Last year, countless Kenyan farmers struggled to access quality seeds.
In several regions, what was available were substandard varieties that failed to meet expectations and ultimately drove up costs for farmers.
The root of this crisis lies squarely in the country’s inadequate seed regulation, which has allowed inferior products to proliferate, thus exacerbating the struggles of those who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.
It doesn’t have to be like this.
Kenya’s seed industry operates under the restrictive Seed and Plant Variety Protection Act (CAP 326 ), which authorises the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service to tightly control the certification and sale of seeds.
While Kephis was designed to protect Kenya’s agriculture, it has become an obstacle to innovation because it puts obstacles in the way of farmers accessing locally developed, climate-adaptive seed varieties that could bolster food security.
Everyone knows Kenya has long had the potential to become East Africa’s leader in climate-smart seed production.
Given our sheer glut in expertise, it is easy to imagine Kenya as the region’s primary supplier of hybrid maize and other adaptive crops.
Unfortunately, Kenya cannot claim this leadership in our current regulatory environment.
This is because Kephis’s certification process is painfully slow.
In fact, it takes an average of four years to approve a single seed variety.
In an era of rapid climate change, this timeline is not only utterly inadequate but reeks of civilisational suicide.
That’s why I am of the firm opinion that it is time to break free from the bureaucratic stranglehold at Kephis and introduce a new model I propose: a standard based registered seed system managed by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
Unlike the certification-only approach under Kephis, this system would give seed developers a faster, more flexible route to bringing new varieties to market, thus encouraging innovation while still maintaining essential standards of quality and safety.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not proposing that we ditch Kephis entirely.
All I am saying is that a standard-based registered seed system will give seed companies a choice.
They could opt for Kephis’s certified registration if they can afford the long wait, or they could choose the Kebs path, which would be regulated based on standards rather than certifi cation.
This approach, similar to systems in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, would allow Kenya to modernise its seed production while creating revenue opportunities.
For instance, Kebs could charge a registration fee of one million Kenyan shillings per variety, as well as an annual renewal fee.
Such fees would be modest in comparison to the lost economic potential of our current system and they could fund ongoing compliance checks, ensuring that seeds meet germination and purity standards.
We need a system built for speed to match the times we live in.
That’s why I will be proposing an amendment to the CAP 326 framework to give our farmers more flexibility.
I see a future where Narok County and other fertile regions can grow a diverse array of seeds, from maize, beans, sorghum and more, to feed Kenya and its neighbours.
Interesting enough, recent photos of President William Ruto standing proudly in his flourishing wheat fields in Taita Taveta suggest that he, too, shares this vision.
If nothing else, Ruto’s clear success as a wheat farmer demonstrates Kenya’s potential to become a regional breadbasket, provided we modernise our regulatory system to unlock the full power of agricultural innovation.
As I mentioned in my previous column, I believe that it is high time for Kephis to face some scrutiny on how it exercises its immense power.
I intend to push for an audit to uncover what Kephis has truly achieved with its regulatory mandate and how effectively it has served our farmers.
Kenya’s political scene is often divisive but food security is an issue that unites us all.
That’s why I am supporting former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s bid to chair the African Union.
Raila and I have a mind-meld on this issue that is rooted in our shared vision for Kenya and Africa.
Together, we believe in a future where all African countries have food security.
The time is ripe to improve Kenya and Africa’s seed system, unlock our agricultural potential and secure a future where we are all fed by Africa’s own harvest.
LEDAMA OLEKINA
Narok Senator
