Horticulture: How Nigeria can make it big
In Kenya, horticulture is big business. The horticulture sub-sector of agriculture has grown in the last decade to become a major foreign exchange earner, employer and contributor to food needs in the country.
Currently the horticulture industry is the fastest growing agricultural sub-sector in Kenya and is ranked third in terms of foreign exchange earnings from exports after tourism and tea. Fruits, vegetable and cut flower production are the main aspects of horticultural production in the country.
This is in sharp contrast to what obtains in the horticulture business in Nigeria. In Abuja, a florist says though the business was thriving, it witnessed a decline since the recession set in early 2016.
“We don’t often get customers nowadays. Again, the contracts for landscaping buildings are on the decline. Despite this, the cost of running the business is rising due to poor infrastructure and a lack of horticulture friendly environment,” Mrs Mary Ogedengbe said.
Ogedengbe who plies her trade at the Arab Junction of Utako District, Abuja, pointed at poor access to public water supply in the district as a major challenge. She said: “We don’t have access to public water supply. We are lucky to have a house nearby that has a borehole, so we pay them to fuel their generator and for maintenance while they supply water to us using a hose.”
This experience is not different from what Ignatius faces in the flower business in Kaduna. Mr. Cyprian Ignatius who sells flower along Muhammadu Buhari Way in Kaduna said things are very difficult for florists. “When contractors are not working, we cannot make money because ordinarily when they finish building a house, they look for florists to supply flowers but now, nothing is happening,” he said.
The irregularity of water supply from the water board, he also said, is a challenge affecting the business. “Water supply is irregular, yet we pay water bill at the end of every month. Sometimes, when the water comes in the morning, before 10am, it stops running. There are some florists whose flowers have all dried up due to lack of water,” Ignatius said.
Cyprian who has been selling flowers for the past seven years, lamented that government does not value their business, saying, that was why, it was not assisting their businesses to grow. “We need financial resources and a designated place approved by government for sale of flower in the state so that the business can be better organised,” he said.
Another florist, Inusa Ibrahim, who also complained of low patronage, said he was thinking of quitting the business due to continuous drop in patronage.
“Before now, passers-by do patronise us; so also the low income earners buy flowers for their houses but now people are looking for what to eat, so there is less demand for flowers generally except for the rich members of the society who are not feeling the heat of recession,” he said.
“Just last month, I supplied a trailer load of flowers worth over N1.5million but individually, the patronage is very low,” he also said.
Ibrahim also complained about poor water supply for wetting the flowers, which according to him was a big challenge, as water was key to flower business.
He, therefore, called on government to improve the water supply and also provide a designated area for florists operating in the state to display and sell their flowers. This, he said, will help dignify the business.
When contacted, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Water Resources, Engineer Suleiman Aliyu Lere, said some areas in the state were experiencing irregular supply of water because the capacity of water plants had gone down due to lack of maintenance over the years.
However, he said the rehabilitation of the 12 plants in the state was ongoing, assuring that supply of water to residents would improve with their completion.
On his part, the Director, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Water Board, Hudu Bello, was not available for comment but sources at the board said it could not channel water to the horticulturists due to lack of infrastructural amenities in the places they conducted their businesses.
The source, who would not want to be named, said the board could only intervene if the florists were organised and would approach the FCT Administration for channeling of water pipelines to supply them with water and also meter their usage.
However, FCT Minister Malam Muhammed Bello recently instructed the FCT Water Board to maintain the horticultural dam in Asokoro. The Pedan dam located in Asokoro was constructed to ensure the that raw water is made available all year round for horticultural activities.
The FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr Babatope Ajakaiye made the call when he paid an unscheduled visit to the site on behalf of the minister, a statement by the chief secretary of the minister Mallam Muhammed Sule said.
In Kenya where horticulture business is expanding rapidly with almost two million people earning all or part of their income from horticulture, the government has made minimal intervention in the sector, thus spurring growth by having private sector participation. The government set up the Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA) under the Agriculture Act in 1967.
Hence, the Kenyan flower industry is expanding, with roses continuing to dominate the export market with sales up from 24.6 million kilogrammes in 1999 to 28.4 million kg in 2003, a 15 per cent increase.
According to a book, Horticulture Industry in Kenya 2005, “The industry has had remarkable growth, with exports climbing steadily from 200.6 thousand tonnes in 1999 to 346.1 thousand tonnes in 2003. The subsector earned Kenya KShs 36.5 billion in 2003 with cut flowers dominating horticulture exports, followed by a variety of fruits and vegetables.
On what government is doing to develop this sector in Nigeria, the Deputy Director in charge of horticulture at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Mr. Emmanuel O. Kanu, told Daily Trust that government was yet to integrate the ornamentals component of the horticulture industry into its value chains programme.
The director stressed that government considered ornamentals component as entirely a private sector affairs adding that the ministry concerns itself only with the food components.
He however said for the industry government has a master plan that will develop the entire horticulture industry to achieve the nation food security and the realization of the Green Alternative.
Whether the Nigerian government will take a cue from Kenya’s horticulture industry and grow that of the giant of Africa, time will tell.