Floriculture as a thriving business

By Dhaneshi YATAWARA

Training program on Anthurium at the Peradeniya Botanic Garden

Growing foliage in new techniques

Growing flowers is not just a hobby anymore. The effect of flowers based on various cultures of the world has turned in to a lucrative business. Cut flowers, cut foliage as well as live plants comprise a significant percentage of the world market. And above all, today the word is not 'growing flowers' but it is floriculture.

Sri Lanka, being a tropical paradise with a high density of plant species stands a better chance in this trade with a little support of modern technology. Floriculture, as a business, has been in existence in Sri Lanka for a considerable period of time. Yet being more exposed to the world market more were the chances that flew in to this country providing space for floriculture to expand.

Today it stands as one of the most popular self employment ventures - both among the rural and urban communities.

Though all the growers are private individuals this business is under close supervision of the Department of National Botanic Gardens which comes under the Ministry of Economic Development Ministry.

"The Department of National Botanic Gardens helps those involved in the floriculture sector realise their true potential and achieve greater economic profits with sustainable development of their cultivations, their surrounding environment, villages, towns, cities and the country as a whole," said Director General of the National Botanic Gardens Department Dr. Siril Wijesundara.

"The floriculture sector in Sri Lanka emerged as a lucrative foreign exchange earning venture in the recent past and with the inception of 'Divi Neguma' Program under the guidance of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa floriculture is identified as one of the best ventures for self employment," Dr. Wijesundara said.

The special efforts to make this sector further developed to generate income and provide more employment became a high priority, in order to economically strengthen a Family unit. Thus started the 'Suwahas Mal' program to promote floriculture and enhance the business potential of existing growers.

As Dr. Wijesundara explained, although the floriculture industry in Sri Lanka has an enormous potential for expansion, there are several constraints hindering its growth. Lack of modern and improved cultivars and shortage of good quality planting material is one. Popularising micropropagation is one of the best attempts. Micropropagation is growing plants using tissue culture technology. The advantage is that this method provides similar plants with identical characteristics which is a key factor in exporting flowers and foliage.

Breeding of cut flowers and ornamentals suitable for the floriculture industry commenced in the 1970s and is being continued to date. According to Wijesundara, the facility for Micropropagation was initiated in the early 1970s and has since developed into a research and production laboratory of micropropagated Orchids, Anthuriums, Ferns and native plants of Sri Lanka.

Lack of access to modern knowledge and technology in cultivation, lack of financial incentives to modernise cultivation facilities, lack of appropriate transportation and storage facilities, absence of quality standards for planting materials and cut-flowers are some of the other problems that tends to inhibit the growth of the industry.

'Suwahas Mal' program is created in order to create a conducive environment for this lucrative industry. The Economic Development Ministry, through the network of Botanic Gardens of the country conducts flower exhibitions and create a market place for the flower growers of the locality.

New varieties

Using native plants, botanists are now trying to create new varieties of ornamental plants to suit the world market. Although Sri Lanka lost ownership of few yet highly valuable plants as a result of gene piracy, we still have more in store of our bio diversity treasures. The Department of Botanic Gardens continues to research on this. "Select and introduce indigenous species as new floriculture crops, produce good quality planting material through large scale tissue culture facilities and distribute among growers are among the main priorities to upgrade this industry," Dr. Wijesundara added.

The Department of Botanic Gardens continuously conducts in-house training programs for those who are actively involved in this industry on modern cultural practices, post harvest handling and marketing. " Utilisation of unproductive lands or abandoned cultivation sites to grow high value crops for higher income generation is another aspect we need to look in to," he added.

The Department of National Botanic Gardens has launched and implemented two development programs at field level; the "Suwahas Mal" program to assist middle and small scale growers as well as the "Divi Naguma" programe to assist large scale and middle level growers.

Technical know-how and assistance in infrastructure development is provided by this department under the above programs while marketing assistance is provided to small and medium growers by organising exhibitions cum plant sales in urban areas.

Planting material is also imported and distributed to these growers.

However, technical assistance in post-harvest management as well as other research areas are required for better potential.

"The industry can grow much further as the Government under the 'Mahinda Chinthana' is aiming at enhancing the economic stability of the rural masses.

We have a skilled labour force in this industry and the only issue is that we need more growers.

Which means more people need to come in to this business," he added. As more people can be employed per hectare, this industry indirectly provides job opportunities to many people. "Sri Lanka has a diverse climate suitable for numerous crops, and as even the marginal lands can be used to grow export quality flowers and foliage we do have a better future in floriculture industry," Dr. Wijesundara added.