EDITORIAL
A new seed law now before the Senate has raised serious concerns. The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service has warned that the Seeds and Plant Varieties (Amendment) Bill, 2025, could weaken the country’s strict seed quality controls and expose farmers to fake, low-quality seeds.
The Bill proposes shifting regulation from Kephis to the Kenya Bureau of Standards. It also introduces a new category called “standard seed,” which may not go through the rigorous checks that certified seeds undergo today.
Kephis fears this could open the floodgates to seed sellers who do not care about germination rates or suitability to local conditions.
At stake is Kenya’s food security. When a farmer buys seed, they are betting a whole season on it. They must trust that it will grow, mature and produce enough to feed their family or earn a living. If this trust is broken, livelihoods will suffer.
Field testing and strict lab checks are not bureaucratic delays; they are safeguards. Different crops perform differently depending on climate and soil. That is why current law requires every new variety to be tested in real farms, across multiple locations and seasons.
Removing these trials is risky.
The Senate must listen carefully to all views, especially the experts who understand how seeds work. Any change to the law must strengthen, not weaken, the system.
Farmers must never be left guessing whether their seed will sprout. That is a gamble Kenya cannot afford.
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Quote of the Day: “More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause.” —American matriarch, mother of JFK, RFK & Ted, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on July 22, 1890
