2nd Annual Kenya Flower Festival- Sharing Moments
It was all pomp and colour as the 2nd annual Kenya Flower Festival (KeFFlo) took place at Radisson Blu Hotel Arboretum in Nairobi on 8th and 9th October 2021. The event, which aims at celebrating the local flower industry which has been doing well in production for years, attracted a huge population of flower enthusiasts, event planners, government stakeholders and partners as they convened to view flower-patterned items and creative pieces being showcased. It was when you would realize that there are numerous flower species from roses, carnations, alstroemeria, marigolds, ornamental capsicums, petunias, just to mention a few. Go Places Media team was there to cover the spectacular event.
The event was officially launched by David Osiany, the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development asserting that the government is willing to support the local floriculture industry and ready to empower all the stakeholders in the coming Dubai Expo where Kenya will exhibit their flowers among other commodities. “Kenya is one of the top 10 world exporters of flowers globally and accounts for 40% of exports to Europe. The flower industry employs about 150000 Kenyans directly and a million indirectly, with an impact on an estimated population of 6 million Kenyans, ”he said.
Rosemary Kimunya, the founder of the KeFFlo, says on what inspired the onset of the event which was first held in 2019. “The rich Kenya flower industry is just amongst the diverse things we boast about besides the remarkable wildlife and beaches. We first did the KeFFlo two days event in October 2019 and the turnout was big, we had over forty exhibitors and hundreds of guests. The start of this event was inspired by the need to bringing flowers closer to the market being that Africa was seen not to be more vibrant when it comes to embracing flowers,” she said. The annual event didn’t happen in 2020 due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
The Kenyan flower industry is one of the oldest and largest in Africa. The rich volcanic soils, high altitude and the daily equatorial sunshine are said to be the key contributors to the massive flower production in the country. Areas like Lake Naivasha, Nyandarua, Kitale, Mt. Kenya, Thika, Nakuru among others are the most favorable places to do agriculture. Low altitude farms yield mass production good for the retail market while high altitude produces premium products good for export.
According to Clement Tulezi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Flower Council(KFC), the organisation that creates an enabling environment for flower businesses to flourish in Kenya, he says that the local flower industry contributes to 1.06% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “Kenya is the third-largest producer of cut flowers in the world and its large scale production in Kenya is next to that of tea. KFC covers at least 80% of flower exporters in Kenya. 70 percent goes to Europe, 19 per cent goes to the United Kingdom, while only one percent is consumed in Kenya,” he says.
Tulezi encourages Kenyans to consume more since the industry injects over Kshs 110 billion every year to the economy having employed over 200,000 employees on flower firms. Luisa Fragoso, the Portuguese ambassador to Kenya, was also present and could not hide her happiness on glimplisng the beautiful flower display.
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