GAINS, CHALLENGES OF HORTICULTURE BUSINESS Horticulture is the art or practice of garden cultivation and management. It is a business that is becoming common everyday in Nigeria’s major cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, among others. As many people have stepped into a new year, some would like to give inside and outside their environment new flowery touch. In this report, Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga, peeps into Steven Mba Horticultural Services, G.R.A. Ikeja, Lagos, and what it takes to be a horticulturist ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Looking very agile and always seated under a fruit tree along Adekunle Fajuyi Road, Ikeja G.R.A, Lagos, is Mr. Stephen Mba, whom an ordinary passerby would easily mistake for an illiterate or an ordinary farmer who is just whiling away time until he wishes to leave. But that is not the true situation. While discussing with The UNION recently, he described himself that, “I am a Nigerian from Ukporo, in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State. I am the owner of some portions of this narrow but long garden full of different flowers.” When asked why he has no kiosk to protect himself from the harsh weather this season, he explained that, “I am not the only one without a kiosk in the long stretch of this road with different sections of garden. We don’t have a kiosk where we can stay in the garden because, the Lagos State Government don’t want to see any shop along the road. But we have private shops within some fenced private buildings around, where we keep our gardening tools. “Though we don’t have a kiosk, during rainy season, we either use umbrella to cover, or we go into nearby compounds to relax in the stores where our tools are kept. It is rented, though the money we used to start the business is not part of the shop rent. Commenting on the starting point for a newcomer into the business of horticulture, he said, “At least N100,000 is required to start as a peasant farmer. A very good site is necessary. Garden tools such as cutlass, hand towels, diggers and others are essential. You also need a good sense of evaluation beauty and art to be able to create a fine scene of decorating a compound garden or park.” There is abundant presence of one particular type of flower under a tree here where he usually sat all day long when he was not working. He gave reasons why that particular flower is more concentrated on the position aforementioned. In this vein, he enlightens that, “This particular flower under the tree is called ‘Loquala palm.’ It is kept under shade because it is purely an indoor plant. When exposed to direct sun light, it will start wilting or drying. But flowers like ‘Yellow freckles,’ ‘Moria,’ ‘Sitar palms,’ and ‘White freckles,’ are good under the sun, because they conserve water internally, and they can survive any harsh condition due to their natural adaptation to harsh conditions like desert plants. However, ‘Adrenja,’ ‘Queens of Philippians,’ and ‘Gafemia’ are flowers that need constant watering during dry season; otherwise they would wither and die.” He further explained that one needs to have great knowledge about flowers adaptability to weather before one can go into the business. In this vein he posited that, “I have been doing this business for the past ten years, after I had served someone for five years to master the business. “Although it is not necessary to serve under someone before one could begin his own business, it could help one to learn many techniques of the business. However, once you have the knowledge of agriculture and you are determined, you can start the business. But it is very necessary to be educated in order to help you know the names of plants; otherwise, it will be very difficult for you.” He also said he enjoys doing the business, and not because he does not have other jobs option. “Though it is a tedious job, if you are determined, you will certainly smile at last. I have been enjoying it because it is lucrative. Apart from being money-yielding, well keep flowers make the environment beautiful and fresh. I look forward to making money this New Year as many people like replacing their old flowers with new ones, or give their gardens a new look every New Year.” Throwing light on the type of flowers one could one use to start if someone is a new comer into the business, Mba was also extravagant with good will and advice for new-comers that, “It takes about eight months before one can start earning good money from the flowers you grow. But you can start with fast growing flowers like ‘Morning glory’ and ‘West Indies,’ which you could sell after a month at N30 (Thirty naira) per bag. They are hedge plants. However, there are some flowers that require patience before you can start earning something from them, as some seeds take up to four months before they start germinating. What you produce is what you sell.” In every sphere of life or profession, there are always challenges. Hence, the horticulturist also informs that there are major challenges he has been facing in the business. “Some of the major challenges of flower business include pest, flooding and money to expand to a higher scale. There is no loan from banks or government, yet we pay tax. When a contract is to be given out to horticulturists by government, it is given out to middle men who in turn award it out to experts like us, thereby denying us the benefit to fully enjoy the sweat of our labour. “Why not give the contract to us directly who are experts in the field, and avoid over-invoicing? We are also paying tax to the Lagos State Government for using this strip of space beside the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria’s (FRCN) fence, though the Federal Government owns the land. But we are not complaining. We are grouped under the artisans’ tax category of Lagos State taxation system. “However, we don’t pay any money to the FRCN for using the narrow space beside its fence. They only asked us to make sure we keep the environment clean, and we have been doing so, as it adds beauty to the environment and the reputation of the station, though this is their training school compound.” Despite the challenges in the business he encourages anybody who wants to come into the business to overlook them and take the bull by the horn. He further said, “I encouraged a woman to start the business and she did. She is doing very well today. Many jobless youths can also start it as a way of creating self employment. But many youths today are impatient; they want to make quick money without much work.” Since advertisement helps every business worth its salt to grow, it was surprising to The UNION that there is no signpost indicating the name of Mba’s business. This makes one wonder how people know he owns the flowers. On this note, he said, “Ah! Lagos State Advertising Agency (LASAA) tax is not affordable by me, that is why I have no signpost. But my business name is Steven Mba Horticultural Services. I have my contacts, and people naturally come and inquire about flowers from me. I also have receipts and have been handling planting of gardens for notable people and organisations nationwide.” Thereafter, he also said how he started the business thus: “After obtaining my ordinary school certificate, I went for my Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Agricultural Science. When I could not get a job, I decided to use what I learnt at school to sustain myself and my family. However, I will go for my Higher National Diploma (HND) soon, to study Horticulture because it is now a degree awarding discipline.” Nonetheless, looking into the history of horticulture is essential to educate people that planting fresh natural flowers in our residential places could help to reduce chemical pollutants in the air, as plants are said to help reduce poison gases in the atmosphere. In a book titled “The History And Development of Horticulture” written by Edwinna von Baeyer, she offers that “The history of horticulture is traced as it gradually developed independent of agriculture, into the sophisticated art and science that it is today. The article, given the wide scope of time, major events and geographic range, can only touch on the main themes that illustrate how horticulture has changed and advanced since it began nearly 20,000 years ago. “These themes include the development of specialized tools and practices, the highlights of the progression of horticulture in the world’s centers of agricultural/horticultural development; the rise of market gardening and commercial horticulture; the exchange of food and ornamental plants from one world region to another; the rise of scientific observation; the impact of switching from manual labor to machine power; and the scientific advances of plant breeding that have moved from the field and into the laboratory. As well, major impacts, especially from the 19thcentury onwards, are discussed. “These impacts include the influence of horticultural societies and specialty associations; the advances in refrigeration and storage; the support of the media; the rise of the use of chemicals and plastics; and the call for standardization and regulation in today’s globalized industry.” The book also explained that “Horticulture is a combination of two Latin words: hortus (garden) and cultura (culture). It is defined as the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts and ornamental plants (trees, shrubs, flowering plants and turf). The separation of horticulture from agriculture as a distinct activity is usually dated from the Middle Ages in Europe. Although horticulture and agriculture have many practices in common (weeding, fertilizing, watering, etc.), horticulture is distinguished from agriculture by its specialized practices, for example, grafting, and by the smaller scale of its operations. “Horticulture can be divided into three main sectors: fruit growing (pomology); market gardening (vegetables and herbs) and ornamentals cultivation (flowers, shrubs, trees). The cultivation of ornamental plants, which some call floriculture and landscape horticulture, can be further divided, for example, into arboriculture (woody plants) and floristry. Nut cultivation (used to produce oils, fats and ornaments) and grape growing (viticulture) are smaller horticultural divisions.” Commenting about the Neolithic Age of horticulture, Baeyer says prehistoric humans were originally nomadic hunter-gathers who followed the migration of animals and the ripening of foods, such as berries, in order to feed themselves. The Neolithic Age was a watershed time for the development of agriculture and horticulture. Scholars have found evidence that hunter-gatherers, about 20,000 years ago, had begun the slow trial-and-error process of domesticating wild plants and animals. Over thousands of years, our ancestors changed their life style from nomadic food collection to settled food production. Agriculture requires staying in one place to oversee cultivation, harvest and storage. As well, growing fruit is a long-term process that necessitates year-round care. Although the rise of agriculture is mostly described as a great benefit that allowed human society to evolve, according to recent scholarship, it has also had a number of negative effects over past millennia. Agriculture certainly allowed people to settle in communities and to regularize their food supply. However, as Kiple (2007) observes, one of the negative effects was that the hunter-gatherer’s diet, which used between 100 and 200 plant species in season, was reduced and replaced by a dependence on fewer plants – those that grew best in a local area. Changing from a mainly meat diet to one high in carbohydrates and plant nutrients led to famine, nutritional diseases and crowded living conditions, which eventually led to plague and pestilence. She also explained that, at first, through hard manual labor, crops were grown on land next to dwellings and gradually spread out into the countryside. Smaller gardens, what are defined today as kitchen gardens and fruit orchards also came to be cultivated closer to the house. There is not a precise date for when houses began to have enclosed yards where vegetables and fruits were grown. However, by the 3rdmillennium BCE, archeological evidence shows that vegetable and fruit gardens in Sumeria were enclosed and that vegetables’ were grown in rows and were watered by irrigation. The earliest agricultural/horticultural tools also date from the Neolithic Age. Around 40,000 BCE, our gardening ancestors were already using bone digging sticks, the precursor of the shovel, to dig in soft soils, and the pick-like mattock, to break up hard soil. The stone hoe was seen as early as the 5thmillennium BCE. The plow, developed in the Near East, was a later invention and is dated between 5000 and 4800 BCE. Metal implements made of bronze were first used, with the discovery of iron, by 1100 BCE in Mycenae, and wrought iron implements were known by 1200 BCE in the Near East. Agriculture and horticulture continued to evolve together in a trial-and-error manner up into the Middle Ages. Plants and crops were observed to see which would survive and under what conditions. Weeds were identified, as were pests and diseases. Treatments ranged from sacrificing animals to ward off disease and pestilence to handpicking noxious insects off plants. All labor was done by hand or with the help of animal power. In many cultures, women were the main garden cultivators, while men usually worked in the fields. In many countries today, women continue to hold this role. Cultivators over the centuries have adapted their practices to their climates and conditions to maximize land resources, for example, as seen in the extreme terracing in the foothills of the Himalayas or the creation and cultivation of “floating” gardens. In Mexico, these long, narrow artificial islands, called chinampas (some floating and moveable, others fixed), were developed by the Aztecs by building up layers of grass, lake bottom mud and soil. Chinampas were first developed in an area near what is known today as Mexico City (near Lake Texoco), where there was an abundance of lakes and rivers, but little arable land. The Aztecs had pursued this land reclamation at least by 1325, but the first written descriptions were first recorded by Spanish explorers in the early 1500s. Corn, herbs, tomatoes, beans, chilies, avocado, guava, sweet potato and flowers, such as marigolds, were grown on chinampas. Variations of floating gardens were also described in China where cultivators made soil covered drafts, which they tethered to a riverbank, and grew rice on. Another example is the floating gardens in Kashmir, which produce flowers and vegetables. In peroration, it is good to make it clear that horticulture is not a business meant for peasants as some people erroneously think. There are several flower-gardens nationwide, especially in Abuja, where people normally relax to refresh themselves after the daily stress of life. It is also not a trade meant for lazy people. Anybody who wants to practice the horticulture must be strong and willing to bear the weather just as Mba does, to make good money from it. Any business that brings money has its own share of challenges. Even though you plant roses all year round as a horticulturist, it won’t make all weather rosy, as a saying goes that, ‘life is not a bed of roses.’ Hence, make your environment fresh and flowery in this new calendar year. END NOTE: This article has been published in today’s edition (January 2, 2015) of The UNION Newspaper pages 40 - 41.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 19:21:02 +0000
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