In 2004 when Mr Freedom Ezeala tried to woo the woman he would eventually marry, introducing himself as a ‘gardener’ got him a scornful look and an outright ‘no’ for an answer. Years after, not only did he win her heart, he is now a millionaire and they run the business together.
Ezeala, who had horticultural training under an uncle of his in Lagos, say he now has more than 54 staff on his payroll, having started the business with only ₦150,000.
This did not happen by a snap of the fingers, but as a result of hard work.
The florist said his undying passion and love for nature made a difference in his financial turn-around.
“Here in Abuja, go and look around, other gardeners doing well are all looking up to me,” he said.
He said further, “One of the things that inspired me to go into the business is that I love nature. On getting to Abuja to establish my garden, I saw people turning up to buy, then I said to myself, there’s something good here; there is a goldmine that someone has not started digging. I asked questions, people told me more about horticulture in Abuja then I started.”
Floriculture
Horticulture is a branch of agriculture that deals with the cultivation of garden crops, fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants. It deals with the growing and propagation of exotic ornamental plants which aside beautifying the environment also purifies it, removes toxic air pollutants and replaces them with pristine oxygen for humans and animals to thrive.
However, most gardeners in Abuja practice floriculture which is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, designing and marketing ornamental plants. It also involves the intensive production of flowers and ornamental shrubs.
Untapped goldmine
Investigation shows that in Abuja lies the horticultural business that sits on untapped goldmine capable of creating employment opportunities to many.
In 2018, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the nation’s unemployment rate was 23.1 per cent. This figure has been projected by the federal government to reach 33.5 per cent this year.
“Exotic fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants are of huge benefits to the ecosystem and the nation’s recreational facilities,” Bernard Okafor, a researcher at the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), said.
“It is a means of attracting tourists and also a source of revenue to the country if accorded necessary attention by the government,” he added.
“Many don’t see it as being lucrative enough and this is perhaps the reason for the ignorance of the many to the benefits of gardens in our homes and surroundings, among other places, in this part of the continent,” he said.
According to garden owners, being a rapidly developing city and the seat of power, the business appears to be highly lucrative in Abuja. This was the hint Johnson Ogbonnanya got when he arrived Abuja from Ondo state, where he had worked as an interior decorator. His interest in beautification was immediately redirected to running a garden.
With no money to rent land, he said he identified a spot by the roadside tucked along Games Village close to Galadimawa to start small.
“The space we are using now is free of charge. The government knows it adds beauty to the road and that’s the beauty of this job; so you can start without a land of your own,” he said.
His once few metre long garden now spans about 200 metres. It is with this craft that he says he has lifted many others, including his brother, Chibuike, out of joblessness. He plans to move to a land of his own where he would run and ‘consult’ for other gardeners and flower enthusiasts.
According to him, “To be successful in gardening, you need to blend passion with diligence and physical agility.”
However, Christopher Chukwunta, a florist at the Federal Housing Junction Lugbe located along the airport road said it is not a business one can start without the knowledge of the authority.
Mary Omoh, the president of the Association of Flower Nurseries and Landscaping Practitioners Abuja, however said once registration is settled, a garden can be set up with N100, 000 since one does not necessarily need a land title to start.
“This capital is needed to purchase nursery bags and seedlings. Those without that much can be assisted by other garden owners or, at least, start somewhere.”
David Onyedikachi, 45, currently runs a booming garden in Area 11, Garki. He was at the brink of bankruptcy when he started a small one with only N10, 000 in 2004.
“With the flowers, I now have creative work I do with cement pot and the rest. I can tell you that if I begin to say my worth today, I cannot ascertain how much it is but I know that I’m worth over a million naira and above,” he said.
Toyin Osadolo’s 20 year stint in the trade which she said started with as little as N10, 000 is not different from Mr Onyedikachi’s. She is happy the proceeds from her gardens in Gwarinpa and Garki are paying her bills and those around her but said not many are looking in the direction of the trade.
Prospects
Horticulture alone, being a sub-sector of agriculture is one of the top foreign exchange earners for Kenya.
It generated approximately $1 billion annually and also contributed about 1.45 per cent to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kenya in 2015.
Also, horticulture is currently the fastest growing agriculture sub-sector which ranked third in terms of foreign exchange earnings from export after tourism and tea in Kenya.
Nigeria, being the ‘giant’ of Africa can earn more in this regard if opportunities across the value chains of the agricultural subset horticulture are fully harnessed.
“The importance of having plants around cannot be over-emphasised as it possesses the natural tendencies of remediating air pollution which encourages healthy living,” Mrs Omoh said.
Asides being of immense benefit to the environment, she says, “It wears the environment with a beautiful outlook when seen grown side-by-side major and minor roads which brings forth a captivating landscape.
“That is why we advocate, we go round, we let people know the importance of flowers,” Mrs Omoh said.
“During the last World Environment Day, we went out; we were even dashing out plants to people to go and plant in their houses. Anywhere you stay, have plants around you.”
Challenges
A major challenge is that most of the fruits, vegetables and ornamental plant species are not grown in Nigeria.
For instance, the seed of Alcaria said to be the most expensive in most gardens visited are imported from Italy, Ghana, and other neighbouring countries.
Mr Okafor, the researcher at NIHORT, explained that these seeds are difficult to grow in Nigeria but if they are to be planted in the country, they would be difficult to uproot which makes propagation quite expensive.”
Folarin Okelola, the spokesperson of the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), the government agency that regulates the seed industry in Nigeria, said the council has not been doing so much to regulate seeds available to horticulturists in the country.
She said the Seed Act 2019, once passed, would serve as a tool to regulate the seeds available to horticulturists.
Jostling for space is also a problem for gardeners, Christopher Chukwunta noted. He complained that there had been instances where government officials send gardeners packing from the space they occupy without any alternative.
“Getting a space where no one would come ask you to leave anytime is hard,” Mr Chukwunta said.
Toyin Osadolo, a gardener said in 2011 she was ordered by authorities of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to leave a space allotted to her. On getting to her new space, however, she lost all her plants due to shocks and absence of water in the area.
“I was having over a million naira in my account as at when AEBP asked me to pack. I spent all this money to pack out and transport my plant to where I was given. When I got there, I lost all my plants because there was no water,” Osadolo said.
In a similar manner, Anna Emeka, 29, who runs a garden business alongside her husband in Maitama recalled how she lost her plants when she was asked to pack out of her initial garden by the same authority, making her start all over again.
Potentials
Mr Okafor said horticulture holds great economic potential with high prospect of dividends if subscribed to by vibrant youth in the country.
“Horticulture is a branch of agriculture with great economic potential; it has a 100 per cent assurance of profit, if properly maintained,” he said.
The researcher urged Nigerian youth to tap into the opportunities in the value chains, reiterating that it does not need a huge capital to kick-start.
Mr Chukwunta also called on the government to open a green area for gardeners in the city. He said this would solve the problem of eviction from spaces given to them initially.
“If we are given, we would have one part of it for recreation and another part for what we are doing here. If the government can listen to us and hear our cry to meet up this particular request, it would help to encourage others in this business,” Mrs Omoh appealed.
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