Colombia makes sustainable strides with its Florverde program

If you gave your sweetie fresh cut flowers today, chances are good they had their start south of the border. More precisely, in Colombia.

Colombia has ramped up its production and now is the second largest exporter of cut flowers (behind Holland); it exported more than $1 billion worth of flowers worldwide last year. “Like our coffee, our flowers are the finest in the world,” boasts Augusto Solano, president of the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters (Asocolflores).

As the size and influence of the Colombian floriculture industry has expanded, there has been an admirable effort to enhance working conditions and to adopt sustainable practices. Asocolflores’ Florverde program was created to improve the living standards of floral farm workers and their families; to preserve and protect the environment; and to ensure quality, affordable flowers year-round. There are 171 Colombian farms, comprising half of the acreage devoted to flowers, qualified or in the process of qualifying for Florverde certification. Those farms have exported an estimated 300 million stems of certified flowers this Valentine season.

Some facts about Florverde:

• Florverde-certified flowers are grown with 50% less pesticides compared to 1998.
• Florverde’s goal is to reduce pesticide use by 60% from today’s levels in 3 years.
• Florverde farms must provide their workers with health insurance, disability and retirement benefits. Certified farms provide access to onsite medical care, dining areas with hot meals, and they increasingly offer child care, housing subsidies and literacy education.
• Chemicals banned in Colombia are consistent with chemicals banned in the U.S.
• The Colombian industry encourages sustainable farming through the use of pest-management practices that reduce pesticide use, drip irrigation, rainwater collection and organic fertilization.
• Florverde is a model program for the Ecuadorian flower and Colombian banana industries.

-- Kevin

Comments

[Chris Stone]

The Colombian industry encourages sustainable farming through the use of pest-management practices that reduce pesticide use, drip irrigation, rainwater collection and organic fertilization.

Are they reducing drip irrigation, rainwater collection and organiz fertilization? As it reads, that is the bullet's message.