmer field day in Githunguri

H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I S E P T E M B E R - O C TO B E R , 2 0 1 0 23

Strolling into the exciting world of strawberry farming15cm to make a small hole for the plants, 30cm from plant to plant and 30 cm from line to line in an isolated

triangle to give the plants enough space to flower on all sides.

Before planting one has to ap-

ply the planting chemical Molcap, Nembidicene 2gms per hole and mix with the soil then plant the split firmly and level the ground prop-erly. After planting, water every evening.

In the first month, deflower the first and second flowers to prevent premature cropping and top dress with CAN at one table spoon/10gms per hole between the plants. This helps the plants to take only what it requires.

At the second month the plants pro-duce healthy flowers. Top dress with NPK 17:17:17 between the plants.

Mulching is done at this stage whereby dry grass or hay is used, to help the ground/soil to retain water and for the fruits to lie on, to keep them clean and healthy.

After 75 days (two-and-a-half months) harvesting starts and the plant fruits for three years continu-ously. Throughout this production period, plants should be well fed to maintain high quality yields. This is by feeding for example with folier feeds HB101.

For healthy fruits, keep the bed clean and free of weeds. Like many plants, pruning is vital for the straw-berry. It is done after every two months to remove the old and un-

healthy leaves.During the rainy season, the

strawberry is attacked by fungal diseases which target the leaves leaving brown spots. It is advisable to spray with a fungicide like COTAF, Master to fight the diseases.

Ants are also a big threat to strawberries and it is advisable to spray with a pesticide like ATOM, Tata Umeme, or Vapcomic

After every seven months, thin-ning is done to remove three splits from every plant making them self-reliable.

To grow strawberries for export, it is advisable to choose high qual-ity hybrids like the chandler. Fruits for export should be harvested when they are 1/4 ripe to avoid over ripening when they are on the mar-ket. After harvesting, the fruits stay fresh for 4-5 days.

Strawberry can be used to make jam and yoghurt or lotions and can be taken as a fruit.

Mr Gitau said capital, water and seeds are the main basics that have often put off investors. The seed is especially costly with one split go-ing for Ksh300. A commercial farm-er requires at least 1,000 therefore not many people can afford them.

S T R AW B E R R I E S

Strawberries on show at the rogita Consultant s stand at the Waruhiu Farmers training institute farmer field day in Githunguri

H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I J U N E - J U LY, 2 0 1 0 25


by CatHEriNE riuNGu

Charles Mulinge (Managing Director, Farmchem Limited) was not working at Farmchem in the 1980s

but remembers the decade when the company first came face to face with counterfeiting of its products. Then, its popular, fast selling coffee spray product, Copper Nordox, was the target.

Almost 30 years later, the prob-lem of fake agrochemicals is still around, has become more lucrative and the counterfeiters are smarter. And more of the firm’s products have since fallen in the hands of the fakers. These include Nordox, Cuprocaffaro, Danadim, Maize and Glean.

As we went to press, the agro-chemical fraternity was keenly watching the development of a case involving their latest catch – a prominent Githunguri stockist who was caught dealing in an assort-ment of fake agrochemicals and seeds.

The events leading to the arrest and subsequent arraigning of the suspect in court, while an achieve-ment for the industry as it grapples with the growing problem has un-derscored the need for the coop-eration of law enforcement officers, who Mr Mulinge said have not been proactive in arresting suspects im-mediately the whistle is blown.

“It took the intervention of a sen-ior administration official to get the man arrested”, Mr Mulinge said add-ing that the sector will not relent in its endeavour to end the malprac-tice.

According to the chairman of the AAK-led anti-counterfeits com-mittee, D.K. Kagwe, counterfeiters target popular products and are be-coming smarter especially now that technology has made it possible to print packaging materials that re-semble the genuine ones.

“Since the counterfeiters are get-

ting smarter, and target well-known products, the industry must find a way round them,” he said.

The agrochemical fraternity has enjoined the support of the Kenya Anti-counterfeit Authority, the Pesticides Control Products Board, Seed quality regulator – Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate and the police as it ups its game in the wake of what is increasingly becoming a nightmare.

If found guilty, the Githunguri businessman faces a fine of Ksh1 million or two years in jail or both. The punitive measures were in-troduced last year following an outcry by the industry over what they termed as a lenient penalty of Ksh20,000 that applied before then. The low fine did not deter offenders whose illegitimate business rakes in millions therefore, they would pay up and continue.

“The new law will reduce the counterfeiting incidents”, Mr Kagwe said.

The suspect was caught with fake products and packaging ma-terials for seeds and pesticides, showing how entrenched coun-terfeiting has become. Looking at Farmchem’s genuine pioneer maize and a fake, one can only tell the dif-ference after critically examining

certain features. Mr Mulinge said that they have

started changing packaging to make it more difficult to copy, and embarked on educating farmers on how to spot the difference.

Among the measures the indus-try is taking is centralising printing of labels and packaging materials to control the amounts being re-

leased, which has been identified as a major loophole as printers make excess materials and sell them to the fakers. “Printing of fake labels and packaging materials has be-come a lucrative business”, said Mr Mulinge.

Sadly, the farmer never gets to know until the product doesn’t work, and then he runs to the maker of the chemical who has no way of knowing who sold it he added.

He reiterated that farmers must only purchase products from regis-tered and certified sources.

According to Prof Vassey Mwaja, the general manager of Juanco SPS, and former chairman of the Agrochemical Association of Kenya (AAK), fakers are giving players sleepless nights as they have be-

come smarter as counterfeit prod-ucts reach alarming levels.

The industry and the govern-ment must be on the alert because “for every new invention, there is a fake within six months”, added Agrochemical Association of Kenya chairman A.K .Otieno. Mr Otieno is the chief executive officer of Topserve that represents among other companies, BASF. He said that none of his products has been touched yet, but he knows it it just a matter of time.

The same case applies to Mr Kagwe, whose two-year-old Profarm is so aware of the lurking danger and can hope that by the time its products catch the atten-tion of the counterfeiters, the indus-try will have sufficient arsenal.

Relentless war against fakesC O U N T E R F E I T S

The agrochemical fraternity has enjoined the support of the Kenya Anti-counterfeit Authority, the Pesticides Control Products Board, Kephis and police

Farmchem managing director Charles Mulinge. the company products are among the most targeted by counterfeiters

Nordox, Cuprocaffaro,

Danadim, Maize and Glean


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Fruit and vegetable pro-ducers and exporters in Kenya are suffering mas-sive losses due to the

African invader fly (Bactrocera in-vadens) and other fruit flies.

Fruit damage and trade restric-tions on Kenya’s fresh produce known to be hosts to certain fruit flies pests’ continue to rise. South Africa banned imports of Kenyan avocadoes, mangoes and other hosts of the invader fruit fly in April 2008.

According to the Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA), Kenya exported 274,908kg of avocados worth Ksh21.4 million in 2007 and is currently unable to export about 300,000kg yearly to South Africa.

A presentation by Tiffany Wax (University of Washington) on “the Environmental and Economic Impact of the Invasive Fruit fly in Kenya” indicate that avocadoes worth $2.1 million (Ksh167.16 million) were exported to South Africa in 2007 but the export dropped by 80% in 2008.

ICIPE estimates that 760,000 tonnes (760 million kg) of man-goes are lost yearly due to various fruit flies. It is estimated that fruit export restriction to South Africa alone costs Kenya up to $6 million (Ksh477.6 million) annually.

In addition to South Africa, other markets like the Seychelles, Mauritius, USA, Japan and EU have imposed restrictions or increased entry checks, unless an official treatment is applied before ship-ment or produce is grown in a fruit fly pest free area that could be certified by KEPHIS.

The horticulture sub-sector generated $1 billion (Ksh79.6 bil-lion) in foreign exchange and over $650 million (Ksh51.7 billion) in domestic earnings in 2008 accord-ing to HCDA, directly and indi-rectly employing over four million

people but continued flow of such earning is being rapidly eroded by the fruit fly. The industry is at risk of failing to contribute as expect-ed towards the GDP, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and

Vision 2030.Trade bans and barriers from

trading partners where the fruit flies are absent or their full es-tablishment officially in check get imposed in accordance with the World Trade Organization’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary (WTO-SPS) agreements and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) principles on prevention of introduction and spread of pests. Every country has the responsibility to protect its territories from invasion by for-eign pests.

“About one-fifth of invasive species may cause extensive economic and ecological dam-age with unpredictable nega-tive effects on native popu-lations that are second only to habitat destruction,” Dr. Sunday Ekesi, the African Fruit-fly Programme (AFFP) leader at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

(icipe).The invader fruit fly (B. invadens)

was first detected in Kenya in 2003 by ICIPE scientists but it is not yet clear when and how it got to Kenya, but has rapidly spread to most parts of the country. It is now reported in at least 28 African countries—the latest being first detection in May this year by the elaborate surveillance in South Africa by their National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO). It is obligatory under the WTO –SPS and IPPC treaties that such information is made public inter-nationally by the respective NPPO

the invader fruit fly was first detected in Kenya in 2003 by iCiPE scientists but it is not yet clear when and how it got to Kenya, but has rapidly spread to most parts of the country.

‘ ‘

In addition to South Africa, other markets like the Seychelles, Mauritius, USA, Japan

and EU have imposed restrictions or increased entry checks.

Managing the invader fruit fly They attack the fruiting living tissue of a plant where the female lay eggs by inserting

them under the skin of fruits and vegetables during growth.

Fig. 1. Egg-laying punctures on banana fruit

I N F E S TAT I O N



or its equivalent which is man-dated to protect the introduction and spread of pests and noxious weeds.

Avocado has been recorded as a host of B. invadens but KEPHIS (Kenyan NPPO) has not yet in-tercepted any consignment be-cause of the pest. A recent study indicates that the Hass avocado variety is a conditional non-host

for Ceratitis capitata and a poor but potential host for the related C. rosa and C. Cosyra (Jour. Econ. Entomology), and so no risk miti-gation necessary for C. capitata on the Hass. C. cosyra had for long been the most serious fruit fly pest on mangoes while others in the genus are C. rosa and C. capitata. These indigenous species could cause direct damage of 40%–80% on mangoes depending on local-ity, variety and season. However, since the detection of the invasive species from Sri-Lanka in 2003, it has rapidly displaced the native species in much of the country, taking over as the foremost threat to production and trade of vari-ous host fruits.

The fly’s economic implications have a heavy mpact on high value horticultural crops such as man-go, avocado, guava, cucumber, pumpkin, melon, tomato, ripe ba-nanas, pepper, citrus and cashew nuts. It seriously threatens the income, food security and liveli-hood of millions of families that produce and trade in fruits and vegetables.

Studies by KEPHIS, Ministry of Agriculture, KARI and ICIPE have shown that it is mainly a low-to-midland pest occurring below

1700m above sea level but its range keeps on spreading.

Females insert eggs under the skin of fruits and hatch into whitish-cream larvae (mag-gots) that feed on the flesh of the fruit or vegetable causing direct damage and subsequent rotting due to secondary infec-tion of the affected parts.

Indirect losses are more signifi-cantly felt by the farmers because of instant loss of market and rev-enue for ready fruits. The larvae is the most damaging stage of fruit flies and one of the stages that can easily move with fruit or veg-etables in trade.

“It is very frustrating to pains-takingly produce good fruits then have them rejected on the basis that they might have a certain new worm, yet we regularly spray with various insecticides”, lament-ed a farmer who used to sell for the export market.

The worms might not be evi-dent at harvesting but may devel-op from previously laid eggs. “We

have noticed an increase in ripe mangoes having worms in our shelf-life trials but I don’t under-stand why South Africa banned our avocadoes”, commented one quality controller who works in the pack house of a fruit exporter.

The ban by South Africa is con-sidered unfair by many Kenyans as the more stringent EU market is still open, albeit with increased checks. The insect is of tropical origin and could possibly estab-lish better in the tropics than the temperate countries. South Africa has a vibrant grape, avocado and citrus industry that could be dev-astated by the invader fly that has not yet been established there.

Concerted efforts are being

made to regain the fruit mar-ket with the understanding that eradicating a well-established pest with high reproduction rate, readily available hosts and suit-able environmental conditions is not an easy task.

Prof. Christian Borgemeister (Director General, ICIPE) told a recent conference that long term management of the fly requires an integrated approach that ex-plores and utilises available op-tions including cultural methods, biological and chemical insecti-cides to suppress the population, reduce chances of infestation by observing orchard sanitation

The fly affects high value horticultural crops such as mango, avocado, guava,

cucumber, pumpkin, melon,‘ ‘indirect losses are more significantly felt by the farmers because of instant loss of market and

revenue for ready fruits.

Managing the invader fruit fly I N F E S TAT I O N

Fruits and vegetables industry is at risk of failing to contribute as expected towards the GDP, MDGs and Vision 2030

CoNtiNuEd FroM PaGE 28


H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I S E P T E M B E R - O C TO B E R , 2 0 1 0 31

by NElSoN MaiNa

Nutrient deficiency affects crop yields whether they are trees grown for timber, fruit

trees, cereals, flowers or vegeta-bles.

A shortage (or excess) of nu-trients can cause serious reduc-tions in crop growth, yield and the quality of the crop produced. Essential major nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulphur and calcium are required in relatively large quantities, whilst trace elements such as manganese, copper and boron are required in very small quantities.

Many crops show large and very profitable responses to the correct use of lime and fertiliser in terms of both the yield and qual-ity of the crop produced.

An important part of farming is providing plants with proper amounts of lime and essential nu-trients. Soil testing can be used to indicate if additional nutrients are needed to achieve optimal yield.

Soil analysis is the most accu-rate guide to fertilizer and lime re-quirements. It is especially impor-tant to determine soil fertility and pH levels before planting a crop, so that the necessary lime and fer-tilizer can be applied to the soil.

Managing Soil pHpH is a measure of the acidity or

alkalinity of the soil and affects the availability of nutrients to the plant. Most floriculture crops do not re-spond to fertilization when the pH is very low (extremely acid soils, pH less than 5.0) or very high (extreme-ly alkaline soils, pH above 7.5).

Calcium, phosphorus, magne-sium, and molybdenum are the nutrients that are most likely to be deficient under acid soil con-ditions. Test the soil to determine pH before planting and every 2-3

years to monitor changes. Soil pH can usually be modified to obtain a suitable pH.

raising Soil pHFor acidic soils lime application

to raise soil pH is usually required. When the soil pH is not known, a soil test should be performed.

On extremely acidic soils, flowers and most crops will not respond to fertilization or other management factors. Agricultural grade limestone (calcium carbon-ate) is generally recommended to correct soil acidity.

Note that lime should not be applied within one week of ap-plying nitrogen fertilizer or ma-nure. The high soil pH that occurs shortly after liming will increase the loss of ammonia.

Lime does not move through the soil, it must be incorporated.

Some soils limed heavily over a period of years may not re-quire further applications. Some light-textured soils that have an adequate pH occasionally test very low in calcium, and therefore require lime. If calcium levels are low, gypsum or fertilizers such as calcium nitrate may also be used to supply calcium, rather than us-ing lime. Gypsum (CaSO4) is not a liming agent. It will not increase soil pH, and under certain condi-

tions it is used to lower soil pH. The use of some dolomitic lime-stone is recommended since it contains a significant quantity of magnesium, an essential and of-ten deficient plant nutrient.

The positive effects of lime appli-cation include:

• Reduce soil acidity,• Improve the physical condi-

tion of the soil,• Provide calcium and magne-

sium (if dolomitic limestone is used),

• Favour bacterial action and, thereby, hasten the decomposi-tion of organic matter and the re-lease of nitrogen,

• Improve conditions for avail-ability of other nutrients, notably phosphorus and some minor ele-ments, and

• Reduce the toxicity of some elements such as manganese and aluminium.

Growers need to be careful when applying lime. If applied at too high a rate (above 5 tonnes per ha), lime may tie up some mi-cronutrients (e.g. boron) or cause nutrient imbalances.

Lime application may aggra-vate magnesium deficiencies, es-pecially in sandy soil. Where this is a problem, some dolomitic lime should be used. Liming can also

increase the rate of organic mat-ter depletion and encourage the germination of some weeds. Lime should always be used in conjunc-tion with a planned soil testing and fertilizer program.

lowering soil pHSometimes it is advantageous

to lower or acidify the soil pH. Alkaline mineral soils may need to be acidified for crop production.

The principal materials used to lower soil pH are elemental sulphur, sulphuric acid, alumi-num sulphate and iron sulphate (ferrous sulphate). Ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate and other ammonium containing fertilizers are also quite effective when the soil receives sufficient water, though they are primarily sources of plant nutrients.

Soluble salts in soilElevated salt levels in soil will interfere with water uptake and eventually plant growth. The effects range from delayed or non-germination of seed to death of new transplants and serious reduction in growth of new or established plants. The problem with soluble salts is most severe when soil moisture is low and salt concentration is high.

Balancing nutrients in the soilIt is especially important to determine soil fertility and pH levels before planting a

crop so that the necessary lime and fertilizer can be applied to the soil.

S O I L P H


by bEN oMoNdi

Several discussions have taken place since a major flower industry meeting in April 2009 in the midst

of the global financial crisis sought avenues of sustaining the industry through a peculiar and unprec-edented situation.

It is with this in mind that PKF Kenya and Kenya Flower Council organized a Floriculture Industry Executive Forum in Nairobi in August, with the understanding that although the industry is still inundated with major challenges; opportunities for growth and ex-pansion are abundant.

The forum highlighted the emerging issues with focus in tax, banking & finance, instruments of trade, export trade insurance, ven-ture capital and the impact of cli-mate change.

A panel of experts gave pres-entations at the August meet-ing in Nairobi, where Julius Muia, Secretary National Social Economic Council gave the key note address. Speakers and the topics presented were as follows:

Jane Ngige CEo, Kenya Flower Council – overview of the flower industry.

alan dodd, Executive director, NiC bank – The floriculture industry: a lender’s perspective.

oswald Magwenzi, investment officer, international Finance Corporation – Financing options for flower producers.

Sam omukoko, Group Md, Metropol E.a – Role of credit rating agencies &bureaus in supporting domestic and export trade.

Suresh Patel, CEo Kridha limited – opportunities in carbon business and water resource Management.

Salim alibhai, audit Manager PKF – Carbon accounting.

John thindi tax director, PKF – Tax compliance and planning in the floriculture industry.

Mr. Muia highlighted that the specter of globalization and the fierce competition that it bequeaths to many businesses requires that the whole value chain be examined and optimized by the application of efficient practices in the financ-ing, planting, growing, harvesting, transporting, marketing and selling

of products.Kenya’s floriculture industry

wants the government to protect and help promote the industry and be proactively involved in maintain-ing existing markets as well push for diversification to other markets es-pecially those that have significant growth potential and those whose economies are not correlated with the traditional Kenyan market. The government also needs to enable growers expand their activity away from specific geographical loca-tions due to climatic conditions and logistic considerations through development of infrastructure with respect to energy, roads, ports and drainage among many others.

To deal with this challenge the government has adopted a Cluster Strategy as a framework to drive competitiveness and following recommendations by NESC, the Ministry of Trade has commissioned KIPPRA to carry out a study on clus-ters in Kenya with a view to map-ping these and developing a guid-ing policy framework. Noting that the Flower industry is one of these clusters, Mr. Muia asked KFC to move fast to adopt the cluster strategy by employing the triple helix concept which brings together government, private sector and researchers.

The industry has unique financial

needs and is considered a high risk sector, the forum heard, whose at-tractiveness has been dented by the turbulence in the European markets.

Financial sector players say un-certainty in the European market and overdependence on rainfed production have raised the floricul-ture industry’s risk profile, making it a hard-sell to lenders.

Financiers are also worried by the industry’s unstable labour relations, seasonal demand for its products, and tropical pests and diseases that affect production.

“The industry’s traditional attrac-tiveness may still be intact, but there are many risks that have emerged that make banks very conservative in choosing their lending priorities, “ Allan Dodd, executive director at NIC Bank said.

Although the sector is the lead-ing foreign exchange earner, insta-bility of the EU market is a key factor in deciding future business relations with the industry.

“By relying heavily on EU mar-kets, the industry has also external-ised its risk, meaning the ability to repay must be extended to include assessment of conditions of the EU market before loan is granted, “ said Oswald Magwenzi, an investment officer at the International Finance

Corporation (IFC)“Other than diversification, we

foresee a future where small play-ers in the industry will be forced to merge and automate their opera-tions to keep their costs in check in order to remain attractive to exter-nal financiers, “ said Mr Magwenzi.

Floriculture business owners need to make use of credit rating agencies and take risk insurance to have more leverage when sourcing for finances for their business. “The slow growth of our capital markets is due to the lack of rating agencies in the country leading to distortion of the funding structure as well as high cost of products as consumers ultimately bear the cost” says Sam Omukoko, Metropol Insurance.

Climate change greatly impacts the flower industry increasing the industry’s risk factor. Growers need take up adaptation measures and implement water management plans to reduce economic impacts of climate change but it has a cost.

It is also vital for growers to be more informed on tax planning in order to claim all capital expenses, monitor their losses, develop trans-fer pricing policy and avoid unnec-essary penalties or interests hence become tax compliant.


Floriculture industryexecutive forum

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GROWING AREAS ADVERT hi-res.pdf 5/24/10 10:53:34 AM

Tax, banking & finance, trade, insurance, venture capital and climate change

Participants at the Floriculture industry Executive Forum

PKF Kenya is part of one of the leading regional auditing, accounting and business consultancy practices in Eastern Africa. Locally and internationally, PKF is recognized and respected and is regarded as an opin-ion former on business issues. For over 45 years we have served a large and varied client base, ranging from very large public and private organisations to SMEs in virtually all sectors of the economy.

At PKF, we serve a large part of the businesses involved in floriculture and horticulture in Kenya. We are proud to have hosted the Floriculture Industry Executive Forum, in association with Kenya Flower Council, as part of our continuing contribution to the growth of the industry.

We offer a wide range of services including:-

• Audit assurance and advisory• Forensic accounting• Tax consultancy• Corporate finance• Management consulting• Human capital consulting

Headquarters Kalamu House, Waiyaki Way, PO. Box 14077, NAIROBI 00800 Tel: (+254 20) 4446616-9, Fax: (+254 20) 4447233E-mail: [email protected]

For more details, visit our website: www.pkfea.com

GLOBAL EXPERTISE • LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

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Floriculture industry executive forum

FLOWER INDUSTRY EXECUTIVE FORUM

Jane Ngige

Kenya Flower Council

12.08. 2010


Jane Ngige


12.08. 2010


Jane Ngige


12.08. 2010

Kenya: the country- competitive edgeIndustry Performance

World Markets Market accessCertification Compliance

Trade protocols

Challenges facing the industrySocial, economic and environmental dynamics

Opportunities Looking ahead

Accountants &

business advisers

FLORICULTURE INDUSTRY EXECUTIVE FORUM

Presented By John Thindi

Accountants &

business advisers



Accountants &

business advisers



Accountants &

business advisers



Managing Trade & Investment RiskAn Insurance Perspective

Julius Karuga, Underwriter

Presentation by Executive Director, Alan Dodd

PKF Forum: 12th August 2010

Accountants &business advisers

CARBON ACCOUNTING

Presented By Salim Alibhai

GHG PROTOCOL STANDARDSAccounting of emissions is done through:

- Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard

- Scope 3 (Corporate Value Chain) Accounting and Reporting Standard

- Pilot run of 60 international companies is underway

The final standards shall be published for issue by December 2010.

Opportunities in Carbon Business

FLORICULTURE INDUSTRYEXECUTIVE FORUM

Suresh PatelKRIDHA LIMITEDP.O.Box - 17777-00500, Nairobi.Tel: +254 20 3546665/2072233Cell: +254 725 249249/0733625863

Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

Water Resource Management- need for optimization for

flower sector

Suresh Patel

KRIDHA LIMITED

P.O.Box - 17777-00500, Nairobi.Tel: +254 20 3546665Cell:+254 725 249249

Email: [email protected]

By Sam OmukokoManaging Director

METROPOL CORPORATION LIMITED

Managing your credit is the first step towards managing liquidity

HoW CaN tHE CrEdit burEau HElP?

The full presentations shall be available online at www.pkfea.com / newsroom / publications is includ-ed in the PKF presentation summary.





















Managing your credit is the first step

you take toward managing your

LIQUIDITY.

HOW CAN THE CREDIT BUREAU

HELP?

Managing your credit is the first step

you take toward managing your

LIQUIDITY.

HOW CAN THE CREDIT BUREAU

HELP?


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CM

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GROWING AREAS ADVERT hi-res.pdf 5/24/10 10:53:34 AM


By BEN OMONDI

Players in Kenya’s horticultural and floriculture industry have been urged to embark on “eco/labelling” of their export produce to enhance the value of their exports in the in-ternational market.

This is because ‘eco-labelling’ ensures that farmers’ activities are consistent with sustainable de-velopment criteria and optimize resource management – including water – without having negative impacts on the environment.

Mr Suresh Patel, chief executive of Kridha Ltd, a manufacturer and provider of water treatment tech-nologies and chemicals said that “eco-labelling is now a key market-ing tool as it helps one to export produce with ease to the European Union and other overseas markets.”

In an interview with Horticultural

News, Mr Patel said that one compo-nent of eco-labelling is the current trend of declaring greenhouse gas

number on each exported product.“If the greenhouse gas number

is higher, one does not get favour-able prices in the export market and the lower the value of the number, the better prices one’s produce

fetches,” said Patel, adding that the exports’ greenhouse gas number is now a legal requirement in the United Kingdom and is set to be made mandatory for exporters by end of this year.

Patel urged the key industry bodies in the country – including the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA) and Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) – to come out and play the lead role towards the adoption of greenhouse gas number.

“Sensitisation should be done by the key industry bodies. These bodies and associations should come out and play a key role in farmer education as regards adop-tion of greenhouse gas number,” he said, adding that adoption rates of such industry trends and technologies is low locally due to lack of education and technology

gap among farmers.“There is a technology gap

among farmers as they are not aware of relevant technologies that can help enhance their pro-ductivity. Adoption of new pro-duction technologies can also help the farming community to reduce production costs,” he added.

Adoption of new technologies, he further said, could help end the conflict between flower in Naivasha and the local community as the new water management tech-niques could ensure optimum use and recycling of water from the lake Naivasha and less effluent being re-leased back onto the lake.

“The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) needs to define standards of quality of effluent that can be released onto the lake. Flower farmers should also go for flower varieties which con-

sume less water to conserve the scarce water resources,” he added.

To further enhance water conser-vation efforts, he urged the govern-ment has been urged to partner with financial institutions to provide incentives to those involved in the provision of water management technologies to residential and commercial sectors.

Such incentives, he said, could include soft loans to the provid-ers of the technologies to enhance their efforts towards ensuring that the water resources are effectively conserved.

Considering the fact that Kenya has been recognized as a water-scarce country, he em-phasized the need for both resi-dential and commercial users to ensure they construct water recycling as well as harvesting facilities within their compounds and enterprises.

Floriculture exporters to adopteco-labelling

‘Eco-labelling’ ensures that farmers’ activities are consistent with sustainable development criteria and optimize resource management

Flower farmers should also go for flower varieties which consume less water to conserve the scarce water resources

F O R U M

Mr Suresh Patel, chief executive of Kridha ltd,


P.O. Box 17777-00500, Nairobi Kenya.

Tel +254 20 3546665, 2072233, 3546664

Cel: 0725 249249, 0720 911201, 0733 625963, 0734 756813

Email:[email protected], [email protected],[email protected]

Industrial/Domestic water treatment

• Industrial effluent treatment & Recycling plant For reuse of wastewater -Plant Sizes available –500 to 200,000 liters/day or as per client’s need.• Sewage effluent treatment plant• DM and water softening plants • Reverse Osmosis(RO) plants Package Water Treatment Plant- For treatment of water from River, Lake, Borehole, Rain water or any managed water supply. Plant Sizes available – 500 to 200,000 liters/day or as per client’s need.• Domestic and Industrial Water filters

• Water treatment for Boilers, Chillers, Cooling Towers • Supply of media like Activated Carbon, Anion and Cation resins• Manufacture and supply of Water Treatment Chemicals• Chemical Dosing Unit• Rainwater harvesting and Bore-well recharging• Repair & Maintenance of RO plants

Environmental solutions• Environmental Audits (EA) and Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)• Energy Audits(Electrical and Thermal)• Noise mapping and Sound proofing• Air emission and control technologies

Other services• Water analysis laboratory facility• Industrial chemicals supply.

P.O. Box 17777-00500 NAIROBI, KENYA Tel: +254 20 2072233/ 20 3546665

Fax: +254 20 3546664 Cell: 0733 625963, 0725 249249

0734 756813, 0720 911201Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

Supply of Industrial Chemicals, Agricultural Chemicals and Fertilizers. Manufacture of Water Treatment Chemicals for Boilers, Cooling Towers and Chillers. Waste Water Treatment Plants. Environment Impact Assessments and Audits Environmentally Sound Technologies, Carbon Trading, CDM Projects

Industrial/Domestic water

treatment

¥ Industrial effluent treatment &Recycling plantFor reuse of wastewater -Plant Sizes available – 500 to 200,000 liters/day or as per client’s need.

¥ Sewage effluent treatment plant¥ DM and water softening plants ¥ Reverse Osmosis(RO) plants

Package Water Treatment Plant- For

treatment of water from River, Lake, Borehole, Rain water or any managed water supply.Plant Sizes available – 500 to 200,000 liters/day or as per client’s need.

¥ Water treatment for Boilers, Chillers, Cooling Towers

¥ Supply of media like Activated Carbon, Anion and Cation resins

¥ Manufacture and supply of Water Treatment Chemicals

¥ Chemical Dosing Unit¥ Rainwater harvesting and Bore-well

recharging¥ Repair & Maintenance of RO plants

Other services

¥ Water analysis laboratory facility¥ Industrial chemicals supply.

Environmental solutions

¥ Environmental Audits (EA) and Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)

¥ Energy Audits(Electrical and Thermal)¥ Noise mapping and Sound proofing¥ Air emission and control technologies

P.O. Box 17777-00500 NAIROBI, KENYA Tel: +254 20 2072233/ 20 3546665

Fax: +254 20 3546664 Cell: 0733 625963, 0725 249249

0734 756813, 0720 911201Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

Supply of Industrial Chemicals, Agricultural Chemicals and Fertilizers. Manufacture of Water Treatment Chemicals for Boilers, Cooling Towers and Chillers. Waste Water Treatment Plants. Environment Impact Assessments and Audits Environmentally Sound Technologies, Carbon Trading, CDM Projects

Industrial/Domestic water

treatment

¥ Industrial effluent treatment &Recycling plantFor reuse of wastewater -Plant Sizes available – 500 to 200,000 liters/day or as per client’s need.

¥ Sewage effluent treatment plant¥ DM and water softening plants ¥ Reverse Osmosis(RO) plants

Package Water Treatment Plant- For

treatment of water from River, Lake, Borehole, Rain water or any managed water supply.Plant Sizes available – 500 to 200,000 liters/day or as per client’s need.

¥ Water treatment for Boilers, Chillers, Cooling Towers

¥ Supply of media like Activated Carbon, Anion and Cation resins

¥ Manufacture and supply of Water Treatment Chemicals

¥ Chemical Dosing Unit¥ Rainwater harvesting and Bore-well

recharging¥ Repair & Maintenance of RO plants

Other services

¥ Water analysis laboratory facility¥ Industrial chemicals supply.

Environmental solutions

¥ Environmental Audits (EA) and Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)

¥ Energy Audits(Electrical and Thermal)¥ Noise mapping and Sound proofing¥ Air emission and control technologies

Manufacturers of Raw Water and Wastewater ( Effluent) treatment plants, Water Treatment Chemicals for boilers, cooling towers and chillers. Consultants for Environment Impact Assessment and Audit, Environmentally Sound Technologies,

Carbon Trading, CDM, Eco-Labeling and Greenhouse Gases Management. Suppliers of Industrial Chemicals.

The Great Agribusiness Revolution in East Africa

Read all about it in Horticultural NewsNovember-December issue

To participate in this special focus, call Nelson Maina: 0722 403 108 Email: [email protected]/[email protected]


Kilimo Faida is an agri-business value chain financing programme under the flagship of

Orion East Africa Limited. The programme, the first of its

kind in the country , targets both micro and larger scale farmers and seeks to remove hindrances in agricultural value practice.

This is through the provision of low-cost credit through which farmers can access farm inputs (agro-chemicals and seeds), buy farm equipment to boost pro-duction, access Letters of Credit, Guarantees, as well as quick cash on their invoices (factoring). We also offer Bid Bonds to our estab-lished clients.

The programme has in the past one year financed over 1,200 farmers to the tune of over Ksh50 million from almost every region in Kenya. We anticipate growing our portfolio to over Ksh250 mil-

lion in the next two years.A key objective of Kilimo Faida

is to ensure that farmers maximize on their farm potential through the provision of easily accessible and affordable credit facilities.

Kilimo Faida customers are able to get interest free credit on farm inputs during planting seasons. Farmers benefit by focusing on their core business without hav-ing to worry about where to get

their inputs from, where to get value adding advice and finally, how to market their farm output.

Orion East Africa is focusie-don addressing farmers’ needs across the entire value chain and

Kilimo Faida is just one of the programmes that complete the cycle.

Other programmes within Orion East Africa Limited include Orion Seed that that imports un-

der license, high quality certified seeds, Independent Testing and Advisory Services (ITAS) which tests soil components and advises farmers accordingly, Green Earth which advocates for environmen-tal conservation.

This value chain approach en-sures that farmers’ needs are ca-tered for from the input stages to post harvest period.

In the next one year, Kilimo Faida is targeting to reach out to over 5,000 farmers/growers and advance over Ksh150 million. This will be done while ensuring lowest default rate through value added support which will mainly entail provision of extension services.

Further, through our portal, www.kilimofaida.com, we are giv-ing an opportunity to internation-al investors to directly support a farmer from any country.

Kilimo faida to the rescue of farmers

To Nature Grown, the benefits of working directly with farmers by helping them to market their produce without going through middlemen has - apart from en-suring constant and regular sup-ply of produce - led the firm to increase its horticultural export volumes and capacity, which cur-rently stands at 9 million stems per year.

However, even with the suc-cesses so far registered since the inception of the Nature Grown, KHDP partnership in 2008, the main challenge of sourcing flow-ers from outgrower farmers, ac-cording to Ms Mburu, has been how to ensure that quality of ex-ports is uniform and ideal for the EU export market as the stocks are normally supplied by different flower farmers.

“We are always forced to grade the flowers, something that sometimes forces us to throw away some stems and in the process having to deal with com-plaints from the farmers. But this is the best way by which we can ensure that we export the quality required,” she says.

The need to ensure uniform quality of the flower stocks sup-plied to Nature Grown by the smallholder farmers has led the firm to employee about eight agronomists who work directly with the farmers on the ground to ensure the required quality is achieved and delivered to the firm.

Mr Wilfred Kimami, who has over the past seven years worked with his team to ensure the suc-cess of Nature Grown as well as the continuity of the firm’s part-nership with KHDP since 2008, says that the he has seen his flower export capacity increase from just 1.2 million stems five years ago to 17 million stems currently.

“This year, we are aiming at exporting over 20 million stems

due to the fact that we have in-troduced new product offerings which are targeted at the pre-mium segment of the EU market,” says Kimami, however adding that the only major challenge of work-ing with the smallholder farmers is that they have limitations when it comes to growing prime prod-ucts.

The EU market’s segmentation combined with the fact that small-scale framers can not grow prime products is one of the reasons that led Mr Kimami to establish Nature Grown whose products are used to access relatively more flower auctions in Germany and Holland.

The EU is the main export des-tination for Kenya’s flowers, with the Netherlands (Holland) import-ing the bulk of flowers for sale through the country’s auction system.

“The main reason behind the formation of Nature Grown was the need to put the common man growing flowers on the interna-tional market. We mainly focus on flower growers who have to cope with various challenges be-fore they access the international market with their produce,” says Mr Kimami.

The flower export sub-sector is controlled by mainly private entities, including both large and small-scale farmers and exporters operating scattered across the na-tion.

Among the factors that have contributed to Kenya’s rise in flower exports is the country’s Equatorial climate which allows for year-round production; fertile soils; a competitive labour force with good education and techni-cal background.

Ms Nancy Njeri Chege is a flow-

er grower who through getting in-volved in the Nature Grown, KHDP partnership has seen her house-hold incomes improve since she started growing the ‘Onyx’ flow-ers while supplying the produce to Nature Grown in 2007.

Ms Njeri, who previously grew only carrots, cabbages, potatoes and maize in her half-acre plot, was driven to get into flower pro-duction due to the instability and price fluctuations that is known to affect other crops, leading to un-reliable incomes to the farmers.

Onyx is an all-season flower which takes six months to mature, after which the stems are har-vested then tied in batches of 10 stems each for onward collection by Nature Grown.

The stems are then graded according to stem length, with the longer stems fetching com-paratively higher prices than the

Glad you asked, we grow onyx but ...M A R k E T S

Onyx is an all-season flower which takes six months to mature, after which the stems are harvested for onward collection by Nature Grown.

John Kagia, a Nature Grown agronomist, makes a demonstration at an onyx flower farm in lari division, a few kilometres from Nairobi.

40 H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I S E P T E M B E R - O C TO B E R , 2 0 1 0

shorter stems.“Harvesting can be done every

week for older crop and the plants can stay up to four years before new planting materials are intro-duced. This means that produc-tion costs during subsequent sea-sons after the first harvest are sig-nificantly reduced as no planting material is bought and the only expenses are on fertilizer costs and labour,” says Ms Njeri, who doubles up as the treasurer of 10-member Kereita farmers group in Kirenga location, Lari District.

Being a consistent and promis-ing member of the project, Njeri’s farm has a shade net and is also used as drip irrigation demon-stration plot, the construction of which has been done by KHDP.

However, the challenge in

growing the ‘Onyx’ variety, says Njeri, is the fact that the crop is labour-intensive, especially dur-ing post harvest as farmers have to engage between 5 to 6 people in the removal of the flower’s tip buds to ensure the plant matures to the desired quality while addi-tional labour is required for irriga-tion during the dry season.

To mitigate against the higher costs, says John Kagia, a Nature Grown agronomist, some farm-ers are now growing other flower varieties (like Erygnium) though Onyx still fetches better prices.

“Erygnium is affected by sea-sons and is therefore not popular in the EU market during the off-peak season, which is normally between June and September,” says Kagia.

One of the farmers growing the Erygnium variety is Mr Peter Kimani, a flower farmer from Gitemenge group in the same location, who has put his eight-acre piece of land on the crop but complains that growing the flower is challenging due the high cost of inputs – like pesticides and labour.

intercroppingPaul Wathiru Nyururu, also a

flower farmer from the same area, has however decided to go a dif-ferent route and intercrops three flower varieties on his eight-acre piece of land, including Onyx, Erygnium and Lilies (for the local market).

His farm has also been fitted with a shade net which induces

stems to grow taller as they search for the sun’s elusive rays. The shade net, also used a demonstration for others in the KHDP project, also ensures that temperatures inside are cooler than leading to better harvests and incomes.

“Previously, people did not see the potential in growing flowers but due to the inspiration from this project and my farm, they are now keen on getting involved in the trade,” says Mr Nyururu, but warns that flower growing is a labour-intensive endeavour, requires lots of dedication and therefore the need to start small.

“We work here three of us every day, pruning the flowers and also removing suckers which compete with good flowers for food and if left lead to slim stems and short

... No room for middlemen here M A R k E T S

The only major challenge of working with the smallholder farmers is that they have limitations when it comes to growing prime products.


flowers,” he says

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About 20 years ago, the Crop Protection Industry [formerly GIFAP, now Crop Life International]

introduced and sponsored a Safe Use of Chemicals project into Kenya.

The objective was to educate smallholder farmers in all aspects of use of agricultural chemicals. These products, despite their major bene-fits, were being used carelessly and incorrectly by many people. In fact, cases of poisoning were reported to say nothing of the huge number of people who were being exposed to risk.

Working closely with, and provid-ing essential but vital support to the project were several key insti-tutions. The Ministry of Agriculture Crop Protection Department was of particular importance alongside the Pest Control Products Board and the Agrochemical Association of Kenya. Their scientific staff carried out most of the training, which reached over half a million smallholders over the ten years of the project.

Their work, alongside other fac-tors, has resulted in the appropriate use of chemicals and reduced poi-soning incidents to a very low level to the extent that almost every poi-soning associated with agricultural chemicals these days is due to some deliberate act. The importance of these early years must never be un-

derestimated.In 1995, Kenyan horticulture and

floriculture enterprises took up the training initiatives seriously and staff handling crop protection chemicals started receiving formal safe use trainings. After some reluctance the proper use of protective gear began to be seen as the norm and more care was being taken when products were in use. Later in the 1990s Kenya, via FPEAK and Kenya Flower Council pioneered the de-velopment of codes of conduct for the industry. Over the years, these code have been refined, improved and now are internationalized with world codes of conduct in place.

Staff safety and protection of the environment are pillars of these codes. Safety training for all staff handling chemicals on the farm is now obligatory. As a result, occu-pational poisoning is now unheard of, accidents are rare and suicide at-tempts much accepted.

The training programmes them-selves, still extensively used have been a success despite [like seatbelt wearing programme in cars] tak-ing a few years to receive wide ac-ceptance. Alongside these training programmes, the Crop Protection

Industry has done much to revolu-tionize the safety side of products use. The AAK [Crop Life Kenya] has strongly supported the develop-ment of small packs of product for smallholder farmers to cut out the dangerous practice of repacking.

The PCAK has increased its pres-ence in the market and has been for some years a potent force in imple-menting Kenya’s excellent products regulatory scheme.

International Chemical Companies have also played a part in improving user safety. New less toxic products have entered the market in the past years phasing out, particularly in the large scale user markets, the older organo-phosphates which caused problems historically with regular careless use. Newer products such as pyrethroid insecticides are also used at very low rates [a few cc’s or gms per acre]. Further, in this area, safety intervals between product use and harvest of crops are now widely respected.

Another area where Kenya has been active is ridding the country of stocks of obsolete products. In the late 1990s and early 2000 the safe use project, working with AAK and the Ministry of Agriculture de-

stroyed some 750 tonnes of obso-lete pesticides, mostly in dangerous condition. The material was incin-erated at very high temperatures without incidents in a cement kiln, which in those days was the dis-posal method of choice in many countries. Times have changed now and obsolete and expired product is now incinerated in purpose-built facilities in [for us] Europe.

After early major clean-up opera-tions were completed, a further 160 tonnes of products have been lo-cated mostly on farms in the coun-try and a joint effort between FAO and the AAK is in hand to remove and destroy it in Europe. This is the new clean farms project and should see Kenya almost entirely free of ex-pired products.

The attention paid to safety in agriculture in Kenya has been a sig-nificant factor in building the coun-try’s fine reputation as an exporter of high quality produce to the rest of the world.

[codes of conduct, training, prod-uct registration, market control, industry product stewardship and strong government support.

Safety on the farm-crop protection chemicalsStaff safety and protection of the environment are pillars of these codes. Safety training

for all staff handling chemicals on the farm is now obligatory

42 H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I S E P T E M B E R - O C TO B E R , 2 0 1 0


Arne Aiking, inven-tor of the Clean Light Technology, that has now been adopted by

some innovative rose growers in East Africa, writes about what this technology can do for horticultural farms.

When i had my own farm in the southern uSa, i developed a technology, allowing my workers to control mildew, botrytis, and other diseases on the crop, by using specially designed lamps. in this article, i will explain how it works.

Germicidal uVThe use of germicidal UV to steri-

lize water, air, or swimming pools is nothing new. UV has been replacing

many chemicals in many industrial processes. For example: In many cities, the drinking water does not smell like chlorine anymore. Chlorine has been replaced with germicidal UV. Safer and cheaper.

In many hospitals, the smell of for-maldehyde is gone. Formaldehyde has been replaced with UV. Safer and cheaper.

However, germicidal UV can hurt the crop. Furthermore, germicidal UV lamps, such as used in water dis-infection, generate ozone and other dangerous byproducts. That can be damaging for crops as well. And, most importantly, germicidal UV can hurt the eyes of workers. So, we in the farming world concluded, correctly: “In farming we cannot use UV to re-place those expensive chemicals”

My invention, the UV Crop Protector Technology, eliminates those barriers. Today, you can use UV on greenhouse crops, without hurting the workforce, and without

hurting the plants. Fungus life cycle

Mildew, Botrytis etc. are fungus species. Fungus has two life stages: 1) “Spores” (sort of like the seed

Fighting mildew with fewer chemicals

because of reduced spraying the crop will be stronger, more produc-tive and will produce higher quality

Today, you can use UV on greenhouse crops, without hurting the workforce, and without hurting the plants.

I N N O VAT I O N

CHARLES GERARD LTDBox 64107-00620, Nairobi.Tel 020-3544685, 0722-207211, 0737-939393.

E-mail. [email protected]

✦ Greenhouses, Tunnels & plastic films.

✦ Testing & measuring instruments.✦ Flower seeds & rooting hormones.✦ Personal safety, horticultural tools

& equipment.✦ Shade & insect nets, drip pipes &

irrigation.✦ Shading paints & disinfectants.✦ Cable transport systems.✦ Cold rooms & prefabricated buildings.✦ Water silos & dam liners.✦ Farm machinery.


Fighting mildew with fewer chemicalsstage of a plant); and 2) “Mycelium” (sort of like the vegetative stage of a plant).

If we want to kill the spores, we have to apply a high dosage of UV light. That requires very strong bulbs, and many seconds of ex-posure time. Not practical in the greenhouse. Furthermore, it cre-ates problems for the crop, for the workers, and for the benefi-cials.

If we want to kill the mycelium, just a tiny little bit of UV light suf-fices (a low dosage). One second of exposure time is more than enough. That is safe for the crop, safe for the workers, and safe for the beneficials.

So, by applying this low dos-age, on a daily basis, we kill the mycelium every day, before it can make spores, and before it can penetrate the plant.on the farmSo, how does this work in the field ?

Water disinfection lamps are dangerous. They create all the problems we spoke about ear-

lier for people, for crops and for beneficials. We have developed UV Crop Protectors, which give a well balanced low dosage of UV light. Safe for workers. Safe for the crop. Safe for beneficials. But literally killing for mycelium.

Hardi Kenya Ltd and Charles Gerard Ltd are our local partners making this technology available for East African growers of any kind.

The basic model is the UV Crop Protectors mounted onto a sim-ple rugged, man-operated cart. Think of a wheelbarrow with UV Crop Protectors. Together we carefully selected the right model Crop Protector, apply-ing the optimal dosage. So, now your workers can walk through the greenhouse, normal walking speed, to control mildew, just like they normally do with chemicals.

The experience from the field is that workers in Kenya and Ethiopia treat approximately 3 hectares in a normal working day. (Rose growers in Ecuador and Colombia treat about 2 hec-

tares per worker per day).Some farms prefer to have a

cart with an extension cord. So, one worker walks with the cart, the other guides the electrical ca-ble (just like he would previously guide the hose). Other farms prefer to have a small generator mounted on the cart freeing the worker from the electricity grid.

all fungus gone ?

Of course, the light does not reach all fungus spots, and does therefore not eliminate all myc-elium.

And, please do not forget that this low dosage does not kill the spores. We prevent the forma-tion of new spores.

The experience teaches us that daily treatment reduces the need for chemicals dramatically. This technology lowers the use of fungicides and the chemical bill. Because of reduced spraying the crop will be stronger, more productive and will produce higher quality. The working en-vironment of the work force will

improve and a big plus is the ab-sence of re-entry time after treat-ment.Post harvest

A handful of rose and gerbera growers use this technology in post harvest setting. They treat the flow-ers in the shipping shed just before loading.

Because they do not kill the spores, they do not improve the “vase life” by any measurable de-gree. However, because they kill mycelium that may be present but not visible on the flower, they man-age to postpone the first signs of Botrytis on the flowers by 24 or 48 hours. Naivasha FairBoth Charles Gerard Ltd And Hardi Kenya Ltd will have a demo cart on their stand at Naivasha Hortifair. They are more than happy to an-swer your questions, not only with regards to roses, but other crops as well that suffer from powdery mildew, downy mildew, Botrytis or Fusarium: Sunflowers, Vegetables, and various fruit species.

where infested fruits should be disposed in a manner that pre-vents the worms from developing into adults, keeping the fly away from the fruits (eg, covers over mature/ripening fruits) or apply-ing a phytosanitary treatment to the produce after harvest.

The biology and behaviour of the invader fly makes it hard to control using conventional insec-ticidal sprays. Strong insecticides with long residual effect or per-sistent systemic action could kill adults landing on treated plants, the eggs and young worms devel-oping in the fruit. Unfortunately, the chemicals might make fruits unsuitable for human consump-tion or have residues exceeding

the maximum acceptable levels. This becomes a food safety issue that many countries are unlikely to compromise.

Processing and packing of fruit juices should be encouraged to utilise the good fruits under re-striction or ban, and then market-ed because the juice is not under quarantine.

Various local firms dealing in crop protection services and pest control products are actively in-volved in the search of appropri-ate products that will assist the horticulture industry deal with the fruit-fly problem.

ICIPE’s AFFP programme and KARI have identified various male attractants and food baits that could be utilized for suppres-

sion in the field, and Farmtrack Consulting is exploring the pos-sibility of developing a package to target adult fruit flies in bait sprays. Such sprays have attract-ants mixed with pesticides and are applied in selected spots.

Farmtrack Consulting is at an advanced stage of product reg-istration of Methyl Eugenol (ME) with Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) to be used in a lure-and-kill strategy.

Managing the invader fruit fly CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30


IIn a major breakthrough, crop scientists have announced the successful transfer of green pepper genes to bananas,

conferring on the popular fruit the means to resist one of the most devastating diseases of bananas in the Great Lakes region.

The Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) costs banana farmers about half a billion dollars worth of dam-age every year across East and Central Africa.

The leaves of affected crops turn yellow and then wilt, and the fruit ripens unevenly and before its time. Eventually the entire plant withers and rots.

Dr Leena Tripathi, a biotechnolo-gist with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and lead author of the paper, said there is still a long way to go before the trans-genic bananas find their way onto farmers’ fields, but she called the breakthrough “a significant step in the fight against the deadly banana disease.”

The transformed bananas, new-ly-infused with one of two proteins from the green pepper, have shown strong resistance to xanthomonas wilt in the laboratory and in screen houses. The researchers are poised to begin confined field trials in Uganda soon.

Some of the findings on the pro-tective impact of the two proteins — plant ferredoxin-like amphipath-ic protein (Pflp) and hypersensitive response-assisting protein (Hrap) — were published recently in the journal Molecular Plant Pathology.

“The Hrap and Pflp genes work by rapidly killing the cells that come into contact with the disease-spreading bacteria, essentially blocking it from spreading any fur-ther,” Tripathi said.

“Hopefully, this will boost the arsenal available to fight BXW and help save millions of farmers’ liveli-hoods in the Great Lakes region.”

The novel green pepper proteins

that give crops enhanced resistance against deadly pathogens can also provide effective control against other BXW-like bacterial diseases in other parts of the world. Tripathi adds that the mechanism known as Hypersensitivity Response also activates the defenses of surround-ing and even distant uninfected banana plants leading to a systemic acquired resistance.

Scientists from the IITA and the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) of Uganda, in partnership with African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), will soon begin evaluating these promising new banana lines under confined field trials. The Ugandan National Biosafety Committee re-cently approved the tests.

The genes used in this research were acquired under an agree-ment from the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

The highly destructive BXW af-fects all varieties, including the East African Highland bananas and ex-otic dessert, roasting, and beer ba-nanas. The crop is also under threat from another deadly disease, the banana bunchy top.

Dr Tripathi says that there are presently no commercial chemi-cals, biocontrol agents or resistant varieties that can control the spread of BXW.

“Even if a source of resistance is identified today,” Tripathi said, “de-veloping a truly resistant banana through conventional breeding would be extremely difficult and would take years, even decades, given the crop’s sterility and its long gestation period.”

BXW was first reported in Ethiopia 40 years ago on Ensete, a crop relative of banana, before it moved to bananas. Outside of Ethiopia, it was first reported in Uganda in 2001, then rapidly spread to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Burundi, leaving behind a trail

of destruction in Africa’s largest banana producing and consuming region.

BXW can be managed by de-budding the banana plant (remov-ing the male bud as soon as the last hand of the female bunch is re-vealed) and sterilizing farm imple-ments used. However, the adoption

of these practices has been incon-sistent at best as farmers believe that de-budding affects the quality of the fruit and sterilizing farm tools is a tedious task.

The research to fortify bananas against BXW using genes from sweet pepper was initiated in 2007.

Green pepper proteins can also provide effective control against other bXW-like bacterial diseases

Genes from sweet pepper to fortify African banana against wilt

For more information,

dr. leena tripathi,[email protected], biotechnologist, iita-uganda Catherine Njuguna,[email protected], Corporate Communications officer (East & Southern africa), iita-tanzania

Jeffrey t. oliver,[email protected] Communications Manager, Communication office, iita Headquarters, ibadan, Nigeria

about iita (www.iita.org)Africa has complex problems

that plague agriculture and peo-ple’s lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tack-le hunger and poverty. Our award-winning research for development is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the develop-ment needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop qual-ity and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international nonprofit R4D or-ganization established in 1967, gov-erned by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR

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