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From the Financial Times of 4/6:
"...Floriculture is Kenya's most recent success
story... it now has a turnover of $180 million a year. Last year the
industry grew 18 percent, and combined with fruit and vegetable production,
overtook tourisma and coffee to become the country's second biggest foreign
exchange earner after tea.
The capital intensive industry dominated by 36
large growers has thrived...in response to rising demand, especially from Europe
which now imports 25 percent of its flowers from Kenya.
Oserian[the family owned company] is the first
company in the world to pioneer the use of geothermal power to grown
roses. Oserian has obtained permission from KenGen [the state electricity
company] and... is using steam from the ground to heat the water, which is
then circulated in pipes in the greenhouses to keep the temperature
stable...The carbon dioxide generated is also fed to the plants.
Oserian also uses hydroponics which involves
growing the plants in an inert medium rather than soil, ensuring they get the
exact nutrients they need and reducing water consumption as the water is
sterilized and recycled.
The rapid growth of the industry has led to the
area around Lake Naivasha being virtually covered in greenhouses... Some
companies pump more water out of the lake than they are allowed to, do not
recycle it and do not worry about the ecosystem.
Some companies, eager to maximize profits, pay
their workers less than the minimum wage and provide no decent housing, job
security, or health car.
...after 2007 Kenya stands to lose its least
developed country status and...preferential treatment for its exports to the
EU. "If we have to pay import taxes, the 10 percent difference would kill
our margins...."
dms
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