Several unscrupulous seed traders have been seized in Kisii and Nyamira during a major swoop conducted by Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) officials and the police.
Four of the seven suspects were seized in Nyamira while the other three were picked from various market centres in Kisii.
They were found hawking suspected fake seeds to the farmers.
They risk Sh1 million in fines or two years in prison.
In Kisii, they were picked from Nyakoe, Suneka and Daraja Mbili markets.
In Daraja Mbili, for instance, one suspect seller was arrested while selling fake maize seeds in a measuring tin in contravention of set rules.
The disclosure of the arrests was made Friday morning by a milt-agency team led by Kisumu Kephis Acting Deputy Kephis Director Chelangat Tonui.
Tonui was flanked by other officials from the office of the Kisii County Commissioner, the Regional Police Commander.
"Besides arresting the three suspects in Kisii, we impounded 210 kilograms of seeds handled by people with certification," stated Tonui.
They were addressing journalists at the Dallas Premier Hotel in Kisii.
In Nyamira, a total of 100 kilograms were impounded from the four suspects.
"Eighty per cent of the seeds were being handled in open-air markets," Tonui noted.
Similar crackdowns are going on across the country to help weed out rogue proprietors taking advantage of planting season to steal from farmers, she said Tonui
"We are visiting all agrovets, and all other outlets to ensure that the farmers are not duped to buy fake farm inputs," added Tonui.
The primary motive in this swoop and more others going across other regions, stated the acting Kephis director, was to smooth out the illicit dealers from the market.
She said low yields are often a result of the dealers infiltrating the market and selling with fake inputs.
"We advise the farmers, as a matter of precaution, to only buy seeds from licensed agro vets if they are to be safe," she said.
Chege Maina, representing the County Commissioner, said the government continues to remain vigilant and would not hesitate to take action on individuals found selling fake seeds.