Kisumu — Threatened by a likely ban due to its 'inferior' exports, Kenya has launched fresh campaigns to protect its UK horticulture market against attempts to block its products over environmental concerns.

Kenya's horticulture industry players have launched the 'Grown Under the Sun' campaign to inform British consumers about the development benefits associated with sourcing fresh produce from Kenya.

The chairman of the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), Mr. Erastus Mureithi, said the campaign intensifies the already strong lobbying in Britain, which has won over the support of the media and supermarket owners.

"We want to show that fresh cut flowers from Kenya are grown under the natural sun and have a carbon footprint that is five times less than flowers grown in heated greenhouses in Europe," he said.

The 'Grown Under the Sun' mark will also serve to remind British consumers that purchasing fresh Kenyan produce helps sustain livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of farming communities in Kenya who depend on trade with Britain.

Mureithi was speaking during a gala dinner in Kisumu following the presentation of the coveted KFC's Code of Practice Silver Certificate 7th Edition to a local farm, Simbi Roses Limited.

Simbi Roses joined KFC in 2003 and is a member of the Sansora Group of Companies chaired by the Roads minister, Mr. Simeon Nyachae (pictured right).

Nyachae urged Kenyans to be attentive to constant attempts by foreign agents to derail the growth of the local flower industry.

He warned that should such schemes succeed in killing the industry, thousands of Kenyans will be rendered jobless.

Kenya has in the recent past faced major battles to protect its EU market following campaigns by supermarkets in the UK to block its products over environmental concerns.

Kenya's High Commissioner to Britain, Mr. Joseph Muchemi, launched the new 'Grown Under the Sun' campaign at the Royal Show, Britain 's largest agricultural trade show last week.

The campaign's logo, according to African Practice, a private consultancy firm that lobbies for African states on trade issues in Europe, will appear in food retail outlets and carried in the media in the UK with support of major supermarkets.

Kenya's horticulture industry is estimated to support around 135,000 Kenyans.