Rift valley Roses (RVR) is a farm located in Naivasha, at the Great Rift valley. Since its inception, the farm has tremendously grown to command substantial attention in the flower market. It is easy to understand why roses perform so well at this altitude; the farm is sandwiched between the two rugged edges of the great rift rich in volcanic soils, making it so perfect for roses. Volcanic soils, constant supply of water blended with a very grounded quality culture within the farm, have contributed immensely to the production of quality roses over the years.
Peterson (RVR’s Farm Manager) and Stuart Millar (Farm owner) inside Icon’s greenhouse
RVR’s trial house benefits
The farm has a 5000sqm trial house, the space is dedicated to testing new varieties from different breeders. Screening of these varieties is purely carried out under the guidance of RVR’s quality standards. Their intentionality to details during the trial process, has always yielded into effective decisions. United selections’ varieties grown at RVR namely; Red Torch, Icon, and Bright Torch were exhaustively tested under these conditions. The three varieties impressed RVR’s technical team leading to a decision to go commercial.
Stuart Miller of Rift Valley Roses Inside Bright Torch’s greenhouse
United Selections have heavily invested in their breeding process to deliver varieties with cutting-edge traits, varieties that meet the market needs and help clients meet their objectives as well. The breeder wanted to find out how RVR’s farm owner and the farm manager thought about the aforementioned varieties. Peterson the farm manager mentioned that “The most interesting bit about Bright Torch and Icon is their ability to get flaming colors, the market loves and appreciates these colors”.
Bright Torch, Icon, and Red Torch at Rift Valley Roses (RVR)
The farm has only two red varieties and in this category United Selections’ Red Torch, which according to Peterson “Red Torch being a commodity red, has a very impressive production per square meter”. The farm has grown Red Torch for more than five years, affirming the fact that Red Torch is indeed a productive red variety. The outbreak of COVID-19 compelled the company to evaluate all varieties in their farms, to establish those that were unprofitable and thus unsustainable moving forward. United Selections varieties passed the test and several months later, these varieties are doing incredibly well and perfectly aligns with RVR’s quality culture.
What makes Rift valley Roses a unique grower
Guided by Kaizen’s principles of continuous improvement, Rift valley roses have its own tailored Kaizen philosophy. Rift valley’s philosophy dubbed TUKUZA (Tunaweza Kuboresha Zaidi) has been exhaustively streamlined in all processes within the farm. This philosophy has quality as one of its main objectives. Stuart the farm owner mentioned that “We have trained our employees and everyone around the farm towards a quality-minded approach, this culture has enabled us over the years to produce and deliver quality roses”.
Another benefit of the TUKUZA philosophy highlighted by Peterson the farm manager has to do with the ability to acknowledge any problem at any level, rather than ignoring or pushing it away, the company intentionally prefers acknowledging, celebrating, and solving a problem together.
It is this culture and philosophy that makes Rift valley roses a unique grower, capable of producing quality roses throughout the year. The farm is optimistic for both Christmas and Valentines, since the chances of getting viable vaccines are very high now and the world is certainly moving on regardless.
RVR’s TUKUZA Kaizen pledge
The farm sells to the auction through their sole agent Fresco Flowers, "The three varieties will be a great fit to your Christmas and valentine needs, go out there and get yourself a bouquet of Bright Torch, Icon and Red Torch in the market. From United Selections and Rift Valley Roses; we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year 2021. "
For more information:
Rift Valley Roses
[email protected]
www.riftvalleyroses.com
United Selections
[email protected]
www.united-selections.com