Flower farms are crying foul over the lack of support from the government in increasing production and employment opportunities. Through the Kenya Flower Council, the farmers said, unlike the coffee, tea, and sugar sectors, they had been sidelined despite raking in billions of shillings annually in foreign exchange.
“We have seen the government give tax holidays to coffee, tea, and sugar farmers,” Council CEO Clement Tulezi told the Star on the phone on Saturday. “We are calling for the same in this sector that is the second-largest foreign exchange earner.”
This comes a couple of days after the farmers called on the government to pay them more than Sh12 billion in VAT funds that date back to August last year. In the last couple of years, the national government has waived debts owed by coffee, tea, and sugar farmers while giving a wide berth to the floriculture sector.
Tulezi said the floriculture sector is one of the largest employers and tax remitters in the country. He said despite raking in billions of shillings, the sector is plagued by high taxes, rising flight charges, and skyrocketing electricity prices.
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