Floriculture, especially in Brazil, is an activity in expressive grown. Since 2006, the Flower production segment has registered increases of 5% to 8%, and until the end of 2019, there was an expectation of growth of 8% to 10%. This changed dramatically due to the pandemic.
In a brief report, still on March 28, 2020, the Brazilian Institute of Floriculture (Ibraflor, 2020a), released a warning for a devastating scenario for national Floriculture if the rules were not relaxed to allow to reactivate the economy and the commercialization of flowers and plants. Unemployment was estimated at 120,000 people in the productive areas. In just two weeks after the beginning of Covid-19 in Brazil, in the entire chain, the calculated amount that was no billed totalled R$ 297.7 million. Consequence of the halt in the sale of flower and ornamental plant due to the cancellation of events and closing of points of sale.
Therefore, a Crisis Committee was created, formed by the main leaders of the sector installed in Holambra, in the State of São Paulo, such as Ibraflor, Veiling Holambra and Cooperflora. Among the first actions, an appeal was made to the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Supply (MAPA) and the State governments
to relax the rules for Floriculture, as it is an essential service and part of agribusiness, because it moves around R$ 8.7 billion in the entire chain, generating thousands of jobs across the country (Ibraflor, 2020).
After a chaotic scenario, the floriculture sector, which suffered at the beginning of the crisis, is already showing signs of recovery, with adaptations for the use of technology and e-commerce of flowers, connecting directly to its final consumers (Okumura, 2020). However more than that, several other strategies were taken to avoid more drastic falls in the sector, such as campaigns, disclosures and movements through social networks, using phrases: “Flowers and Plants, Food for the Soul”; “Flowers for well-being”; “Rebook, don’t cancel your event”; “Having plants at home is having peace and joy every day”; “Nature doesn’t stop. We neither”; “Flowers relieve stress, fear and anxiety”; “Make meals even more colorful with flowers”; “Hug with flowers”, among others (Ibraflor, 2020c; Cooperflora, 2020, Veiling Holambra, 2020)
Read the complete research at www.researchgate.net.
Beckmann-Cavalcante, Márkilla. (2021). Floriculture and Covid-19. Ornamental Horticulture. 27. 6-7. 10.1590/2447-536x.v27i1.2284.