Kenyan farmers to benefit from Sh17.8 billion seed market grant

Vice chairman of Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture Kareke Mbiuki (right) with the Director Tegemeo Institute Dr Mary Mathenge at a workshop last year. PHOTO | FILE |

What you need to know:

  • Farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda do not fully benefit from advances meant to develop the seed sector because of infiltration by too many middle men.
  • The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari) has also ascertained through studies that roughly four out of ten seed packets in the country contain counterfeit seed, and three quarters of Kenyan farmers have planted fake seeds at some point.

Kenyan farmers are among beneficiaries of a Sh17.8 billion grant set to link farmers to genuine seed markets in the East African region.

Farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda do not fully benefit from advances meant to develop the seed sector because of infiltration by too many middle men.

The grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) specifically targets ridding the region of counterfeit farm inputs.

“Some seed companies have increased penetration of counterfeit farm inputs such as seeds. The grains supplied to farmers result in poor yields or seeds that do not germinate at all,” said a statement by the donors.

The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari) has also ascertained through studies that roughly four out of ten seed packets in the country contain counterfeit seed, and three quarters of Kenyan farmers have planted fake seeds at some point.

The funds released this month are targeting a thorough programme whose piloting phase is already on and is set to come to an end in August 2016.
Through community-based organisations in counties, the seeds will be supplied to farmers all over the country.

The move supplements a new project under the Alliance for Seed Industry in Eastern and Southern Africa (Asiesa), which has began stringent seed regulations and education of farmers in Kenya and the wider East African market in an attempt to weed out fake seeds.

The alliance advocates for an enabling environment through seed policies and healthy competition in the sector to encourage seed companies to maintain supply of locally-tested, high-quality seed for farmers.

Though seed companies are blamed for counterfeit seeds that get through to farmers, regional firms have refuted the blame saying that seeds are approved by ministry of Agriculture, Kari and the African Insect Science for Food and Health.

Some counterfeit seeds in the Kenyan market include cereal, oil crops, fruits and vegetables.

Statistics by the ministry of Livestock and agriculture state that Kenya is a middle range player in the global seed market, with a Sh4 billion seed market; the global seed market on the other hand is worth Sh27 trillion, out of which the continent’s share is worth Sh72 billion.

Experts, among them the African Seed Traders Association (Afsta) secretary-general, Justin Rakotoarisaona, attribute the lag in the country’s agricultural sector to low uptake of certified seed.

POOR YIELDS

The African Union, which is keen on reducing food insecurity on the continent, blame the seed export figures on poor yields.

“There is a serious need to enhance the business competitiveness of seed companies and value chain enterprises in the region,” said Ms Janet Edeme, head of the Rural Economic Division of the African Union (AU) Commission Africa in a statement.

She further named poor seed policies and insufficient supply of quality seeds among greatest barriers thwarting the high potential of the country’s agricultural sector.

The seed situation in Kenya has been worsened by unscrupulous agro dealers who supply adulterated versions of branded seed varieties, thereby leading to poor harvest.

She urged governments to partner in confronting challenges represented by developments in the international seed industries, and streamline legal and technical issues restricting access to genetic resources and biodiversity.

“The AU assembly has recognised the continent’s potential for creating its own seed-producing industry and identified the need to develop a comprehensive, integrated programme and framework for the revitalisation of the seed sector,” she noted.

Mary Mathenge, director of Tegemeo Institute, affirmed that access to improved seeds could boost agricultural productivity in Kenya and the wider African region.

The International Fertiliser Development Centre estimates counterfeit agriculture inputs at 30 per cent of agro sales in sub-Saharan Africa, and blames law enforcement agencies, ministries of agriculture and the private sector for allowing the vice to thrive.