Suwahas Mal service expands in Uva:

More flowers to bloom in Badulla, Bandarawela

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

Sri Lanka being a tropical paradise with a high density of plant species stands a better chance in the trade of growing flowers with a little modern technological support. Growing flowers is not just a hobby any more. Today the word is not 'growing flowers' but it is floriculture.

Roses - the eye catcher in Hakagala

Local flower market in Bandarawela

Floriculture, as a business, has been in existence in Sri Lanka for a long 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. Our floriculture industry produce cut flowers, cut foliage, ornamental foliage plants, aquatic plants, landscaping plants, tissue culture plants and flower seeds for the world market as well as the local market.

Though all the growers are private individuals this business is under close supervision of the Department of National Botanic Gardens which is now operating under the Ministry of Botanical Gardens and Public Recreation. "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.

Badulla, Bandarawela have always been a thriving ground for ornamental flowers with its mild climate and favourable weather the year around. Though the trade has been prominent in the area for a number of years it still has opportunity to reach a vast majority of low income earners of the entire Uva Province.

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

The Suwahas Mal program was initiated in 2005 under the Department of Botanical Gardens with the objective of capacity building of middle and small scale growers by intervening in to their business in a positive way.

Under the program the department was able to initiate and establish farmer organisations in various districts, give assistance in providing planting material, infrastructure and human resource development as well as assistance in marketing of the products - i.e. the flowers and foliage. According to Dr. Wijesundara this was happening across the country giving consideration to the climate and conditions of each district. Different varieties of flowers and foliage were introduced to different districts whereas some varieties were commonly introduced to most districts as they were capable of healthily growing in different climate zones.

Cut flowers, cut foliage as well as live plants comprise a significant percentage of the world market. However, technical assistance in post-harvest management as well as other research areas are required for better potential.

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 micro-propagation is one of the best attempts in finding a solution to this. Micro-propagation 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 Micro-propagation was initiated in the early 1970s and has since developed into a research and production laboratory of micro-propagated Orchids, Anthuriums, Ferns and native plants of Sri Lanka.

Quality

Surveys done by the Department of National Botanic Gardens have identified lack of new varieties, lack of technology and knowledge, inadequate market linkage are the main constraints the industry is facing.

"The quality of the product needs to be up to the standards. Though there are large scale growers in the Uva province more attention is needed to maintain the standards of the flowers and foliage to capture a significant portion of the export market," Dr. Wijesundara said.

Suwahas Mal program is created to create a conducive environment for this lucrative industry. In 2013 alone the department has conducted 25 training programs training over 1,400 veteran and new growers and has formed nearly formed 140 new societies countrywide.

Currently there are seven flower growers associations active in Diyathalawa, Bandarawela, Keppetipola, Welimada, Nedungamuwa, Kalubululanda and Etampitiya in the Badulla district, according to the records of the Department of Botanical Gardens.

This is a live, growing industry in the world with an estimated average growth rate of 10 percent which is with a broader potential of providing direct and indirect job opportunities.

Presently floriculture products are exported mainly to European countries. To expand to the world market it has been suggested to have proper and steady trade links with countries especially the Middle East and the Eastern Europe, the Netherlands, Japan, and the USA which account for nearly half of the world trade.

Export market

"This is an industry with several advantages. It supports small, medium and large scale business ventures, has both the global and domestic market perspectives and is related to nature," Dr. Wijesundara further said. Yet, more growers are needed to catre to the export as it is the place to gain more profits.

"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 said. 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 said.

In Sri Lanka three broad categories can be identified in the industry - i.e. large scale export oriented enterprises, middle level and small scale ventures. The first group which is export companies involved in large scale export businesses is responsible for most of the profits of the industry. The middle level growers, being recent entrants to the export market, deal with a limited quantity of export produce. The third group, small-scale growers, caters only to the domestic market.

The domestic and export floriculture industry in Uva province need to be developed with special attention for Bandarawela area as the Badulla district is already heading on with floriculture armed with a significant number of growers.

As Dr. Wijesundara said, opening of the Mattala International Airport with cargo service brings an economical benefit to the flower exporters. "The location of the airport is closer to the Province and it can cut the transport cost. With such a facility located close by more growers will be enthusiastic in catering to the export market," he said.