25 YEARS SIMBI ROSES; Charming global markets with sustainably grown flowers

For Thika-based Simbi Roses, the passion in growing and tending to flowers is captured in its mantra ‘Our Farm, our community’ and in the passion of the over 500 workers who meticulously tend to the flowers in a seamless operation that translates to the harvesting of 180,000stems-200,000stems. every day (before Covid-19 pandemic). The more than 30 hectares farm is also an environmental marvel, with enhanced landscape and a plethora of flora and

fauna in what demonstrates its commitment to nature.

Having started as a two-acre farm, Simbi Roses over-25-year journey is a story of resilience, celestial zeal community engagement, co-existence and inclusivity that continue to inspire management, workers and local communities and wow customers. “The dreams of the founders of the farm are as alive today as they were when they first mooted the idea. Our motto is ‘Our farm, our community’ with this farm being one of the institutions that represents the true face of Kenya. We have people from different communities that work here and live together and that diversity has been a key driver of our success,” said Jefferson Karue the General Manager of the farm.

Simbi Roses has been a trendsetter in sustainable farm management practices having embraced elaborate interventions across water conservation, clean energy, integrated pest management systems and commitment to its staff and community.

In October last year, it installed a 150 kilowatt ground-mounted solar system that consists of 454 panels and five inverters as part of its commitments to clean energy and cutting down on electricity cost. It is estimated that the system will help the farm cut carbon emissions by up to 144 tonnes each year.  The solar plant powers major operations from the offices, main pumping station for fertigation, spraying and irrigation and the computerized greenhouses that regulate weather conditions digitally.

To reduce reliance on fossil fuels, the farm runs an Anaerobic Digestor site for biogas production, the first of its kind in the country, where waste from greenhouses and packhouses once shredded is used to produce biogas that fuel the pumps.

To ensure judicious use of water, the firm has adopted fertigation, drip irrigation and hydroponics technology that have tamed water consumption by up to 40 per cent while reducing the cost of fertilizer. On the other hand, Simbi Roses has invested in a detailed water harvesting system with water tapped from the farm’s 33 greenhouses and directed to reservoirs for future use.

To further bolster good agricultural practices, the flower farm has also invested in an array of Integrated Pest Management innovations from pheromone traps to sticky boards that ensure a responsible and balanced pest control approach to tackling pests, diseases and other flower threats. Such huge investments have earned the farm globally acclaimed accreditations among them LEAF Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF), Fairtrade, Mileu Programma Sierteelt (MPS).

“Responsible and sustainable flower growing is a labour of love. It is a commitment we make every day and we have to follow it across all farming operations from the greenhouses to the packhouses. We have to ensure that even as we tend to these roses, we are also protecting the environment and our workers. The devotion to people and planet is what drives our business,” said George Simiyu the Quality Assurance Manager at Simbi Roses.

The payoff for the farm has also been in its staff whose dedication has seen it grow its flower varieties and clientele base. In return it has invested in its workers and the community around-with majority of its neighbours being workers in the farm. It has renovated classrooms, upgraded hospitals, donated key facilities like generators and worked with the locals in environmental conservation exercises like tree planting. It has empowered its staff through various committees that represent their welfare. Such committees that are specifically run by the staff span from gender and health. The Faitrade and Waitrose committees allow the workers to decide how to utilize premiums received from the proceeds of flower sales. These premiums have gone on to educate workers’ children up to institutions of higher learning, introduced a micro lending facility where workers are funded to run small businesses and trained them on technical and vocational courses.

But for an industry that continues to experience cut throat competition, tough and strategic decisions have to be made to sustain businesses. Growing 25 different rose varieties that are destined for 12 markets, majority of them in Europe where market dynamics have evolved considerably over the years, Simbi Roses understands that it has to keep reinventing and innovating to grow its market portfolio.

Mr. Karue says that while it was easy to grow roses before, a cocktail of factors in today’s setup including increased restrictions, exorbitant cost of inputs, tough business regime, competition and labour costs have made it tough for the investors in the floriculture industry to recoup the expenses and make profits. “The industry has really grown, there are so many entrants, which is a good thing. But there are dynamics that continue to emerge like the high cost of doing business and market volatility that have taken a toll on the industry. Nowadays in order to survive you have to do the extraordinary.”

The novel corona virus that continues to devastate global economies has hit the floriculture industry hard as restricted movements leave growers like Simbi Roses with stock they can’t export. And even as cargo movement continues to be eased, Jefferson believes it will take time for the sector to recover. “Like all the other growers we have been quite hit by Covid-19 pandemic and even as we remain optimistic, to get things to where they were before might take quite a long time or may never happen. Depressed earnings by customers and closure of flower shops means a thinning of earnings on our end,” he said.

As the industry continues to evolve, market preferences change and global events like corona virus disruptions shape how people do business, for Simbi Roses the vision is clear. “Remain true to your company’s mission and values, listen to what the markets need and do your best to deliver it, innovate as markets change and focus on customer satisfaction,” Karue added.