Kenyan farmers continue to suffer from low purchasing power and limited supply of quality seed, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Andrew Karanja has said.
The situation is exacerbated by exploitation by unscrupulous dealers in counterfeit seeds and limited farmer awareness on seed quality.
These challenges persist despite Kenya and other African countries investing heavily in seed production infrastructure and services over the last two decades.
“Yet many farmers in Africa still face a myriad of policy and market-related challenges in accessing quality seeds. The government’s radical move to enhance production of certified seed and combat counterfeit seed is strategic to increase access to certified seed,” he said.
The CS spoke during the first international seed quality conference held August 19-22 at Kephis headquarters in Nairobi.
The conference was held under the theme of seed quality assurance and technological advances for climate adaptation towards sustainable food and nutritional security.
It aimed to provide an opportunity for seed actors to share experiences, achievements, challenges, opportunities and solutions.
Over 200 delegates showcased innovations and technologies in the seed industry to provide solutions to existing challenges including those brought about by climate change.
The event brought together private and public, national, regional and international stakeholders in the seed arena drawn from Africa and the world.
CS Karanja said access to quality seeds and inputs is a critical determinant of agricultural productivity as it lays the foundation for successful and sustainable agriculture.
“Seed certification is a robust process that plays a pivotal role in promoting crop productivity, maintaining genetic integrity, and fostering market confidence."
Agriculture PS Paul Rono said the seed sector in Africa has not developed to its full potential due to a myriad of challenges.
These include limited capacity for production of certified seed, low adoption of improved varieties, complementary technologies, and inconsistent legal and regulatory framework.
This is in addition to inadequate supply of seeds of suitable varieties for marginal areas, prevalence of adulterated seeds in the market, and unavailability of high-quality seeds of high nutrition.
Other challenges include fewer climate resilient crop varieties, inadequate implementation of harmonised seed policies and standards in the region, inadequate variety improvement and seed quality enhancing techniques, systemic stresses such as drought, low soil fertility, and prevalence of pests and diseases.
Rono said these challenges require working together to develop effective interventions.
“Despite the aforementioned challenges, we have continued to record a steady increase in the area under seed production in Kenya in the last decade. We have in turn heavily invested in seed production infrastructure and services leading to radical moves by the government to enhance production of certified seeds,” he said.
“We cannot overemphasise the role and contribution of the seed industry in the nation's economy, which ensures that the ultimate user of the certified seeds benefits from buying and planting certified seeds. This calls for concerted effort of all sector players to ensure that all established systems are adhered to the letter.”
Prof Theophilus Mutui, the managing director of Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, said Kenya's seed industry comprises the formal and informal seed sectors with the latter accounting for a higher proportion of seeds planted by subsistence farmers.
He said the seed certification system enhances farmer access to high quality, climate resilient and high-yielding seeds and propagating materials for enhanced productivity.
Mutui said the certification label, which is a mark of quality, is provided to allow farmers to verify the authenticity of the seed thereby contributing to measures to curb counterfeit seed.
In addition, Kephis undertakes stakeholder sensitisation on the importance of certified seed to increase their awareness and access to certified seed and enhance their ability to detect fake seed and report for further legal and procedural action.