The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) has
raised alarm over a proposed law that could weaken the country’s seed quality
control system and expose farmers to counterfeit seeds.
The Seeds and Plant Varieties (Amendment) Bill 2025 seeks
to introduce a standards-based seed registration system, to be managed by the
Kenya Bureau of Standards. The proposed law aims to amend the Seeds and Plant
Varieties Act (Cap. 326) by introducing a standards-based seed registration
system.
But Kephis warns that transferring seed regulation from its
oversight to Kebs could cause confusion and open the market to poor-quality
seeds.
Kephis Managing Director Prof. Theophilus Mutui said the
Bill reflects a misunderstanding of how seed regulation works in Kenya.
Seed regulation involves two critical components, seed
certification and plant variety protection, which Kephis currently oversees.
The Bill claims it takes too long to register or release new
seed varieties and proposes a new category called “standard seed” to address
this. However, Mutui dismissed the idea as misleading and potentially
dangerous.
“There are four internationally recognised seed classes:
breeder, pre-basic, basic, and certified. Certified seed is what farmers buy,
and it must go through rigorous checks,” he said.
Mutui said Kephis supervises every stage of certified seed
production, from grower registration and field inspection to harvesting, processing
and laboratory testing.
“Seeds must meet strict purity and germination standards, in
some cases as high as 99 per cent, before they are approved for sale and issued
a unique lot number,” he added.
“During distribution, Kephis inspectors monitor the supply
chain, ensure seeds haven't expired, verify that aggregators are registered and
conduct random sampling for quality control.”
Mutui warned that introducing a “standard seed” category
outside the established system could lead to exploitation.
“Someone could grow seed, label it as ‘standard,’ and sell
it with just 30 per cent germination rate. That’s dangerous for farmers and
food security,” he said.
He also expressed concern over the Bill’s proposal to allow
variety registration based solely on laboratory analysis, bypassing mandatory
National Performance Trials. He said this could result in varieties that
perform well in lab settings but fail under real farm conditions.
The Bill proposes that a variety will be registered based on
lab test alone without locational trial. It states that registration of a new
variety will be conducted after doing lab analysis without doing National
Performance Trials.
Mutui said this means a variety could be good when analysed
in the lab but might not perform well in farmer’s environment.
“For example, maize variety 614 does well in high-altitude
areas like Kitale but performs poorly in regions like Ukambani or the Coast.
Without field trials, we risk approving seeds that won’t work for farmers,” he
said.
Currently, new varieties undergo two seasons of NPTs and DUS
(distinctness, uniformity, and stability) tests before being listed on the
national register maintained by Kephis.
Mutui also criticised a clause in the Bill that suggests seed developers or merchants self-regulate labelling and take responsibility if seeds are fake.
“That’s the role of government, not private companies. The
state must protect farmers by enforcing standards and punishing dealers of fake
seeds,” he said.
The Seeds and Plant Varieties Act (Cap. 326) Bill was read
for the first time on July 9, 2025, and has now been referred to the Senate
Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to facilitate public
participation and consider views and recommendations from the public when
preparing its report to the Senate by July 29, 2025.
Mutui warned that giving Kebs a role legally and technically assigned to Kephis would destabilise Kenya’s seed regulatory system and expose farmers to substandard products.
