Acan finds treasure in floriculture

Commercial floriculture is relatively new in Lango Sub-region.

Despite the fact that there is a deep-rooted cultural love of flowers among the people of the region, cultivation has been mainly confined to the growing of potted, garden and house plants for aesthetic value among the general populace.

At about two kilometres from Lira Town is Bur-lobo parish, home to Monica Ruth Acan, a flower farmer who delivers fresh-cut flower bouquets to offices, hotels, and homes in and outside Lira Town.

It is Acan’s daily routine to get up at dawn and drink a cup of tea before heading to her flower garden, just a stone’s throw away from the house. Then she wades into the neat rows of marigold, sunflowers, dalia and mums. As she focuses on cutting stems and counting the flowers, all other thoughts drift away.

Starting
Acan has always loved fresh flowers. When she visited Gulu in December 2018 for a field trip and her eyes landed on beautiful flowers (Cosmos) at a home in Gulu town. She stopped the taxi and jumped out to ask if she could get the seeds. Accordingly, the gateman accepted to give her the seeds and she offered him Shs2,000 in return for them.

“I only spent Shs200,000 to buy seedlings for roses and primroses from Entebbe. The rest of the seedlings, I always get them free from the field although I have to spend money on transporting them,” she said. And with that, Acan started to realise that her love and passion for flowers was real.

“I have always loved flowers and I needed fresh flowers to give out yet I had no place within Lango region that I could get them from. And every time I move to burial places, I see people using ribbons even at parties and marriage ceremonies yet we have flowers that God made for us,” she said.
Flowers are among the most profitable plants, producing high returns for Acan. She said one can start growing flowers with very little, including passion and determination.

She says: “Because flowers can be grown in a tiny backyard or on larger acreage, it’s an ideal part-time business for those in need of a flexible schedule, such as stay-at-home moms, graduates, or anyone who has another job.”

Acan has managed to instal a 6000-litre water tank at her farm in Bur-lobo village, Ayago parish in Lira Municipality. It cost her Shs2.9m to purchase and instal the two tanks of 1,000 and 5,000 litres.
Acan employs five workers from the neighbourhood who help in weeding the flower garden.
“They have been helping me in weeding and maintaining the garden whenever I am occupied at my workplace but when it comes to responding to orders, I take charge of that,” she said.

Profitable
At least no single day goes by without Acan receiving an order. Funeral wreaths at Acan’s farm cost between Shs35,000 and Shs40,000, sympathy wreaths are Shs25,000; romantic bouquets cost between Shs20,000 and Shs100,000 while bouquest for hotel receptions is Shs20,000.
“I charge according to the package and the kind of flowers you have ordered. In a day I make between Shs60,000 to Shs120,000,” she said. Acan bags more than Shs3m every month. She has established a shop, Blossom Flower Point, Lira where she receives orders from clients.

Opportunities
The area has diversified topography, altitude and climatic conditions with rich fertile soil and well-distributed rainfall. There are also several social and cultural activities like church meetings, weddings, funerals contribute to demand in Lango Sub-region. Yet institutional buyers like hotels, bars, and corporate companies demand for cut flowers. Acan, therefore, notes the region has a great opportunity of flourishing in floriculture.

Challenges
Inadequate water has always been a challenge for Acan. However, she has been able to install water tanks to help in this regard.
“Treated water or tap water is not all that good for flowers because it contains chemicals. Another big challenge is growing roses as they require moderate sunshine, especially in this usually hot area,” she said.

Acan says freshly cut flowers represent a wide assortment of plant families, but can easily be destroyed by pests and diseases.
“So you will see a significant difference in pest and disease problems that affect each species. Some of the most common disease and pest problems include powdery mildew, botrytis, black fungus, and insects,” she said.

While many fungal diseases will not kill the flowers, she says they often drastically reduce the marketability of flower products. Some flowers, according to her are more tolerant to specific pests and disease.

Future plans
Acan has purchased a solar water pump which will boost her operations by irrigating during the drought.
“In the development of this farm, I would want to instal a greenhouse that will enable me to grow flowers that are not favoured by weather conditions here,” she said.

“People are getting married every day, there are burials, church service is every Sunday, people are partying and they all need something fresh, not plastic flowers,” says Acan.

Market
When her garden started blossoming, she had no expectation of making a lot of money from the garden. And yet her first customer turned out to be her best friend.
Acan says: “When I got my first blossom I was very excited, I arranged them just how I have always love to see flowers. I took the pictures and posted on my WhatsApp status and indeed I started receiving orders,”
Her friend jokingly asked her to deliver the flowers to his girlfriend, something that turned out to be a starting point of making a sale.

“He asked how much I would charge flowers for love gestures and since I had never made any sale, I told him Shs20,000. He then asked me to deliver the flowers to his girlfriend with a note on it. It was a big surprise for me, I never expected that. When I delivered the flowers to the lady, she started crying,” she added.