In efforts to increase production of quality seeds and fight counterfeits, the government is undertaking various initiatives, including the review of the National Seed Policy of 2010 and the development of a modern and more inclusive Seeds and Plant Varieties Law.
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary (CS) Dr Andrew Karanja said that the ministry is also working on strengthening related agricultural policies and legal frameworks that support integrated seed systems and local seed growers to produce quality seeds while enhancing industry competitiveness.
“In Kenya, where agriculture is a vital part of our economy, ensuring access to high-quality seeds is key to realising improved productivity and food security. It is essential that we develop a robust and sustainable seed sector that will not only enhance food security but also empower our farmers and stimulate economic growth,” said the CS.
Dr Karanja, in a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Director-Crop Resources Management Leonard Kubok during the 12th Seed Trade Association of Kenya (STAK) Congress and Seed Expo, said that Kenya has over the years developed a vibrant and competitive seed industry that stands out in the region and the continent.
“Our seed industry is liberalised, and the government’s role has remained that of sector regulation and quality control. The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) has continued to play a critical regulatory role in streamlining operations of the seed industry to ensure that farmers have access to quality seeds,” said the CS.
Dr. Karanja said that certified seed production has tremendously improved, and seed companies continue to play an increasing role in research, breeding, production, and trade of seeds of improved crop varieties.
“Despite the progress made, the seed industry continues to face significant challenges. Seed use and demand have increased, particularly for maize seed, with the annual maize seed requirement of 52,066 metric tonnes (MT) and bean seed requirements of 86,078 MT. However, the supply by seed companies is not able to meet this requirement,” explained the CS.
Dr. Karanja said that the prevalence of counterfeit seeds remains a significant problem, and despite efforts to implement security measures, such as sticker labels to verify genuine seeds, many farmers still encounter fake products that lead to poor yields and financial losses.
The CS explained that access to quality certified seeds is often limited due to high costs, which can be prohibitive for smallholder farmers, adding that the price of good seeds is a barrier, particularly in sectors like potato farming, where farmers have expressed frustration over the affordability of certified varieties.
“The government, working through the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) and the National Gene Bank, continues to promote the establishment of community seed banks for local seeds, especially for categories of farmer-preferred seeds which private seed companies do not find attractive to produce,” said Dr. Karanja.
The CS said that the government is taking a strong stance against the distribution of counterfeit seeds by enforcing regulations through inspections and penalties for offenders.
Seed Traders Association of Kenya (STAK) Chairman Wellington Wasike said that they are exploring the review of policies to increase the penalties for those found producing and selling counterfeit seeds so that the penalties can be high enough to deter people from engaging in counterfeiting.
He added that in efforts to deal with counterfeit seeds, they are looking at empowering agrovets, especially those in far-flung areas, by training them on how to identify counterfeit seeds so that they can avoid falling prey to unscrupulous counterfeiters.
“We are also looking at ways of onboarding county governments into the surveillance mechanism,” said Wasike.
He explained that the uptake of scratching stickers is good, but they need to do more in terms of sensitisation, especially in far-flung areas where they have noticed that farmers just look at the sticker and say that it is okay without scratching it, sending the details to a code, and getting a free SMS informing them if the seeds are genuine or not.
Wasike disclosed that there is a lot of technology developed by KALRO and other organisations, but the challenge is the reports are gathering dust on shelves, and the Expo is geared towards popularising these emerging technologies for the benefit of farmers.
KEPHIS Managing Director (MD) Prof Theophilus Mutui said that they have doubled their efforts in tracking and tracing any person selling fake seeds, and the ones they have arrested have been taken to court.
“We have pending court cases in Kitale and Njoro. Recently, we made arrests in Meru of people who were packaging fake seeds after colouring them,” explained Prof. Mutui.
He disclosed that the penalty for dealing in fake seeds is as high as one Sh 1 million, but at times the offenders are fined only Sh 100,000.
“The person arrested in Njoro had fake seeds worth Sh13 million and was fined Sh100,000, which we feel is low since they can just pay it and continue with their fake seeds business,” he said.
Prof. Mutui called on the courts to give maximum fines to the offenders so that it can act as a deterrent.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
