QUICK TAKE Flores de Serrezuela, Colombia


Product: carnations, spray carnations, ‘Freedom’ roses Production area: 54 hectares (133 acres) Year-round employees: 900 Target market: traditional wholesalers Floresdeserrezuela.com


market. It’s natural that many Colombian growers cater to these big buyers with their products and practices. Though re- duced, mass-market sales have sustained the industry during the economic crisis. Nonetheless, Samper remains stead-


fast in his longstanding commitment to his traditional customers: “We don’t want to get into the mass market,” he said. “The traditional market is the one we are comfortable working with.” Why? Mass-market buyers “like


quality, obviously, but they’re more about price.” To meet their pricing demands, Samper explained, Flores de Serrezuela would need to make some radical changes: “For example, we would probably have to increase the number of stems we produce per square meter by 30 percent.” There is no way to achieve that higher density without sacrificing quality. And that he will not do.


Many Markets, One Standard Founded in 1985 by Samper’s father, Mauricio Samper, Flores de Serrezuela grows carnations and spray carnations along with roses in just one variety, the very popular red rose ‘Freedom’. Those flowers go to customers all over the world. In fact, the U.S. accounts for only 30 percent of all the farm’s exports — far less than the 80 percent reported for Colombian flower exports overall. Compared with other growers,


Samper has made a special effort to diversify the farm’s export market: About 25 percent of his crop goes to Japan, 18 percent to Russia, the remain- der to Europe and other markets. “Our strategy is to target niche markets, wher- ever they are,” he explained, “in essence, markets that appreciate quality.” Often enough, these are markets


that also demand high standards of sustainability, in terms of how the farm treats both workers and the envi- ronment. Here too, Samper believes, sustainability goes hand in hand with the kind of quality that relies on a fine- tuned, data-oriented management style. Sustainable practices tend to increase business efficiency; sometimes they can even reduce costs. “This pandemic shouldn’t be an


excuse for us to abandon good sus- tainable practices,” said Samper. For example, about 70 percent of the rainwater that falls on the Serrezuela


WATER WISE A system of funnels, trenches and reservoirs recaptures 70 percent of the rainwater that falls on greenhouses at Flores de Serrezuela — limiting the need to tap groundwater and preserving the environment.


greenhouses is captured and used for crops. Drip irrigation minimizes runoff and evaporation. An ecosystem-based strategy of integrated pest management helps to limit the use of pesticides.


Fingers Crossed For Mother’s Day, Samper projected a re- duction in orders of 60 percent. Instead, it was 50 percent. Hoping for a slow but steady recovery in markets worldwide, he is optimistically forecasting a 30 percent reduction for all of 2020. If the recovery is weaker than that,


on an international basis, “Eventually we will have to take more strict measures,” he admitted. “My goal is to survive this crisis without having to lay off anyone, without having to reduce their sala- ries, without having to take from the benefits that they already have. So far, we’ve managed to do it. We’ll see what happens in the next months.” For now, sticking to the highest


possible standards of quality and sus- tainability seems to Samper like the best way forward — for the sake of the business, but also for the sake of healthy people and a healthy environment.


COMMUNITY MINDSETNuestra Gente Florece (“Our People Flourish”) is Flores de Serrezuela’s constantly evolving program of benefits, above and beyond basic workers’ rights, that encourages a low turnover and the retention of loyal employees with earned expertise.


Bruce Wright is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists. bwright@safnow.org


The magazine of the Society of American Florists (SAF) 41


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52