INTERVIEW: What to expect at Uganda Tropical Plants Association flower expo

Flowers and plants not only make our surroundings pleasant spaces to live in but also play a significant role to promote environmental conservation through the promotion of quality horticultural practices and standards.

In this interview, Our Reporter, Fahim Muyingo, talks to Ruth Banabo, the Chairperson of the Uganda Tropical Plants Association (UTPA), to discuss the upcoming Flower Show and the activities of the Association.

Briefly tell our readers about Uganda Tropical Plants Association.

Uganda Tropical Plants Association is an association which started in 2008. It brings together horticulture farmers and floral designers from across the country.

The Association has a mission to promote horticulture, landscaping, floral design and environmental conservation and awareness.

We take the trouble to make sure that we preserve indigenous plants to interest people and tell them about the value of these plants.

Apart from looking at the area of indigenous plants, we also promote flowers among Ugandans.

We have diverse knowledge about tropical plants and flowers. Amongst the Association members, some studied these plants while others studied decoration.

Through training, we know which flowers are fit for homes and which flowers are poisonous (much as they might be looking beautiful).

Other than giving out flowers as gifts to our loved ones, how else can flowers and other tropical plants be used in our daily lives?

In our daily lives, there are a lot of uses and values of flowers. First of all, flowers are beautiful and have medicinal value.

Almost every plant is medicinal and that’s a secret from God. Some plants and flowers can kill stress by looking at them or when you’re around them.

How important are flowers in our homes, places of work, schools and other public spaces?

Flowers are important because these plants generate the air we breathe in – oxygen and other gases. That’s a very important issue health-wise, and that’s why we need them around our homes, schools and hospitals.

This is an Association that is passionate about flowers, do plastic flowers also count? Do they exude the same effect? 

No, those have nothing to do with us. We don’t use them at all. You can, maybe, decorate with them and look happy about it but in line with our business, no because we deal with nature.

By using plastic flowers, it’s like we are objecting to God’s work since He gave us all the beauty in nature. Instead of promoting nature we copy and paste it into plastic.

 You are organizing the Uganda Tropical Plants Association Flower Show, what should people who are coming expect? 

We have been conducting the Uganda Tropical Plants Association Flower Show for the last twelve years. We conduct this show once a year or twice.

Between the 4th and 6th of November 2022 at the Uganda Museum in Kampala, we shall be conducting the second show this year.

At these flower shows, we conduct trainings because many people may be having plants and flowers in their homes but don’t know how to look after them.

They don’t know when to water them and whether they need water every day or every week, so they get this knowledge when they come to the flower shows.

This training at the next flower show will offer a platform to interact and share knowledge.

People coming to the show should expect to look at various plants and learn how to take time to care for their plants and flowers.

People coming to the Flower Show will also learn how to be passionate about these plants and flowers.

People will also be able to buy plants from the stands and exhibitors. When at the show, you also get to buy pots in case you want to start planting flowers.

There are a lot of things at the show.

Most flower farmers do it large scale and for export; what is the market like in Uganda, just in case someone wanted to do it in their backyard?

Anyone can gain from growing these flowers; this is something we are slowly building up. The local market for flowers is available especially now that people are starting to learn the value of flowers.

Some of our members used to export rose flowers but stopped because of COVID-19.

We have also done a survey and discovered that some of the flowers produced by our members don’t meet the required standards. This is something we are working out and will be solved.

What factors make up a good floriculturist?

What you need is knowledge. You also need to do enough research. Once you have done the research and are now knowledgeable, then you will become a good floriculturist.