Kenya
January 29, 2025
A group photo of the panelists after the discussion on sustainable seed delivery systems at the STAK Congress & Expo 2024 (Photo: Marion Aluoch/CIMMYT)
Kenyan farmers continue to face significant challenges in accessing quality seed, particularly for dryland crops. To address this, Kenya introduced the Standard Certified Seed (SCS) class as a strategic initiative to bridge the gap between fully certified seed and informal farmer-saved seed, as semi-formal seed classes such as quality-declared seed are not legally recognized.
Officially launched in 2020, the SCS class offers a unique opportunity and has the potential to transform the seed sector for open-pollinated and vegetatively propagated crops, including indigenous vegetables, by ensuring quality while making seed production and certification more accessible and affordable. During a recent panel discussion, Lilian Gichuru, Seed Systems Specialist for Eastern and Southern Africa for the Dryland Crops Program at CIMMYT, highlighted its importance. She asked a critical question: “How can we leverage the opportunity presented by standard seed to ensure the delivery of quality seed to farmers, especially in underserved areas?”
This was the focus of a session on sustainable seed delivery systems at the Seed Trade Association of Kenya (STAK) Congress & Expo, held in Nairobi on November 6 and 7, 2024. Themed “Leveraging Technologies That Strengthen Agricultural Resilience and Climate-Smart Seed Systems,” the event served as a platform for knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and innovation. CIMMYT participated as one of the sponsors of the Congress.
To set the stage for the panel discussion, Ephraim Wachira, Deputy Director for Seed Certification at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), provided an overview of the SCS and highlighted Kenya’s efforts to implement its certification process. He described initiatives such as awareness meetings for seed merchants, training programs for outgrowers on certification processes, seed production and agronomic practices, and field inspections to ensure quality compliance. KEPHIS conducted field inspections, sampling, and laboratory testing to ensure quality compliance for 106 metric tons of seed—including sorghum, green gram, and cowpea—during a pilot phase, with a portion of the seed certified and labeled.
Despite these achievements, challenges persist. Limited farmer knowledge, dispersed farms, high production costs, and the impacts of climate change—such as the need for irrigation solutions—continue to pose obstacles. Slow adoption by mainstream seed companies and technical difficulties with online certification systems also hinder progress. However, opportunities lie in increased funding for climate-smart crops, government support for dryland agriculture, and growing farmer awareness. Wachira emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement, saying, “Collaboration and stakeholder engagement are critical to ensuring farmers access high-quality seeds and advancing Kenya’s food security goals.”
The panel discussion provided valuable insights from Ephraim Wachira, Mutheu Ngila of Dryland Seeds, Thomas Kariuki, Head of Seed Production at Simlaw Seed, and Mulemia Maina, Managing Director of Agri Experience. Lilian Gichuru moderated the session and guided the conversation as the panel unpacked the concept of standard seed and evaluated its impact and progress.
Panelists emphasized that the standard certified seed class relaxes certain certification requirements, such as reducing the number of field inspections, lowering isolation distances, and adjusting allowable off-types. This adjustment is made without compromising essential quality standards, including disease tolerance limits, which are largely unaffected by the standard seed class protocols. The standard seed class remains a certified seed class.
“The concept of standard seed came from the realization that many farmers rely on farm-saved seed, which is often of unknown quality,” said Wachira. “Standard seed provides an option that improves seed quality while making production and certification of these important crops more practical and affordable.”
Despite its potential, the adoption of SCS faces significant challenges. One key issue is the high cost of production. “Production costs remain high, limiting the price advantage of standard seed. Seed companies often need to operate across multiple locations to meet certification standards, which drives up costs,” explained Mutheu Ngila of Dryland Seeds.
Another issue is low farmer awareness of the availability of certified standard seed for dryland crops—this lack of awareness has slowed adoption. “Farmers need to know that standard seed is a better option than farmer-saved seed in terms of quality,” said Gichuru. Without sufficient awareness, farmers continue to rely on informal systems, which are often less reliable and can introduce disease.
Logistics are another major challenge. Wachira noted, “Many standard growers register plots of less than one acre in scattered locations, making efficient inspections difficult. The small and dispersed production areas drive up costs and complicate the inspection process.” However, this challenge creates an opportunity for private inspection services to serve these remote plots.
The limited commitment of seed companies to this class of seeds remains an obstacle. Many companies have hesitated to invest in standard certified seed production due to concerns about profitability and the need for clearer differentiation in price and quality.
The panelists outlined several solutions to overcome these challenges and identified opportunities to scale standard certified seed.
One promising strategy is community-based production and certification. Mulemia Maina of Agri Experience emphasized the importance of localizing seed production. “Localizing seed production can save farmers significant costs. Transporting seed from distant regions is expensive, but if farmers can access seed locally, it becomes much more affordable.” In addition, localizing field inspections could lower costs and increase efficiency. “KEPHIS is ready to train more private community inspectors and district inspectors to manage this category of seed,” Wachira explained. This model could enable private companies to engage more farmers and improve the efficiency of certification.
Another opportunity is the growing emphasis on climate-resilient crops. Donors and government initiatives are increasingly prioritizing crops such as sorghum, millet, and pigeon pea that thrive in dryland conditions. These efforts align with the goal of scaling up the production of standard seed.
Raising awareness among farmers about the benefits of standard seed is critical to encouraging adoption. Thomas Kariuki, Head of Seed Production at Simlaw Seed, noted that creating more capacity-building programs for farmers would help them understand their role and expectations in seed multiplication. “We also need to engage consumers to understand the quality and value of standard seed to protect market potential,” he added.
To successfully scale up standard certified seed, all stakeholders—government, private sector, and donors—must work together to address challenges and leverage opportunities.
The private sector plays a critical role in driving adoption. Kariuki stressed the importance of incentivizing seed companies to engage in the production of standard seed. “Balancing affordability, accessibility, and quality is critical,” he said. “This is how we ensure farmers benefit while seed companies remain viable.”
Capacity building is essential to train seed companies, inspectors, and farmers on the production, certification, and benefits of this class of seed. In addition, regulatory adjustments should be made to facilitate the certification process. For example, the introduction of specialized inspectors for field inspections could eliminate the need for companies to use KEPHIS inspectors.
Developing markets for dryland crops is also vital to stimulate demand and encourage seed production. Finally, promoting collaboration among stakeholders will ensure the alignment of policies and resources.
Kenya is a world leader in standard seed certification, having developed robust protocols and standards that ensure quality without imposing prohibitive costs. Other countries are exploring similar models, but Kenya’s success could serve as a blueprint for others in Africa.
Lilian Gichuru, Seed Systems Specialist at CIMMYT, introducing the topic of sustainable seed delivery systems and presenting the panelists at the STAK Congress (Photo: Marion Aluoch/CIMMYT)
As Gichuru reflected, “Standard seed represents an opportunity to transform Kenya’s seed sector. But it will take collective effort, patience, and continued investment in awareness and capacity building to realize its full potential.”
Mutheu echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of balancing quality, affordability, and accessibility: “Balancing affordability, accessibility, and quality is critical. This is how we ensure that farmers benefit while seed companies remain viable.”
As Wachira concluded, “Standard certified seed is about giving farmers a better option—one that is affordable, accessible, and of high quality. Let’s bring these benefits to the farmers who need them most.”
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