Dutch Flower Group is a unique family company that specializes in the international trade of flowers and plants. With 30 individual companies, we supply all distribution channels, importing wholesalers (who supply florists) and the large-scale retail sector (including supermarket chains, DIY stores and garden centers).

Together with our marketing companies in Europe and the USA we are committed to work towards a better world. We have created 4 drivers within our CSR policy: Sustainable Floral Chain, Sustainable World, Sustainable Partnerships and Sustainable Employees. In 2018 we have started the acceleration initiative to speed up the sustainability process within the chain. We have committed ourselves to a shared ambition:

Read more: Creating Sustainability, Together

DowDuPont Agriculture Division is Now Corteva Agriscience™

The Floriculture Magazine spoke to Corteva Agriscience™ Agriculture Division of DowDuPont Chief Operating Officer Mr. James C. Collins in a round table meeting with journalists. We engaged him on the state of agriculture and how technology can be used to boost output and support food security while taking care of emerging environmental and health concerns. He was in Nairobi accompanied by other senior company staff from Africa and Middle East region.

What brings you to Kenya?
Two years ago, Dow and DuPont made a very deliberate decision to merge and create three standalone companies, including a pure play agriculture company. End of February, the company announced brand names for the three independent companies, reflecting ongoing progress towards separations to serve their consumers better. At the same time, we are focusing on building our business in sub-Saharan Africa. As part of that decision, we located our East Africa headquarters in Nairobi. We have a leadership team for East African region here — from where we are trying to build a foundation for agriculture in the region. That’s why we are placing a lot of emphasis in this part of the world.

What does this mean to Kenya’s Agricultural Sector?
In Corteva Agriscience™, we bring together three businesses with deep connections and dedication to generations of farmers. Our new name reflects our commitment to enhancing their productivity as well as the health and well-being of the consumers they serve. Our name reflects our purpose: enriching the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. With the most balanced portfolio of products in the industry, nearly a century of agronomic expertise, and an unparalleled innovation engine, we are creating a new agriculture company that will work together with the entire food ecosystem to produce a secure supply of healthy food sustainably and efficiently. Other than the regional headquarters, we have also built a state of the art seed production facility which we will be improving to higher standards, we have a research centre, that is part of the Africa Technology hub and we are investing in talent.

Read more: Engaging Local Consumers

IFTEX is the time to refine and define your corporate culture and identity and show your brand meaning to your customers

When it comes to branding and your exhibition stand, you only really get one chance to impress. This is not only because once the exhibition stand is on the trade show floor it cannot be modified, but also because often exhibition visitors will pass by the exhibition stand once only.

What’s the difference between an exhibitor who sizzles and one that fizzles?
Sometimes it’s hard to find something truly unique on the trade show floor, but an exhibitor must have a few exceptional elements that make him noteworthy. First, positioning the stand, on the first lane of the ground almost opposite the gate space allow them to stand out and appear even larger than the space itself and almost the first booth visitors see. Second, using tall, well projected colours on the wall as a projection surface is a brilliant way to keep the booth minimalistic while still communicating important key messages in a visually impactful manner that makes visitors to stop and take note. Third, the laser-tight focus on the company’s product is a welcome contrast to its graphics-heavy and display-cluttered neighbours.

Read more: Creating Consistent Brands

Industry Briefs

Oserian Flower Introduces Music School
As the Kenyan government introduces a new curriculum in the country’s education sector focusing more on talent development than academic pursuit, flower grower and exporter Oserian Development Company has introduced a music school at its supported educational institutions. Speaking at the unveiling of the farm’s music instruments, Head of Administration Kirimi Mpungu said it is important to develop talent alongside academic grades to create a rounded individual as well as avail past time activities that are helpful in living a healthy life as per the farm’s overriding Flori4Life slogan.

The tagline captures Oserian’s four main development lines - Flori4Water, Flori4Food, Flori4Schools and Flori4Nature. These show the community support focus programmes for education, water, food security and environment for sustainability of life. Each is aligned to the world’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under SDGs No 4, Quality Education: Providing equal access to affordable vocational training and to eliminate gender and wealth disparities with the aim of achieving universal access to a quality higher education, Oserian Flowers has built seven schools running from daycare to secondary schools within its expansive farm to cater for staff children and the community. The music school is open to all interested in the art.

Read more: Briefs

Dr. Christy van Beek, senior soil scientist at SoilCares, shares her expertise on soil fertility and fertiliser recommendations in a series of blogs.She now shares her view on the applicability of sensor-based technologies for developing fertiliser recommendations in this new blog.

The soil mystery
Soil data is used to develop fertiliser recommendations as it reflects the stock of nutrients in the soil that the crop can extract. Conventional laboratory procedures can only measure nutrient concentrations in a solution. One of the most critical aspects in conventional soil laboratories is the choice of the most relevant extraction method. Notably, parts of the nutrients are readily available (i.e. already in solution). Other parts are sorbed to the soil complex and can become available after desorption.

To some extent, crops can stimulate the desorption of nutrients from the soil complex. Hence, the ‘trick’ of conventional laboratories is to use an extraction method that indicates the availability of nutrients in the soil for crop uptake at several time scales. And here starts the fussiness.

Read more: The Soil Mystery

Online sales is gaining ground very rapidly and that’s going to cause a real shock to the current floricultural sector, which has been around for quite some time.

The Dutch floricultural industry is going to see some big changes. And when it comes to adapting to the changing market demand, growers shouldn’t hold back, but go full speed ahead. It’s the only way the role of for example Royal FloraHolland can be preserved, stated Rabobank, the largest financial service company in the Dutch horticultural industry, in a recent study. “All entrepreneurs, from small to large, have to take their responsibility.”

Rabobank is optimistic with regards to the opportunities lying ahead for the Dutch floricultural industry. In their study about the future of the sector, the cooperative bank forecasts a 2% growth per year for consumer spending on plants and flowers. The Dutch floricultural industry can benefit from this growth. But only if entrepreneurs throughout the entire chain, including breeders, growers and exporters, act now. “The organisation of the chain and the companies within it are going to experience some major changes”, says Arne Bac, horticultural sector specialist at Rabobank. Bac conducted the study together with colleague Lambert van Horen, analyst with Rabobank’s Fresh Produce sector team.

Read more: Dutch Floricultural Industry is in for a Shock