Jail fake seed sellers, they're economic saboteurs – Kephis

At least 65 people have been arrested and charged over the last month as the government intensifies the war against fake seeds and fertilizers.

The latest arrest was in Nakuru county where a suspect was found with 101kg of treated seeds, a seed dressing machine and chemicals, 18 bags of untreated maize and 37,780 pieces of Kenya Seed packaging materials, all worth Sh13 million.

On Thursday, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service chairman Joseph M’eruaki said they have so far intercepted around 18 metric tonnes of fake seeds of various types across the country, worth over Sh80 million.

“But most of it is maize,” M’eruaki told journalists at Serena Hotel.

Kephis is a government parastatal whose responsibility is to ensure the quality of agricultural inputs and produce to prevent adverse impacts on the economy, the environment, and human health.

The body has so far conducted surveillance and raids in Kericho, Bomet, Tans Nzoia, Bungoma, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kiambu, Murang’a, Nakuru, Nairobi, Kajiado, Makueni, Nyamira and Kisii counties.

M’eruaki decried the situation saying Kenyans have lost their values and will go to any lengths to get money, including killing or endangering the lives of even their family members.

He said seed is key in food production and security in the country, thus messing with the seed is messing with Kenyans’ lives.

“These people who are committing the crime of seed are economic saboteurs. They are contributing to food insecurity. We will get you and we will jail you for a long time. You cannot hide anymore,” M’eruaki said.

He said such crimes attract a fine of up to a million shillings and/or a two-year jail term.

The Kephis chair said they will roll out a sensitization campaign to help farmers be able to differentiate genuine seeds and fertilizers from fake ones.

“Like in every seed packet, there is the Kephis logo where you can scratch to reveal a code, which can be sent to 1393. There will be a message sent to you confirming whether the seeds you purchased are genuine or not,” M’eruaki said.

He said farmers must also ensure the shop where they are buying the seeds from has a Kephis license and is allowed to sell such seeds.

“If it doesn’t have then we know that there is a problem,” the Kephis chair said.

He said Kephis is increasing its human capacity to be able to reach out to, especially, the agriculture-producing counties, to monitor seed production.

He called on Kenyans to be on the lookout for fake seed vendors.

“We are sending teams to every part of the country to monitor the seed vendors because we have the backing of the highest office of the land,” he said.

He said agricultural transformation, which is one of the priorities of the Kenya Kwanza regime, cannot be achieved without the seed, a main ingredient in the production system.

Focus is now shifting to the Eastern part of the country where the planting season is kicking in, to ensure farmers get only the genuine seed to plant.

“We are asking our judicial system to support us in this fight because those people who are selling fake seeds, just like those selling fake fertilizers are economic saboteurs and enemies of the Republic,” M’eruaki said.

Planting fake seeds is a waste of time, money and other resources.

“By the time you realize you have been coned, you have already ploughed the land, planted, weeded, and after about six months, you get zero harvest. That is time, money and energy wasted,” he noted.

The Kephis boss revealed that they are reviewing some legislation like the Seed Act to introduce more stringent and punitive measures to deter unscrupulous businessmen from taking advantage of innocent and ignorant farmers.

He advised farmers to buy seeds from Kephis-certified Agro-dealers and not kiosks, warning against taking shortcuts.

“If you buy seeds in kiosks or the open market, we cannot guarantee the quality,” he said.