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Transcript/ScriptKENYA FLOWERS SOLAR POWER (TV/R)
HEADLINE: Kenya's Big Flower Farms Shift to Solar Power
TEASER: Rose and carnation producers show love to Mother Earth in move to fight climate change
PUBLISHED: 02/13/2023 at 7:53 pm
BYLINE: Juma Majanga
DATELINE: Nakuru, Kenya
VIDEOGRAPHER: Juma Majanga
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS, DLJ
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO _x_
TRT: 3:32
VID APPROVED BY: mia
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[Valentine's Day is the busiest time of year for the flower industry in Kenya, the fourth largest exporter of cut flowers in the world. Kenya's rose and carnation producers are also showing love to Mother Earth, by shifting to solar power to fight climate change. Juma Majanga reports from Nakuru, Kenya. ]]
((VIDEO-VOA: FLOWER PRODUCTION AT AGRIFLORA FARM IN NAKURU-various))
((NARRATOR))
It’s a beehive of activity at Agriflora Kenya, a flower factory in Nakuru County, the heartland of Kenya’s floriculture industry.
It’s almost Valentine's Day, the busiest time of year for flower growers around the world.
The cut flower industry generates hundreds of millions of dollars for Kenya each year, but the industry has been blamed for widespread pollution.
((Radio track: … as Elizabeth Kimani, an environmental management auditor explains.))
((Elizabeth Kimani, Environmental Management Auditor (English, 10 secs))
“The industry has been under a lot of scrutiny, both locally and internationally. And we’ve had to deal with a lot of issues of environmental pollution, worker or human rights violations.”
((NARRATOR))
Environmentalists say industries in Africa have the opportunity to go green.
((Radio track: Richard Munang is deputy regional director for Africa Office at the UN Environment Program))
((Richard Munang, UN Environment Program Africa (English, 18 secs))
“To focus on leveraging clean energy solutions; sun, hydro, geothermal. And when you look at the flower industry, especially in Kenya here, it’s actually getting into the space of clean energy.”
((VIDEO-VOA: DRONE OF SOLAR PANELS, FLOWER HARVESTING-various))
((NARRATOR))
Kenya’s flower producers say in recent years they have been shifting to solar power for lights and equipment, in part to cut carbon emissions and fight climate change.
((Radio track: Charles Mulemba is the general manager at Agriflora Kenya Limited.))
((Charles Mulemba, Agriflora Kenya Ltd. (English, 23 secs))
“By embracing solar, we are trying to control emission of carbon dioxide from what we are doing in the farm. We’ve estimated, by doing solar, to be cutting down on carbon dioxide emissions by about 52 tons per month. That translates to about 600 tons of carbon dioxide every year.”
(VIDEO-VOA: HARVESTED FLOWERS, FLOWER PACKAGING-various))
((NARRATOR))
Flower growers say solar power has also cut production costs.
((Radio track: Raphael Kiptis is head of finance at Sian Flower Group in the Kenyan Rift Valley region.))
((Raphael Kiptis, Sian Flower Group (English, 17 secs))
“Our normal cost of power for all our farms ranges between 90,000 to 100,000 U.S dollars a month. And now we are looking at, if you cut 40%, we are saving an estimate of around 40,000 dollars a month.”
((VIDEO-VOA: FLOWERS IN THE FARM, FLOWER PROCESSING-various))
((NARRATOR))
Despite efforts to shift to solar power, private businesses like Agriflora say they cannot store all the power they can harness. Industry officials say that’s because under current law businesses are not allowed to store excess solar power on the national grid for future use.
Environment experts say governments in Africa need to do more to incentivize and promote solar uptake.
((Radio track: Here again is Dr. Richard Munang.))
((Richard Munang, UN Environment Program Africa (English, 23 secs))
“The flower industry that you mentioned, investing in clean energy and specifically solar, and making their operation 100% solar, needs to see what they are going to gain by moving away from their current operations to clean energy operation.
((VIDEO-VOA: FLOWER PACKAGING, LOADING-various))
((NARRATOR))
The lower electricity costs from solar power would mean even bigger profits during peak periods like Valentine’s Day.
((Radio track: Yvonne Tirop is a horticulture marketing expert in Nairobi.)
((Yvonne Tirop, Horticulture Marketer (English, 12 secs))
“Valentine is very important in the flower calendar. Of course, it’s the time for love, but at the same time, it’s the time for the growers to really make up for highest sales in the season.”
((NARRATOR))
As consumers learn more about sustainability and climate change, environmentalists say flower growers, like other industries, will have even more incentive to go green.
((Juma Majanga, for VOA News, Nakuru, Kenya)
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Nakuru, Kenya
Embargo DateFebruary 13, 2023 16:29 EST
BylineJuma Majanga ((Juma Majanga,
for VOA News, Nakuru, Kenya))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
