Mott MacDonald | Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) | Business Partnerships as a Force for Good Learning Series | Learning Brief #1
Business Partnerships for Global Goals COVID-19 Vulnerable Supply Chain Facility Business Partnerships as a Force for Good Learning Series
Learning Brief #1 January 2021
Flower farm worker harvesting carnations © Karen Smith BP4GG
Kenyan flower farms view sea freight as a promising opportunity for greener growth By Karen Smith, Agriculture Lead, Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) programme delivered by Mott MacDonald
Kenyan flower sector hard hit by COVID-19 pandemic The Kenyan flower industry, employing c.150,000 workers, 70-80% of whom are women, has been shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial disruption caused by the European lockdowns in March/April 2020 and huge reductions in air freight availability led to product wastage, part-time working and high levels of stress on flower farms. While normal operations have now somewhat resumed, air freight prices remain over 20% higher than pre-COVID levels, and capacity has reduced by c.30%. Farms are having to maintain costly health and safety measures, for example – increasing work station spacing in packhouses which reduces the volume of flowers that can be processed since there are fewer workers.
Project Partners Flamingo Horticulture Limited Flower Watch Practical Solutions International
To help address some of these challenges, Flamingo Horticulture Limited, supported by Practical Solutions International and Flower Watch, is leading the ‘Sea Freight Flowers’ project being co-funded by the Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility (VSCF)1.
1 The VSCF is a rapid COVID-19 response facility set up by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and managed by Mott MacDonald Ltd. The Facility sits under the BP4GG programme and partners with 20 UK and international retailers and brands, and 7 not-for-profit organisations, supporting over 100 suppliers across Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Myanmar, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. The Facility will provide economic, social, and health benefits to around 1 million women and men directly and indirectly.
Mott MacDonald | Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) | Business Partnerships as a Force for Good Learning Series | Learning Brief #1
The project aims to test the viability of transporting flowers by sea from Kenya to Europe. The ambition is for the flowers to arrive after journey times of around 30 days at comparable quality levels to those that are air freighted. Shipping by sea is a cheaper option and also produces significantly lower carbon emissions. At least ten containers, each with up to 20 pallets of flowers from a number of supplier farms, will be shipped during this pilot project. To assess how long the flowers will remain in good condition once purchased by consumers (their ‘vase life’), samples are tested and compared with controls that were air freighted. Results from the first containers have demonstrated that sea freight can achieve the same quality as air freight, as shown in Figure 1, although some varieties perform better than others. The project team are continuously applying their learnings from the trials to improve results further. In December 2020, I visited five farms in Naivasha that are participating in the project. My objectives were to deepen my understanding of how the pandemic had affected farms, and to gather the views of farm managers on the trials to date and on the long-term benefits of using sea freight.
Vase life results for spray carnations 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
Air freight 1
Sea freight 1
Good
Air freight 2
Average
Sea freight 2
Poor
Figure 1: Results for sea freight carnations for the first two containers compared to air freight
Farm managers see the opportunities of sea freight to improve demand management It was reassuring to hear that none of the farms had had COVID-19 outbreaks; all had visibly taken stringent measures to protect workers, including handwashing stations and mandatory masks. In most cases after a period of shift working, labour has been restored to pre-COVID-19 levels, but some farms did find it necessary to lay off small numbers of workers. One farm found that the second COVID-19 spike was “almost worse” due to the ban on flower sales in France, which badly affected them. The farm managers and representatives of export companies I met with were universally positive about the initial results and the opportunities presented by sea freight. There is now ongoing commitment from businesses to export a container each week in 2021 until the rains start again in late March. Farm managers explained that for peak events such as Valentine’s Day, meeting demand was challenging and costly to manage, but if sea freight became a sustained option, they could smooth production by shipping in advance. For example, Carla Ulyate from Nini Farm reported that “up to 70% of our volumes could be sea freighted if this becomes possible in future”. Flower worker with gerberas at Flamingo farm, Naivasha © Karen Smith BP4GG
Mott MacDonald | Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) | Business Partnerships as a Force for Good Learning Series | Learning Brief #1
New protocols and innovations enable the longevity of flowers on the sea voyage Flower Watch, the implementing partner for the project on the ground, has led on the development of protocols to prepare and pack flowers for sea freighting, and has trained 12 farms on these processes as illustrated below. The farms have not found these changes onerous, and in fact modifications to packing boxes developed for sea freight could also be beneficial for air freight as they allow 10% more stems in the box, and use 40% less packaging, thereby reducing the weight and cost of transit.
Flower heads are dipped in a solution to control fungal delay
Flowers spend 4 hours in a postharvest solution
Flowers are kept in a cold room overnight before being graded, packed and cooled
Flowers are packed in boxes developed specifically for sea freight
Data loggers are used to track temperature fluctuations during transportation
© Karen Smith BP4GG
Developing a viable long-term sea freight solution The next steps for the project are to complete the trials to generate evidence that selected varieties of flowers can be successfully transported by sea between Kenya and Europe, and to produce a cost benefit analysis to support the commercial business case. These outputs will be shared with stakeholders at the end of the project in mid-2021. The project has instigated a cooperative approach in the industry which has been critical to facilitate the initiative given the lack of vertical integration between Kenyan growers and European buyers. If this impetus is maintained, sea freight volumes could be expanded to drive more regular and consistent shipments. In the longer run, a dedicated refrigerated container packing facility – such as those found in Columbia and Ecuador – would enhance the cold chain and further improve efficiency and quality of flower exports by sea. The VSCF team will be exploring ways in which further investment and support can be garnered to build on the success of this exciting project.