Seed
Seed industry stakeholders have been urged to stay vigilant and support the Government to fight unscrupulous dealers in fake seed.
Andrew Mwihia Karanja, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, stressed that everyone including farmers, the County and National Government stakeholders and industry players, must strictly adhere to the prescribed procedures and regulations and whistle blow, so that peddling of counterfeit seeds is curbed.
“We cannot afford to dilute our efforts and threaten our livelihoods through the actions and inactions of a few non-patriotic individuals”, the CS warned when he officially opened the 1st International Seed Quality Conference at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Nairobi.
He noted that access to quality seeds and inputs is a critical determinant of agricultural productivity, as it lays the foundation for successful and sustainable agriculture.
” Seed certification is a robust process that plays a pivotal role in promoting crop productivity, maintaining genetic integrity, and fostering market confidence, considering that Kenya and other African countries have invested heavily in seed production, infrastructure and services over the last two decades”, he added.
The CS said that the government’s radical move to enhance production of certified seed and combat counterfeit seed is strategic to increase access to certified seed, however, many farmers in Africa still face a myriad of policy and market related challenges, in accessing quality seeds.
He clarified that low purchasing power, limited supply of quality seed, which is exploited by unscrupulous dealers in counterfeit seed and limited farmer awareness on seed quality has seen KEPHIS, together with the industry stakeholders intervene through market surveillance, post control procedures, creation of awareness to stakeholders and increasing registration of seed companies.
Karanja said that the theme of the conference, “Seed quality assurance and technological advances for climate adaptation towards sustainable food and nutritional security”, resonates well with the dreams and ambitions of Kenya’s Constitution which explicitly guarantees the right to adequate food.
He noted that the theme rhymes well with the Government’s Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which has prioritized Agriculture, as one of the five (5) pillars of its economic recovery plan.
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Andrew Mwihia Karanja, accompanied by the PS Dr. Kipronoh Ronoh observing some of the technologies displayed at KEPHIS during the 1st International Seed Conference.
Dr. Karanja acknowledged that the seed industry has greatly been affected by climate change, extreme weather events and environmental disruptions translating to low production of certified seed.
In order to mitigate the effects of climate change on food security, the CS said that it is essential that governments and organizations take proactive steps to develop strategies for enhanced availability of quality seed that can better withstand extreme weather events and climate variability.
“We need a targeted approach geared to the particular challenge faced by each region. I am impressed by the contribution of KEPHIS and the seed industry stakeholders in this conference who have constantly ensured that farmers are presented with quality farm inputs including certified seeds”, the CS said.
He added that the dissemination and use of high-quality seeds have great benefits to increase and continue crop production, improve household incomes, minimize risks of insect pests and plant diseases, and enhance the crop production patterns, which would increase agricultural production sustainability and thus viable seed supply system strategies are important to ensure the availability of quality seed of superior varieties to farmers in a timely and affordable fashion.
KEPHIS Managing Director, Prof. Theophilus M. Mutui, said the Institution has invested in automation of procedures and integration with other existing Government systems, to streamline trading activities and reduce the cost of doing business.
He added that the Seed Certification and Plant Variety Protection System (SCPVP), has been a game changer in the industry, automating service delivery and enhancing customer service. The provision of the certification label as a mark of quality, Prof. Mutui emphasized, allows farmers to verify the authenticity of the seed, thereby, contributing to measures to curb counterfeit seed.
In addition, he added that KEPHIS undertakes stakeholder sensitization on the importance of certified seed to increase their awareness and access to certified seed and enhance their ability to detect fake seed and report for further legal and procedural action.
“Quality seed is the one which has genetic purity, physical purity, viability and has good physiological condition in accordance with the prescribed standards of seed certification which is a crucial step in seed production and marketing done to maintain high-quality seed standards while making them available to farmers for good and quality yield”, he noted.
Kenya’s seed industry , he explained, comprises the formal and informal seed sectors with the latter accounting for a higher proportion of seed planted by subsistence farmers and therefore the seed certification system enhances farmer access to high quality climate resilient and high-yielding seeds and propagating materials for enhanced productivity.
The four-day Conference is hosting over 200 delegates from private and public, national, regional and international stakeholders in the seed arena drawn from various countries in Africa and the world and who will present 81 scientific papers and eight (8) posters that includes showcasing current innovations and technologies in the seed industry, to provide solutions to existing challenges including those brought about by climate change.
