New leaf
Kohima, Aug 30 : Floriculture has emerged as a major business option for unemployed youths of Nagaland, with the trade registering annual turnovers in crores of rupees in recent years.
Talking to The Telegraph, joint director of the state horticulture department in-charge of floriculture, Watila Ao, said Nagaland exported around 50,000 to 60,000 fresh and dry flowers every day. “The flower business gives you the fastest returns,” she added.
She said the department was yet to estimate the annual turnover from export of Nagaland flowers, but it amounted to crores of rupees.
Ao said Nagaland flowers were high in demand in India and abroad. “Our flowers are of international quality,” she added.
She said sale of flowers in Nagaland itself was very high — Kohima alone had now 10 flower shops, each of which sold not less than Rs 10,000 worth of flowers on Saturdays alone to decorate churches on Sunday. “This is a good business for our educated unemployed youths,” she added.
She said flower growers were also hired by the state government to decorate offices, thus giving them extra earnings.
The state horticulture department has identified a few flowers, including lillium, anthurium, carnation and roses, for commercial production with an eye on the export market.
The product-wise groups under floriculture are cut flowers (fresh), bulbs and tubers, live potted plants, dried plants and dried flowers, among others.
Commercial production of rose and lillium has been started and export of these flowers has already begun.
Accordingly, a number of flower growers has also been imparted requisite training for commercial production of these flowers.
Ao said three companies from the Netherlands — Zopar Export Company, Florence Flowers and North Bengal Flori Tech, all Dutch companies based in Bangalore — imparted training to the flower growers periodically about various aspects of the trade. The training is being imparted as part of a memorandum of understanding singed between the government and the three companies a couple of years back.
Flower growers of the state are also sent to the Netherlands for further training and on exposure trips.
Buds of flowers like lillium, anthurium, carnation and roses are imported from the Netherlands and later, the three Dutch companies help in export of the high quality Nagaland flowers to foreign countries.
Nagaland receives its share of the funds for integrated development of horticulture in the state. These funds also include those for development of infrastructure facilities such as market sheds and community tanks, among others.
The market for cut flowers is increasing with a parallel demand for potted plants and foliage, among others, and to boost the sector further, high quality greenhouse plastics were being imported from Israel for the floriculture units.
Ao said 15 per cent of the state’s flower growers now knew that the business fetched them fast bucks and added that many educated Naga youths were taking up floriculture as an income avenue. “It is very encouraging to see our youths taking up the business,” she added.