My love is like a red, red… Ugandan Tea Hybrid?

Ecologically correct romantics do not fear, a rose from Uganda need not trouble your conscience, nor come with an environmental health warning. That at least is true of roses coming from the best flower farms in Uganda and, if the Uganda Flower Exporters' Association (UFEA) has its way, will soon be true for all.

Commercial floriculture in Uganda celebrates its tenth birthday next year. It started its life as an offshoot from the Kenyan industry; the expertise and equipment all came from across the border, and plants were chosen that had bloomed profitably on Kenyan soils. But Uganda is not Kenya, and the large-flowered Tea Hybrid roses that had earned such a good price for Kenyan growers in the European markets, did not take to Uganda's higher humidity and warmer nights. They grew too quickly with thin stems and small, sparsely petaled flowers. They also aged before their time; instead of having a productive life of seven years, the Ugandan plants were past their best by year three, forcing the growers to borrow more money to replant after only four or five years, something they had not budgeted for. Those who could afford to uprooted the tea hybrids and replaced them with the small-flowered sweetheart roses, which had been found to grow better. But even for them, finances continued to be stretched by the high cost of imported inputs, the fertilizers, pesticides and equipment that rose cultivation requires.

credit: Israeli Flower Board

Maintaining the cut flowers in peak condition during the journey from farm to auction floor, in order to gain the highest possible price, has been another major thorn in the flesh of the rose growers. Roses need to be kept at below 8 degrees to stop over-ripening and to preserve their vase-life. Temperatures on the runway at Entebbe airport tend to be some way above this and, up until last year, the farmers' 'sweethearts' were frequently damaged during the wait for customs inspection and loading. On arrival in Europe the spoiled flowers could either not be sold or fetched much lower prices. High airfreight costs have further weakened Uganda's attempts to compete with other African flower growers. Rates per kg are more than in Kenya, partly because the volume of cargo space in Kenya is higher, and also because aircraft fuel in Uganda is more expensive.

While this combination of difficulties has undoubtedly stunted the growth of the Ugandan industry, the formation last year of Fresh Handling, a new cargo handling company, has been a significant positive development. The company is operating a cold store at Entebbe for vegetables and flowers, and has also chartered aircraft when scheduled cargo space has been insufficient. If Fresh Handling can continue to develop its services, Uganda's roses ought to be enjoying an increasingly quick, cool and economic journey, and be fresh and fragrant on arrival at the European auction houses.

As was reported in connection with coffee in the previous edition of New Agriculturist, consumers in Europe and America are increasingly aware of the environmental and human costs that come attached to some products, and flowers are no exception. Labour conditions and pollution of land and water are two areas in which African floriculture is closely scrutinised, both by consumer organisations and by rival European growers, keen to publicise poor standards among their African competitors. In general, conditions for employees on flower farms are good. Workers on the most generous farms find themselves in the richest section of the rural community, and even those on lower salaries are considerably better off than many of their neighbours. Moreover, their safety is protected, in theory at least, by detailed regulations; everyone working with agro-chemicals must wear protective clothing; those using backpack sprayers must be equipped with protective overalls, boots, gloves and head coverings, and if necessary masks to prevent inhalation of chemicals.

The extent to which these rules are followed varies from farm to farm. The best ones exceed them, installing emergency showers and only spraying in greenhouses once all the workers are outside. Such farms may well be trying to gain international certification, which demands the highest standards of safety. Other farms are less meticulous; workers are allowed to become careless, for example taking off their headgear in the heat of the day, or are not given enough training or equipment in the first place. Skin rashes and headaches are common complaints. Such disparities may in part be caused by differing levels of profitability. The teething troubles of the young industry have left many farms struggling just to stay in business, and perceived 'non-essentials' like worker safety, have been neglected.

Environmental pollution is another key area of consumer concern. Uganda's National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has been given the task of developing - through what has proved to be a lengthy participatory consultation process - technical guidelines, regulations and measures for discharge of effluents. However, NEMA tends to focus its attention on the most guilty polluters, such as the sugar and textile industries, and flowers are not high on their list of priorities. Hence the industry has been keen to make its own standards and regulations. One recent example has been the banning of methyl bromide, which was previously used to fumigate fields prior to planting. The non-biodegradable chemical has now been replaced by beasimide, just as poisonous, but less persistent. The UFEA has recommended that flower growers dig a trench between their greenhouses and any nearby swamps, which can be regularly tested for contaminants. It has also set up an in-service training programme for farm supervisors, to cover, among other things, the technical and health aspects of pesticide use.

So, next time you get that flower-giving impulse, track down some Ugandan 'sweethearts' and impress your lover with tales of the Tea Hybrids that grew too fast.

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