Kenyan farmers sue state over seed sharing ban
Publish date: 03 February 2025
Issue Number: 1111
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Litigation
Farmers in Kenya are taking the government to court to challenge a law that bans seed sharing. Voice of America reports tht the government has said the 2012 law is meant to prevent the circulation of uncertified seeds and protects farmers, but it faces a court challenge from more than a dozen farmers across Kenya who say it's expensive having to buy new seeds every planting season. The next hearing in the case is in March. Francis Ngiri, one of the farmers who filed the case and runs an indigenous seed bank for the local community on his five-acre farm in the semi-arid Gilgil area, emphasised the use of locally available materials at no cost. Farmer Maximilla Onyura, who farms sorghum in the western county of Busia, said indigenous crops offer a food security solution. She isn't part of the legal challenge but collaborates with Ngiri through a Kenyan organisation called the Seed Savers Network. However, ‘instead of our government encouraging those offering solutions through indigenous crops, they are now cracking down on those sharing seeds at community level,’ she said. Seed sharing in Kenya can bring two years in prison, a fine of up to 1m Kenyan shillings ($7 700), or both. No farmer has been charged.