As one of Kenya’s vital industries, the floriculture sector directly impacts the livelihoods of over two million Kenyans, employing over 200,000 people. Production is centered around the Great Rift Valley, in Lake Naivasha, Mount Kenya, and also Nairobi, extending into the country’s eastern regions. The combination of a favorable climate, robust infrastructure, and strength in human resources continues to propel the sector’s growth. Indeed, in recent years the industry has grown rapidly to become the country’s top-performing sector, after remittance, tourism, and tea.
As a voluntary association assembling independent growers, exporters, and service providers in the realm of cut flowers and ornamentals, the Kenya Flower Council has been in operation since 1996. Championing responsible and safe production across the country, with an emphasis on environmental sustainability and workers’ welfare, we explore the Council’s mission and ambition with CEO, Clement Tulezi.
"The KFC has been in existence for 26 years. The council was born from a necessity, as the floriculture and flowers and ornamentals sector began to grow very fast in the 1990s. It had started as a very small sector back in the 1980s, when the bulk of investors were people from the Netherlands and the UK. In the 1990s, it took a steep trajectory upwards.
From the perspective of investors, the country needed an institution that would represent them. Initially, all the institutions that were handling fresh produce in Kenya were united under one umbrella, with one institution handling everything from flowers to fruit and vegetables. But out of all of this, fresh cut flowers and ornamentals was growing the quickest."
Read the complete interview at www.africaoutlookmag.com.
