The main expo speaker continues in saying that floriculture in India is becoming an attractive commercially viable diversification option, predicting a shift of many agri industries into this field which expects to create not only new revenue but also millions of jobs in far flung areas.
The Philippines also looks to this as a sunshine industry according to www.bar.gov.ph, Vol. 9 Issue No.1. Although much smaller in scale of success as compared to Ethiopia and India the government is now said to be intent in pursuing this growth trend. In 1990 the annual cut flower yield was only 8,000 MT but by 2003 it produced over 22,000 MT cultivated only from 1,500 ha.These high value agricultural commodities particularly floriculture products not only answers new sourcing needs of developing countries but also has gained great acceptance in the middle income segment of developing countries.
With enough organization of small farmers and further infrastructure development coupled extreme policy changes such as tax shields and grants, any country in the area called the “third world” can help alleviate their poverty stricken masses while making good use of the still available arable land.
Technologies such as the Internet and Greenhouse propagation methods have all helped the explosive growth of HVA products as seen in the case of Ethiopia and India. Greenhouses have given new opportunities to control climate and significantly increase crop production and attain consistent quality while the Internet has bound together suppliers from all over the world while increasing the market awareness of floral and landscape products. A keen eye should be kept on this.
