HANNA ROSES, also offering Grander potato seeds & avocado seedlings

Thika based Hanna Roses, is well poised to become one of the leading cut flower growers in Kenya. They have put processes and strategies in place to help them employ best practices, when it comes to bringing out the best in their line of business.

The company appreciates that for overall success to be their mainstay, continuous improvement and meeting of stakeholders needs has to be of pivotal importance. They have thus focused on conducting business of repute as per the laws enshrined, even as they continue to satisfy local and international customer base with quality products and services. This in turn has helped them in achieving a healthy bottom line as they seek to enhance high levels of profitability for the business in the longterm.

The Farm came into existence in 1996 with the initial founders Zena Roses but changed hands in 2019 with the new owners. Kevian Kenya limited which is the sister company to Hanna Roses is involved in the production of various types of food and beverage products, such as natural fruit juices, bottled drinking water, carbonated soft drinks, tomato sauce, chilli sauce, ketchup and soups.

Hanna Roses has built a brand and name on quality which has attracted a pool of dedicated customers spanning across Europe. This, the farm says stems from the investment they have made across the flower production chain while ensuring the staff who handles the flowers understand their value.

“We are known to have the best cultivation skills. The vase life of our flowers is longer than that of other growers because of the passion that goes into cultivating these flowers. We also combine the old and the advanced technologies to give our flowers that top quality. For instance, we have incorporated both soil and hydroponics which has revamped our farming because we are able to re-cycle fertilizers,” Philip Musonye, the Production Manager elucidated.

The farm is striving to be 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. They have developed a modern wetland facility where they drain waste water and purify for re-use.

In the course of running their business, they have installed roof-mounted solar system that consists of hundreds of panels and 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 while reducing electricity costs by 40%. The solar plant powers major operations; from the offices, main pumping station for fertigation, spraying and irrigation and the computerized greenhouses that regulate air conditions.

The payoff of the farm has seen it venture into potato seed production and avocado seedlings propagation. They have acquired potato rights for 10 varieties; Shangi, Wanjiku, Kenya Mpya, Unica, Shakira, Sherekea among others. The idea to venture into potato seed multiplication was informed by the outcry of most farmers in the country for shortage of quality potato seed for planting. The main challenge of potato production in the country lies in availability of affordable, quantity, quality, and certified seeds. It’s estimated that only 5% of farmers in the country use the formal seed outlets to get their seeds. The implications of this, is that there are reduced farm yields.

The farm has developed their own potato variety named Rams which is good for preparing chips and crisps because of its yellow golden appearance. They have several methods of raising the seeds; aeroponics, hydroponics, seedling trays and in the fields. They have developed a seed laboratory and partnered with KEPHIS for provision of clean and certified materials for developing the seeds.

“We are into direct markets for roses. The relationship we have built with our direct customers has been a big boost to building this business. The auction sometimes presents challenges because of the volumes and prices and thus why we have had our reservations in exploring that market. We have attracted many buyers due to the head size of our flowers, we major in intermediate standard roses. Being close to the airport has been advantageous, whenever an immediate order of flowers arises we are able to ship the flowers,” he said.

To bolster good agricultural practices, the flower farm has invested in an array of Integrated Pest Management innovations such as; pheromonetraps, sticky boards that ensure a responsible and balanced pest control approach in tackling pests. Such huge investments have earned the farm globally acclaimed accreditations such as Fairtrade, MileuProgramma Sierteelt (MPS) and they have started realizing the premiums from Fairtrade for their workers.

There are dynamics that continue to emerge like the high cost of doing business and market volatility that have taken a toll on Kenya flower industry. Freight challenges have eaten into growers profit and although sea is now being considered as a cure, Musonye has his reservations because it takes huge numbers of cut flower to fill a container.

“As part of our future plans, the company is keen on bolstering our overall products. Our team in charge of research and development is looking at various viable additions in the line of processing and value addition for our roses. We want to establish a waste management plan, to enable us utilize lower grade flowers and petals that do not make it to the market,” Musonye alluded.