‘Importation halts farming of roses’

How would you asses horticulture industry in plateau State?The horticulture industry here, as far as the eye can see, is thriving. A lot of people are coming to get plants.Do people really value flowers to buy them?Oh a lot! When I say a lot, we do very well. In fact, people are so interested- when […]

How would you asses horticulture industry in plateau State?
The horticulture industry here, as far as the eye can see, is thriving. A lot of people are coming to get plants.
Do people really value flowers to buy them?
Oh a lot! When I say a lot, we do very well. In fact, people are so interested- when they see flowers, they say: ‘This is beautiful, interesting.’ It’s really encouraging.
Where do you get these flowers from?
We source them mostly locally but we do also import them. We do bring in plants from other countries like Holland.
In some countries like Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa, farmers are making a lot of money from the export of flowers. What is the situation in Nigeria?
The situation here is that government is not really interested in horticultural activities. They are not interested, both at the federal and state levels. We don’t have federal and state participation in our activities. They are not really interested. Encouragement from them is not feasible. We don’t feel it.
What are the basic requirements for a farmer to start raising plants or flowers for money?
First of all, I will say the interest. You can’t just jump into something you don’t have interest on. Is not only about money, you have to have the passion first before you will be able to have a garden or praise plants for money. Also, you need the land. Without the land you can’t really get anywhere. The land should be accessible to customers. Then you have another big challenge which is that of water supply because without it during the dry season your plants will dry up.
The federal government is building a cargo airport for fresh produce from the horticulture industry particularly the vegetables. Do you also hope to export your flowers when that project is completed?
Oh, very well. In fact, I will love that. We’ll be waiting prayerfully.
What sort of assistance do horticulturists like you need from the government?
We want more of government participation in our activities, if you observe very well we do employ a lot of people, especially the youths. From what they get from us, they feed their families. So we are very important to the society. Government, at both federal and state levels, should come to our aid in terms of seeds and seedlings procurement from other countries. We want them at subsidise the price for us. We also want the state government to give us land. If it does that, it will become a tourist site because when people come to Jos, they will like to visit the place to see the beautiful flowers we have there.
I was told that the roses produced in Jos are the best in the world. Is that correct?
Very correct!  Our roses are wonderful. The roses we produce on the plateau are wonderful. They are very beautiful and good for export. So we want government to come into that area very well. If they can help us with seedlings to start with, which we can multiply, we will be very happy. We used to produce these roses before but something happened along the line because at a time, importation of roses was banned in this country- I think during Obasanjo’s government-as a result, people went into rose farming, buying rose seedlings from us to establish farms so that they could grow roses to sell the blooms (flowers) to other people and other countries. Somehow, I don’t know what happens, roses are now being imported into the country, and that has brought the market down and people are no longer interested in it. If something can be done in that regard, we will appreciate it.
How many workers do you have here?
Four including myself because I am a worker too, I placed myself on the payroll.
What incentives do you want from the government?
We also want to receive loan facilities. A lot of youth want to go into horticultural practicing but they cannot afford to, because the land is a big issue, you need to pay for the land. Even the fertiliser that other farmers are getting-even though we don’t use inorganic fertiliser, but we use organic, they can help us with that. I am pleading with the federal government to help us with hybrid seedlings that other countries can come and pick from us.