October 2009
After three years of toil, Janey Leakey can finally take a breather. Leakey, a founding director of Leldet Seed Company in Kenya, now has assurance that improved varieties of underutilized seeds (pigeon pea, sorghum, soya beans, chick pea and ground nut) will finally be approved for production by the Kenya Plant Health Inspection Services (KEPHIS).
It has taken her three years to get to this point and she could not hide her excitement during her presentation at the PASS grantee meeting in Bamako.
“It has taken so much heartache to get here, this is a big achievement and I am so excited about it,” Leakey told the over 300 participants.
Leakey said there is a shortage of improved varieties of orphan/underutilized crops in Kenya because the majority of the breeders in universities and research institutions face cash constraints and want to avoid the bureaucratic struggle involved with getting the crops certified.
“You have a quagmire of all this germplasm which sits in universities and research organizations and needs to be taken through the process of commercialization,” she said.
Leakey was motivated to start a seed producing company three years ago when she could not find improved seed varieties to plant on her farm.
The orphan varieties readily available in Kenya were produced as far back as 1984 at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute. Through her grant from AGRA, Leakey has been able to go through the long and winding process of paying a fee of up to US$2000 to take an improved crop varieties to the national trials. As she anticipates official approval by KEPHIS to allow commercial release of the varieties, she is also seeking new ways of disseminating the underutilized crops.
Leldet has conducted 600 demonstrations across Kenya, showcasing at least five varieties planted per site. An estimated 21,000 farmers have visited these demonstrations.
Once demonstrations are established, Ledlet sells small seed packs to farmers through farmer field days and agricultural shows. The small packs are sold in 80g for US$ 0.15(10 Kenya shillings), or 400g at US$ 0.7(50 Kenya shillings). On average 150 farmers are reached on a single field day. The low cost of the small packs limit farmers’ risk, and encourage them to try something new.
Her next hurdle will be acquiring funds for large-scale production of the seeds, including funds for irrigation.
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