Home East Africa Kenyan Farmers Urge Amendment to Seed Sharing Law to Use Traditional Varieties

East Africa

Kenyan Farmers Urge Amendment to Seed Sharing Law to Use Traditional Varieties

January 30, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

Seed sharing in Kenya is punishable by two years in prison or a fine; more than a dozen farmers have filed a case to challenge the law.

Kenya’s National Seed Bank stores more than 50,000 varieties of seed. Founded in 1988, the facility aims to protect seeds for research and reintroduction to farms.

The center has become all the more important in the face of climate change, which has led to some traditional varieties being lost. Some of the traditional varieties that were abandoned are now being developed since they are more resilient and withstand climate change.

According to the law, any person found sharing, exchanging, selling, producing, and multiplying uncertified seeds is liable to a prison sentence of up to a maximum of 2 years or a fine of up to KES 1,000,000 or both.

In 2012, Kenya’s parliament passed a law to set out regulations for the country’s production, processing, testing, certification, and marketing of seeds. The Seeds and Plants Varieties Act also sought to impose restrictions on the introduction of new varieties, control seed importation, and grant proprietary rights to persons breeding or discovering new varieties.

However, smallholder farmers in Kenya are currently engaged in a legal battle with the government pushing for the review of the regulation which has been in force for 12 years. Some 15 smallholder farmers, in September 2022, filed a petition at the country’s High Court seeking to compel the government to review sections of a law that bans the sharing and exchange of uncertified and unregistered seeds.

Some farmers argue that a 2012 law barring seed sharing has hampered efforts to improve the country’s seed system. Farmers who cannot afford fertilizers are advised to go for hybrid seeds of traditional varieties. Seed sharing in Kenya is punishable by two years in prison or a fine; more than a dozen farmers have filed a case to challenge the law.