Samoa’s blooming ornamental horticulture sector is poised to play a role in the country’s domestic and export markets. Ornamental horticulture holds cultural and traditional value in Samoan society. It refers to the cultivation, production, and use of plants, flowers, and trees primarily for their aesthetic and decorative purposes.

Ornamentals are grown and marketed within Samoa for use at special ceremonies, public and private events. Well-maintained ornamental landscapes enhance the visual appeal of Samoa’s urban and rural areas, attracting tourists and locals alike.

There is a high demand for new and exotic flowers to add to the mix of Samoa’s existing flowering pool, to be used in decorations to further captivate those attending. The industry has been under-developed in the past 30 years and growers’ plight have been marred with lack of access to funding sources targeting cut-flower and a narrow/limited genetic pool of exotic ornamentals.

Ornamental horticulture is an emerging sector in Samoa, and PHAMA Plus has provided support to a farmer group known as FAMA OMONEA, which is officially registered. The group consists of 36 members, with 24 men and 12 women. This collaboration aims to produce high-quality flowers to meet the growing domestic demand and eventually expand into the America Samoa and New Zealand markets for export purposes. 

The collaboration seeks to:

• Support women’s economic empowerment: improve the availability and access to unique and exotic (imported) ornamentals in order to increase the number of flowering plants that are available for women to breed, propagate, market and generate income and for improved mental wellness.
• Export Samoan ornamentals: The aim is for the member groups to initially benefit from the initiative, strengthening the domestic market and with the aim of building the ornamental horticulture industry’s capability for export, initially to American Samoa.
• Support vision of Samoa’s Agriculture and Fisheries Sector Plan (2023-2024): the launching of the new exotic variety of orchids is part of a larger plan to build the capacity of the ornamental horticulture sector in Samoa which supports increased security and economic growth through diversification.
• Establish nurseries: PHAMA Plus assisted FAMA-OMONEA to establish and maintain a local, reliable pool of plants from which growers can source nursery planting materials, as well as creating a central avenue where small growers can sell their cut flowers through a well-coordinated marketing approach. To date, 40 nurseries have been established. rs will be produced for commercial purposes.