Small-scale flower farmers in Eldoret town have asked the government to provide them with a ready market for their produce.
The farmers lamented that they depend on local customers which render their business unprofitable as they only buy during the rainy season. This, they complained made them to incur losses during dry seasons.
They further expressed concern over the high cost of living saying it had adversely affected their business as customers force them to sell the commodity at lower prices.
“I started flower farming in 2016. I decided on this farming because it is cheaper to start unlike other farming activities. I get seedlings by preparing cuttings from grown flowers and I also do grafting to some flowers,” said Lydia Mauti, a flower farmer in Eldoret.
She suggested that the government should consider buying flowers from them and plant along the roads to decorate the environment, especially in urban centres. “Flowers are very beneficial as they help to relieve stress by viewing them. They are also useful in decorating compounds,” she said.
On his part, Griffin Wanyonyi another farmer who grows and sells flowers along the railway in Eldoret, alluded that floriculture is a cost-effective venture since flowers are cheaper to grow as he uses manure which he easily gets from livestock farmers within the town.
He explained that he decided to venture in this business as a result of experience he gained from a farm he was hired to work in Nakuru.
He added that his goal to become self-employed has pushed him to start his own business and create jobs for his employees. “Growing flowers in a busy town like Eldoret is more secure because our main target customers are richer people. Theft cases are also rare since potential thieves find stealing flowers useless,” added Wanyonyi.
The farmers urged the county government of Uasin Gishu to lower the license fee to help them continue with their farming even during dry seasons when their profit margin is low as they are forced to irrigate their seedbeds at a higher cost.
They also called on the devolved unit to expand their market base by buying flowers from them and distributing the same to schools, hospitals and other institutions.
By Ruth Jepkoech
