Farmers Seek a Stronger Voice in Kenya’s Seed Law Review

As Kenya gears up to review the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act, farmers and stakeholders in the agriculture sector are not being left behind. They are taking action to ensure that the voices of small‑scale farmers across the country are not only heard but also represented in the process.

The stakeholders met at the Seed Savers Network Centre in Gilgil, Nakuru County, to prepare a memorandum spearheaded by Seed Savers Network Kenya and with support from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.

The forum brought farmers, civil society organisations and governemnt officials together providing an opportunity to contribute to the memorandum about how they would like to see the future of seed laws in the country.

This initiative follows a significant court ruling in a case filed by farmers who challenged sections of the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act. The court largely agreed with the farmers, further strengthening the need to protect them from punitive laws that hinder optimal production.

Dr. Martin Oulu, founder and coordinator of ISFA, and the individual tasked with collecting farmers’ views across the country, says the memorandum is intended to capture farmers’ lived experiences and expectations before the legislative review process reaches more rigid stages where it will be difficult to add anything.

“The memorandum that we are working on is essentially a reaction or a response to the court case where farmers challenged the constitutionality of certain sections of the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act,” Dr. Oulu says.

According to him, the government had already initiated the process of engaging stakeholders on reviewing the law even before the court ruling. However, the judgment has added urgency and stronger justification for the review process.

“Sometimes those working in policy spaces assume they know what the farmers want. But that is an assumption that in many cases is not true because they are not the farmers, therefore they don’t know their lived experiences,” Dr. Oulu explained.

Tabby Munyiri the Communication and Advocacy Officer at Seed Savers Network says the next step is to validate the memorandum, that will involve recalling farmers and other sector stakeholders to familiarize themselves with the content and further add to it where neccesary.

“It is important for farmers to familiarize with it so that they can push for support from their local leaders,” she says.

Tabby further says validation will help farmers understand what exactly is in the document and therefore involve their local leaders to assist its incorporation. 

The process of developing the memorandum began several months ago with planning led by the Seed Savers Network, an organization advocating for farmers’ rights to save and exchange indigenous seeds.

Recently, farmers gathered in a physical meeting at the Seed Savers Network Centre in Gilgil to discuss the court judgment and ongoing discussions around the law.

During the sessions, farmers and stakeholders shared their views on issues such as the role of community seed banks, access to indigenous seeds, and how traditional farming practices should be recognized within the legal framework. Their feedback will now be compiled into a draft memorandum before being returned to them for further review.

Dr. Oulu noted that the farmers themselves do not always share the same views on every issue, but such debates are part of a healthy democratic process.

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