HOT TOPICS

THE REAL COST OF CUT FLOWERS

Kenya's economy is benefiting from the export of goods to rich markets in the north. But the transportation of these products by air is seen as a key culprit of greenhouse gas emissions. Ochieng' Ogodo* discovers the environmental and human impacts of Kenya's flower trade.

The bouquets of rose and carnation that brighten flower markets in New York, Amsterdam and Tokyo conceal grim tales of poor farm workers in Kenya who grow the buds for a rich export industry. In farms clustered around scenic Lake Naivasha in Kenya's Rift Valley, workers narrate how they work long hours and are exposed to harmful pesticides with no form of protection. Francis Chege, who grew up around the water, remembers spending serene times fishing on the lake, but claims that the pesticides from flower plantations are killing the fish and the lake's rich aquatic life. Jobseekers have swelled the population, and this is also taking a toll on the rich wildlife of surrounding forests, he says.

International organisations also oppose the export industry, saying that drought-prone Africans have a greater need for the large volumes of water that it takes to grow the flowers exported to overseas shoppers.

Kimani Wa Wanjiru, a worker on one of the farms, says that most days he works ten-hour shifts without any extra pay and is forced to handle flowers freshly sprayed with what he believes are harmful pesticides.'The flowers should be sprayed in the evening and pruned the next morning so that the pesticides are less concentrated,' says Wanjiru, who started working on a farm last year. 'But here the flowers are sprayed in the morning and pruned just an hour-and-a-half later,' he complains, adding that breathing disorders among workers are common.

'The owners don't want to take any responsibility for the workers' health,' says Wanjiru, a father of two who earns Kenyan shillings 5,200 (approximately £37) a month and lives in a poorly-lit hut with a ceiling of corrugated iron that is thick with soot from cooking. Last month a female worker died of a breathing disorder, one worker alleged. 'Anyone complaining of feeling sick gets sacked,' says Wanjiru,  aged 32. Another worker complained of lesions on her body, which she said were from handling chemicals.

Kimani Mwaniki spends his working day pushing cartloads of freshly-cut flowers from the fields to the grading bay. The 1.5 kilometre route takes him through the area where the flowers are sprayed with pesticides, but he has no face mask or protective clothing.

'I hate it, I wish I could quit,' says Mwaniki, who has worked on the farm for three years. 'There is no hope or future here,' Mwaniki laments, revealing that he would like to marry, but cannot afford to on his poor  salary.

A buoyant industry

Jobs outside the flower industry are scarce in this region of 300,000 people, which has evolved into the centre of Kenya's flower trade. There are nearly 50 flower farms in the Rift Valley region, about 220 kilometres north-west of Nairobi, the majority around the lake.

'In a country like Kenya where unemployment is high, it should be remembered that the flower industry employs up to 70,000 people directly, and benefits one million others involved in related trades,' says Jane Ngige of the Kenya Flower Council.

Kenya exported 80,000 tonnes of flowers in 2005, raking in a handsome $350 million (approximately £175 million). The major portion of the exports go to the Netherlands and the rest go to the United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Africa, Japan and the United States.

Tussles over water

Francis Chege remembers spending happy times by the beautiful lake before the invasion of the flower farms in the 1970s. He thinks that pollution is only part of the problem. According to Chege, who is 51, the freshwater lake was then an integral part of the lives of the people around it, mostly the Kikuyu community and the pastoralist Maasai, 40 kilometres away in the Narok district. But he says that farms, as well as hotels and camping sites affordable only to the rich, have surrounded the lake, denying local people even the right to water their animals.

'Getting water for us, or our animals, is a nightmare,' says Chege, adding that there is constant tension with owners around the lake who claim exclusive rights to the water. The father of 12 says he supplements his modest income from fishing and raising some cattle and goats by ferrying people across the 139 square kilometre lake. He complains that the unregulated use of water by the farms for irrigation is reducing the water level. And he believes that the fish are dying from chemicals and pesticides dumped into the lake by the flower farms.

Environmental concerns

Professor Ratemo Michieka, a former director of Kenya's National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), says that the economic benefit of the flower industry is at the expense of the environment.

'The releasing of raw chemical wastes and fertilizer run-offs from the farms into the lake has had tremendous adverse consequences for its ecological system,' says Michieka.  He adds that there are fears that lake fish are contaminated with harmful pollutants.

The Kenyan Flower Council says that testing done on the lake did not find any contamination. But a two-year study by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute found that agro-chemical pollutants had affected fish stock. Fish were found to contain toxins and stocks had been affected by inhibited breeding.

A variety of wildlife, including 400 bird species and a sizeable population of hippos, live on the lake and surrounding forests are home to giraffes, zebras and other animals whose numbers have fallen drastically over the years.

Talking of the farm owners Chege says: 'They have no corporate or social responsibility.' He believes the owners have contributed nothing to the community, which needs schools and water wells.

However, the Kenya Flower Council says the farms have contributed immensely to the region. 'We employ 50-70,000 people, 80 percent of whom are unskilled labourers,' says Ngige. 'Sixty percent of the unskilled workers are women,' she says, adding that 'some of them would not have jobs if it were not for the farms.'
Ngige admits there were environmental issues in the past, but says things have improved and that, 'it is no longer a major issue.'

'The farms are involved in sound business practices governed by the code of conduct drawn up by the Council and accepted internationally. They have a responsibility to themselves, the people and the environment. They cannot act irresponsibly,' she says.

Donald Pols, a campaigner with Amsterdam-based Milieu Defensie, says: 'A flower is basically a bundle of water and energy, and it is criminal that we import them just for our luxury from a drought-prone continent like Africa.' He says that an extraordinary amount of water and energy went into the trade, including air miles which contribute to pollution and climate change.

He concludes:'Just for our luxury, we are driving people further toward poverty and water shortages, and contributing to climate change.'

Editor's note:
The names of workers have been changed at their request.

*Ochieng' Ogodo is an international journalist. 

This article is published courtesy of Panos Features.