Whose interest does the Kenyan seeds law protect?
Whose interest does the Kenyan seeds law protect?
Seed is the source of life. It is critical in food production, nutrition, agricultural development, rural livelihoods and agrobiodiversity. Farmers across the globe have saved and exchanged indigen…
It is therefore right to say that the Kenyan government and its respective seed policies undervalues farmer managed seed systems. Smallholder farmers in Kenya account for 80% of the farming population yet they are actively discouraged from farming by state agricultural policy that promotes commercial seed provision and modernisation of agriculture. Farmer seed systems provide equal access to seeds to farmers regardless of their economic status. Which begs the question: Why should policy support be geared towards formal seed systems when informal seed systems are currently supporting agricultural production?