Can the Flower Code Solve Ethiopia's Flower Farms and Employees?

Addis Fortune -- Founded three years ago in Menagesha, Western Shoa Zone of the Oromia Regional State, Menagesha Flower Plc was established with a capital of 10 million Br. Having secured 50hct of land, of which five hectares have been developed for flower farming, its working capital has now grown to 30 million Br. While 15hct are used for agro-forestry, the company plans to continue expansion of its flower production business as it sees room for growth in the industry.

Speaking to Fortune, Solomon Sebihatu, general manager and owner of Menagesha Flower Plc, asserted that in one year's time, Menagesha Flower Farm Plc will develop 20hct of land for expansion purposes and expects to increase yields and profits.

However, not all interested parties are ecstatic about the progress of the industry as protection of the environment and safety of employees has been a challenge for the fledgling industry.

Flower farms like Menagesha are facing pressing demands by their employees for security against the chemicals applied in the production process.

Yenesew Enley, 28, who lives with his parents in Debre Zeit (Bishoftu) where he was born and raised, is employed by one of the flower farms located along the route between Modjo and Shashemene. It is now three years since Yenesew started working for the flower farm and handling pesticide chemicals that he is responsible to spray on the farm.

Yenesew told Fortune that in the particular flower farm that he works at, the farm owners give more priority to the flowers being produced than to the employees.

"Waking up on a daily basis before the sun rises, my colleagues and I begin the routine work of spraying the chemicals without proper equipment to protect ourselves from the possible chemical exposure," said Yenesew.

According to him, it is not uncommon to see co-workers vomit and collapse due to the exposure of these pesticide chemicals they handle regularly.

"While I have been suffering from [these] symptoms on quite a number of occasions, some co-workers were forced to abandon their jobs for health reasons," Yenesew, who must balance his better judgement of his own health with the need for employment, told Fortune.

Equipment used during the process of spraying chemicals does not get cleaned properly, except on some occasions where the materials are washed in a nearby stream, directly releasing the harmful pesticides into a local water source.

However, the questionable environmental and labour practices have not stopped the sector from expanding rapidly.

Menagesha is one of the 60 flower farms that are now actively working in the floriculture sector. The flower industry is labour-intensive and currently employs 50,000 people, out of which 70pc are women. It is steadily expanding and industry analysts estimate that when most of the 200 licensed flower projects reach fruition, 72,000 people would be employed.

A significant proportion of the floriculture farms in Ethiopia are located within a 50Km radius of Addis Abeba city limits, while the remainder operate in and around the Rift Valley. Growing annually at astonishing 100pc pace, the sector earned 60 million dollars from exports last year.

Though many laud the fast growth rate registered by the floriculture industry and the goodwill it gains from the government, concern about the delicacy of the environmental situation and the human factor have been voiced by a variety of stakeholders and concerned parties.

The charge has been led for the past five years by the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Union (CETU) and the National Flower Alliance (Forum for Environment, Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association and Panos-Ethiopia) along with other environmental groups. These interests were finally appeased when an agreement supposedly addressing their concerns was reached late last month.

The 43-page Code of Practice proposed by the Ethiopian Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association (EHPEA) gained the support of those stakeholders seriously concerned about the issue. This document that was financed by the Netherlands' Ministry of Agriculture was a product of an idea born from Ethio-Netherlands Horticulture Partnership in June 2006. The document was prepared by Myrtle Dense of Wageningen University.

The Code of Practice has three pillars that compose the basis upon which a memorandum of understanding was signed between concerned parties. Firstly, companies must be responsible to implement sustainable practices, provide suitable facilities and working conditions to protect their farm employees and safeguard their local environment and communities.

Serving the economic interests, the Code states actors must protect and enhance the competitiveness of the Ethiopian flower sector in the international marketplace. The third pillar deals with the reputation of the flower market amongst Ethiopian society and the international consumers in order to promote a positive image.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) has already registered around 250 types of chemicals and pesticides, while the Crop Protection Department maintains a list of chemicals that enter the country. Since the floriculture industry is new, chemicals used in the sector are not necessarily included on the list, as they are imported using a special order from the Office of the Prime Minister.

There are around 120 chemicals that enter the country for the floriculture industry found on the World Health Organisation (WHO) negative pesticide list, while environmentalists have categorised some of these chemicals as having carcinogenic potential.

A carcinogen element is any chemical, biological or physical agent that can potentially be a cause of cancer. The term is most commonly applied to chemicals introduced into the environment by human activity. Such hazardous chemicals like flucy thrinate, chlorothalonil, cypro-conolone, folpet and mancozeb are used in the flower farming sector in Ethiopia.

According to the new Code, the flower industry should not be applying such chemical pesticides that have hazardous effects to humans and the environment while accepted pesticides must be applied safely and effectively. Employees have to be equipped with necessary protection and work under clean conditions to avoid any possible harm in the processes of spraying the pesticides, asserted the Code.

Tewolde-Berhan Gebre-Egziabher (PhD), director general of the Federal Environmental Protection Authority (FEPA), told Fortune that the flower industry is in its infant stage in Ethiopia and therefore, the problem caused by the chemicals and other related environmentally unfriendly conditions are not severely damaging for now.

However, in the future, these problems could have a large impact on the country's environmental health, as well as develop into long-term health concerns for workers. The good news is that the launching of the Code grants an opportunity to address these issues before they grow out of hand; a process government agencies must play a productive role in, he added.

Indeed, Negussu Aklilu, coordinator of the Forum for Environment, sees the Code as a first round victory.

"The Code is the product of a lot of hard work," he told Fortune. "The battle now is for effective implementation."

Companies that fail to implement the Code would face the consequences based on the country's environmental rules and these companies would not be allowed to use EHPEA's logo, sources disclosed.

On his part, Tsegaye Abebe, EHPEA's president, told Fortune: "We have launched the Code and will soon begin implementation, but we must enhance our capacity. This has required us to establish a training unit."

The Association has hired Glenn Humphries to head the training unit along with four other experts.

Labour groups too, see their work cut out for them.

"The presence of the Code gives us access to the employees of the flower farms in the country and makes it possible to begin organisation so that these people may come to understand the issues surrounding the industry, Kassahun Follo, president of CETU told Fortune.

Even those profit motivated stakeholders have taken a reservedly positive outlook on the document.

Solomon underscores, "With the Code in hand, the issue of the environment and labour standards would be addressed in a more appropriate and systematic manner. We can now proceed without the harassment that we have experienced at the hands of environmental activists so that we can penetrate European markets by meeting their demands."

However, some of those coming with the most to gain from the Code, farm workers, are not even aware of its existence.

"I do not know about the Code. I just need protective clothing for my work," Yenesew told Fortune.

Celebrating 2000 with Mixed Emotions

Chicago Tribune -- Sisay Abebe doesn't mind being more than seven years behind the rest of the world in celebrating the dawn of the third millennium.

"There's no Y2K scare on this one," said Abebe, who like many Ethiopian immigrants has grown accustomed to juggling the dueling holidays that arise from differences between the commonly used Gregorian calendar and the ancient Coptic-based calendar of his homeland.

"We have always celebrated two New Years and two Christmases," Abebe said. But ringing in the 21st century at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday "makes my heart pump," he said.

Abebe, 49, marked the occasion with a banquet and bash at his Rogers Park restaurant alongside other Ethiopian immigrants who gathered to savor lamb stew, clink champagne glasses and dance to traditional music.

Felasfaw Gebriel was there, too. But like many in the community, Gebriel said it was hard for him to celebrate when his country is racked with poverty, ethnic divisions and border skirmishes.

More than 20 years after images of starving children with bloated bellies captured the world's attention, Ethiopians still suffer from chronic food shortages. Ethiopia ranks 170th out of 177 on the U.N. Human Development Index, which measures life expectancy, literacy and education for countries worldwide. Border disputes with neighboring Eritrea and rebel uprisings are challenging security in the country.

"You celebrate when you achieve something. What are we going to celebrate for?" asked Gebriel, 44, who left Ethiopia 24 years ago and returned in April to see his relatives in the capital city of Addis Ababa. "I have seen new roads, I have seen buildings, but I measure development if the government can provide the basic necessities for the people. That's what I call growth."

In Addis Ababa, where streets were decorated with streamers and lights, the privileged few who could afford the $170 tickets -- about two months' salary for an average Ethiopian -- attended a concert headlined by the band The Black Eyed Peas. Others watched for free on a big screen in a stadium where the concert was broadcast live.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi touted Tuesday's festivities as "the beginning of the end of the dark ages in Ethiopia."

But Gebriel, who left his homeland a few years after his brother was killed during a military coup in the 1970s, balked at the government's efforts to encourage thousands of emigres to return to Ethiopia for the celebration.

Like some in the community who have called for Ethiopians abroad to boycott festivities, Gebriel felt the government was manipulating the millennium to divert attention from the country's troubles.

"To go there to Ethiopia as if we have accomplished something, that's not right," said Gebriel, who works as a parking lot manager in Chicago. "It's an insult to the poor Ethiopians there."

Assefa Delil, a minister counselor at the Ethiopian embassy in Washington, said millennium celebrations are a symbol of Ethiopia's culture and should not be marred by political divisions.

"It's a big event. It's a nation entering from one millennium to another," Delil said. "You can't pass it. You have to mark it."

Delil said he did not know how much his government spent on the millennium parties, but he said many events were sponsored by private donors.

According to U.S. census estimates for 2006, there are about 2,500 Ethiopians in Cook County, though community organizers say the figure is vastly undercounted. The Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago hosted a symposium about the nation's arts and culture last weekend. But organizer Erku Yimer admitted he had mixed feelings about the millennium celebrations in his homeland.

"Part of me thinks it should be celebrated; part of me thinks it shouldn't," said Yimer, the association's executive director. He hopes the festivities provide a time for reflection about Ethiopia's proud history and possibilities for the future.

"In Ethiopia, the New Year comes immediately after the rainy season, when the flowers are blooming and there is a new space of hope and excitement," Yimer said. "People expect things to get better than before."

Yimer, who is in his 60s, left Ethiopia 30 years ago to study at the University of Chicago and has not returned to his homeland because he fears retribution for criticizing the government.

"There is so much economic hardship in the country. People are deprived of their necessities and many people are not in the mood to celebrate," he said.

Wake Up and Rebuild Black Africa

Daily Champion/allAfrica.com -- LAGOS -- Politically united Africa was once a cause championed by the late President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. But then, that was in the sixties. I can bet he wouldn't continue with such a project, if he were to be alive today. The situation at his time was that which gave no room for a second thought on the issue. It was an atmosphere influenced much by the excitement of colonial independence across the continent.

His visionary politics, no doubt, endeared him and his fellow Pan African leaders to the hearts of the North African icons--King Idris of Libya, Anwar Sadat of Egypt and King Hassan II of Morocco.

Then the issue of race was confined to the back burner as Nkrumah was already married to an Arab Egyptian lady. Anwar Sadat, on the one hand, had part of his roots in the Nubian lineage. To the North West, King Hassan II of Morocco had tied the knots with a black Mauritanian, and who happened to be the mother of the present King of Morocco. There was no suspicion as to their intention of a united Africa. And which made many, especially in the south of the Sahara see them as leading by example.

But the acceptance of these leaders' vision of a colour-blind Africa by the Maghreb population of North Africa was not known. And within the black Africa, some scholars' misgivings about the North Africans were on a different direction. And one of those minds was the late Prof. Sheik Anta Diop of Senegal. He wasn't against a united Africa per se, but Diop was one of the school thought who opined that the Negroid historical heritage in North Africa has to be recognised.

It began to unfold when Diop and another renowned African scholar, Theophilus Obenga, presented a compelling research finding at the UNESCO summit in Cairo, 1974. Their findings dwelt extensively on the metamorphosis of the Nile valley, and the black identity of the ancient civilization in Egypt. It was a research finding hailed by many around the world, and which to the amazement of everyone, was rejected by the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Interestingly, this was happening a few years after the wind of pan-Africanism began to blow across the continent, and two years after the death of its champion, President Kwame Nkrumah.

One other important development that black African leaders neglected at the time was the construction of the Aswan high dam in Egypt. A dam which flooded and permanently displaced the black African natives (Nubians) from their ancestral lands. Today, most priceless Negroid artifacts of Nubian origin are lying below the Aswan Dam. To the Arab government of Egypt, the catastrophe suited their policy of cleansing the remnants of the descendants of the ancient Egyptian civilization.

Perhaps it was the inaction on the part of black African leaders at the time of the construction of the dam, that gave the impetus to the systematic disfiguring and reshaping of most of the latter-day archaeological discoveries in Egypt. This is a cultural thievery that is on-going, and which has seen the Director of Egypt's Supreme Council of antiquities, Zahi Hawas, honored time and again by the Caucasian establishment.

While the de-negroization of the ancient civilization in Egypt continued, no black African leader has talked about it, not to my knowledge. And that brought to question, the purpose of the OAU/AU. There have been series of literary objections, mostly by Afro-American scholars on the issue, but then, their protests have not gone beyond the pages of those new journals.

There is no gain saying the fact that North Africans dislike black Africans. It has historical connotations, but the truth is that they have seen a people at equal pedestal with them at independence become so poor, hungry and mocked around the globe. Thus, watching their collective socio-economic situation get better than ours, and with all the gory pictures coming out of the Sub Sahara, their disdain for black Africans has heightened.

So, the recent opposition by Nigerians to the idea of unity was just one side of the story. It is most certain that the majority of the North African population may not even approve of such a unity, which they would likely see as one based on poverty.

Therefore, when recently the CNN Inside Africa crew went to chat with them on the streets of Cairo, their views were expected as all the respondents rejected the notion of being Africans in the first place. It must be emphasized that this same view is shared by all North Africans from Cairo to Casablanca.

What can be called a fraudulent measure to annihilate blacks in North African history has been passed to generations. The Moroccans of today, will never accept that there are equally dark skinned Beri-Beri or Berbers, or that such a people, at any time in history, inhabited any part of North West Africa.

The homophobia which is enmeshed in history, economics and contemporary politics precipitated the genocide in the western Sudan. It is also behind the planned construction of a new dam to the 6th cataract south of Khartoum, which many political observers thought was politically motivated, and targeted to over-run the homeland and the historical sites of the Sudanese Nubians.

I can say without fear that the unchallenged impunity of the Arabs has also boosted the morale of the minority Arabs in the Niger republic, who have long been involved in the enslavement of the black majority in that part of the world. It was in the same vein of this "final solution" that the Arab-Maghreb Union called on Mauritania to pull out of ECOWAS, a call which they have long heeded.

The latest champion of one-Africa, Muammar Qaddafi, is a guy who enjoys international limelight. He is used to playing weird political games any time he felt like having been forgotten. From the nuclear cat and mouse game with I.A.E.A to erecting camping tents on foreign trips, to sponsoring the OAU name change, travelling with hordes of elegantly dressed female soldiers and all his inept actions. So, his new call for one Africa is just one of those games, after he had serially mass-deported many black Africans, even the ones with resident permits.

Black Africa can still earn the respect of other regions of the world the moment the leaders began to have the welfare of their citizens at heart. This is the difference between them and their North African counterparts, who may want to be life leaders, but have the tradition of providing the basic necessities of modern life for their people--power supply, equipped schools and hospitals, motor-able roads, decent environment and little provision for the handicapped and the unemployed.

If these amenities and services are in place, certainly when the western cameras arrive, there would be less negative images around to shoot. Then our neighbours would be eager and proud to associate with us in any form. We have seen Australia make move to become part of Asia proper. This is what they would otherwise not have contemplated few decades ago. Progress knows no colour or creed. It attracts progressive partnerships from every cultural background.

Finally and before that unity, black Africans must horn their political skills to deal with their Northern neighbours. They must learn to discern the issue of religion from politics because religious hubris and sentiments may impede their political power within a united Africa. Willing tools abound within black Africans; those who will see the Arabs as the descendants of their Prophet, thereby, compromising Sub- Saharan political goals.

It all means that black Africa must first wake up; rebuild her economies, strengthen her regional economic organizations such as the ECOWAS, SADEC, ECCSA, COMESA and so on. These bodies are yet to achieve their set objectives, and by the time they would have done so, the issue of a united Africa would be handled in a different way.

Pentecostal Christian Evangelists Destroy Anchient Artifacts in Nigeria

AP -- ACHINA, Nigeria - Born to a family of traditional priests, Ibe Nwigwe converted to Christianity as a boy. Under the sway of born-again fervor as a man, he gathered the paraphernalia of ancestral worship — a centuries-old stool, a metal staff with a wooden handle and the carved figure of a god — and burned them as his pastor watched.

"I had experienced a series of misfortunes and my pastor told me it was because I had not completely broken the covenant with my ancestral idols," the 52-year-old Nwigwe said of the bonfire three years ago. "Now that I have done that, I hope I will be truly liberated."

Generations ago, European colonists and Christian missionaries looted Africa's ancient treasures. Now, Pentecostal Christian evangelists — most of them Africans — are helping wipe out remaining traces of how Africans once worked, played and prayed.

As poverty deepened in Nigeria from the mid-1980s, Pentecostal Christian church membership surged. The new faithful found comfort in preachers like evangelist Uma Ukpai who promised material success was next to godliness. He has boasted of overseeing the destruction of more than 100 shrines in one district in December 2005 alone.

Achina is typical of towns and villages in the ethnic Igbo-dominated Christian belt of southeastern Nigeria where this new Christian fundamentalism is evident. The old gods are being linked to the devil, and preachers are urging not only their rejection, but their destruction.

The Ezeokolo, the main shrine of Achina — a community of mainly farmers and traders in Nigeria's rain forest belt — has been repeatedly looted of its carved god figures. While no one has been caught, suspects range from people acting on Christian impulses to treasure thieves.

Recently, a village civic association volunteered to build a house to keep burglars away from a giant wooden gong decorated with carved male, female and snake figures. The gong in the market square is reputed to be more than 400 years old, and in decades past was sounded in times of emergency.

"We feared it may be stolen or destroyed like so many of our traditional cultural symbols," said Chuma Ezenwa, a Lagos-based lawyer.

But the move to protect a communal symbol has not changed the minds of others.

Ikechukwu Nzekwe, a 48-year-old farmer who belongs to a traditional masquerade cult, rues the action of his younger brother, a born-again Christian who destroyed the family's masquerade costume, including pieces dating back seven generations.

The masquerade cult was once part theater, appearing at festivals to perform songs and dances, and part traditional police — its members helped enforce mores and customs. Now its role is largely restricted to theater, including performances and races by men in costumes depicting ancestral spirits.

Ukpai, the evangelist, tells followers the artifacts bear "curses and covenants" linked to the gods they represent.

"Since the curses and covenants do not automatically disappear when we repent, Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai is a man called by God for the total liberation of mankind," he says on his Web site, claiming to have the spiritual backing of Jesus to break the curses.

Efforts to speak to Ukpai were unsuccessful, and e-mails to his office asking for an interview received no reply.

Early missionaries to Nigeria condemned most traditional practices as pagan. Roman Catholics and Anglicans later came to terms with most practices, even incorporating some traditional dances into church liturgy. But there was no room for local gods once their erstwhile worshippers became Christians.

Similarly, Muslim preachers in Nigeria's predominantly Islamic north forbade interaction with figures dedicated to local idols, although many cultural dances featuring traditional masks are still tolerated.

Most converts are in constant tension over how much of the old beliefs can be incorporated into their new faith, said Isidore Uzoatu, a specialist in the history of Christianity in Africa affiliated with Nnamdi Azikiwe University in southeastern Nigeria.

"Where the older Catholic and Anglican denominations are more tolerant, the Pentecostals reflect more strictly the idea of a jealous God that would brook no rival," said Uzoatu.

The changing attitudes have not escaped the attention of art dealers.

"This work you see here is from a shrine. It was brought to me by one woman who said her pastor had asked her to get rid of it," said Wahid Mumuni, a dealer at Ikoyi Hotel in Lagos, gesturing toward a carving.

Mumuni said the price was the equivalent of $1,500 and he expected a European visitor to take it away soon.

The National Commission for Museums and Monuments, which is responsible for protecting the country's cultural antiquities, has responded with a sensitization campaign.

"We are ... telling the Christians that they can't detach themselves from their past, that there is a beginning to their history," said Omotosho Eluyemi, a senior commission official.

The commission urges those who do not want to keep sacred objects to take them to local chiefs. It also seeks stricter enforcement of the law prohibiting export of artifacts.

Okwy Achor, an archaeologist, fears the government's response has been weak compared to the fervor of the evangelists.

Achina is part of the region where famed Igbo-Ukwu bronzes were discovered in a private compound in 1958. Older and more sophisticated than the better-known Benin and Ife bronzes, the Igbo-Ukwu bronzes date to between the 8th and 10th centuries and provide proof that a unique form of metallurgy evolved in Nigeria.

While Achina had few Christians 60 years ago, they now constitute more than 95 percent, says Emmanuel Eze, a retired teacher.

"There is hardly anyone around these days to speak up for tradition," said Eze.

Pictured above is an example of a bronze sculpture found in Igbo-Ukwu. Some authorities have simply described the Igbo-Ukwu Roped Pot as the most intricate bronze sculpture ever fabricated by man. Source: www.osondu.com