Kenya
June 9, 2026
A collaborative Consultative dialogue among the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, seed sector stakeholders and CGIAR highlights pathways for inclusive, fit-for-purpose seed and plant genetic resources legislation in Kenya.
Sylvester Ojwang (ILRI), Joseph Karugia (ILRI), Sam Gituro (IFPRI), Kennedy Anahinga (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development), and Benson Kamau (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development)
Seed and plant genetic resources play a critical role in agricultural productivity, food and nutrition security, climate resilience, and the conservation and sustainable use of crop diversity. Recognizing this, Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) is spearheading the review of the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act (Cap. 326) to address emerging issues and existing gaps, including better recognition of farmer-managed and community seed systems. In addition, the Draft Plant Genetic Resources Institute Bill, 2026 has been developed to provide a clearer institutional framework for conserving, accessing, and sharing benefits from the use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
These reforms have far-reaching implications for farmers, researchers, seed companies, and other stakeholders, as they will shape the legal and institutional framework governing seed development, access, innovation, and the management of plant genetic resources for years to come.
In this regard, representatives from MoALD, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Kenyan seed sector stakeholders, and several CGIAR Centres convened at ILRI in Nairobi on 12 May 2026 for a consultative meeting on the Draft Seeds and Plant Varieties Bill, 2026 and the Draft Plant Genetic Resources Institute Bill, 2026.
During the meeting, Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development noted that a more fit-for-purpose and forward-looking legal framework for the seed sector is needed to respond to technological change, regional and international harmonization, devolution, and recent legal developments, including the court ruling that intensified attention to farmers’ rights and seed exchange. The Ministry also explained that a separate Plant Genetic Resources Institute Bill is intended to provide a clearer institutional basis for conserving and governing access to, and benefit-sharing from, the country’s plant genetic resources.
The draft Bills presented already contained provisions intended to better recognize farmers’ rights, community seed systems, and the governance of plant genetic resources. The consultation explored how these and related quality-assurance pathways could be further strengthened.
Facilitated through the leadership of the CGIAR Policy Innovations Hub for Kenya, the blended meeting created space for evidence-informed exchange in support of a nationally led legislative review process. The discussion focused on how Kenya’s evolving seed and plant genetic resources legislation can be strengthened through comparative experience, practical insights, and close attention to the realities and needs of seed-system end users in the country.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry, Kennedy Anahinga (MoALD) underscored the consultative spirit of the review, noting the aim of shaping “a document that speaks to all of us and serves all of us.” In the context of the meeting, this inclusive intent spoke to the wide range of actors involved in, and dependent on, Kenya’s seed systems and their products - from farmers and community seed actors to breeders, seed enterprises, regulators, and public institutions.
Bringing together government, seed-sector stakeholders, and CGIAR expertise
The consultation brought together representatives from MoALD; KEPHIS; Kenyan seed-sector stakeholders such as the Plant Breeders Association of Kenya (PBAK) and Seed Savers Network (SSN); and CGIAR Centres and programs including ILRI, CIP, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, IFPRI, CIMMYT, IRRI, and IITA. This diversity of participation created space for regulatory, technical, research, breeding, conservation, and end-user perspectives to inform the discussion.
The meeting was positioned not as a conclusion to the review process, but as a contribution to the broader consultation and public participation pathway that will shape the Bills as they move forward. Participants reflected on how the review could support legislation that is responsive to constitutional, legal, and practical seed-system realities in Kenya.
Joseph Karugia (ILRI), who co-facilitated the meeting, said the engagement aimed to generate “evidence-based, practical recommendations to support the review process.”
Core issues discussed
The central theme of the meeting was the need for seed and plant genetic resources legislation that is both technically robust and responsive to the people and institutions it is intended to serve. Discussions focused on four broad issues:
- Balancing farmers’ rights and breeders’ rights, including aligning innovation incentives with constitutional recognition of farmers’ roles in saving, using, exchanging, and accessing seed;
- Recognizing farmer-managed and community seed systems as integral components of Kenya’s broader seed landscape;
- Developing fit-for-purpose, crop-responsive quality assurance systems, especially where conventional certification may not be feasible or appropriate;
- Ensuring that legislation responds to seed-system end users, including farmers, community seed actors, breeders, seed enterprises, and regulators.
Within these themes, three areas received particular attention. First, participants reflected on how farmer-managed and community seed systems can be better recognized and supported within the legal framework, while maintaining attention to seed quality, traceability, and trust. Reflecting on the relationship between formal, community, and farmer-managed seed pathways, Carlo Fadda of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT observed, “From a farmer’s perspective, those seed systems are naturally integrated.” This perspective resonated with broader discussions emphasizing that Kenya’s seed systems are not made up of separate “formal” and “informal” sectors, but rather a continuum of interconnected pathways.
Second, the discussion highlighted the need for quality assurance approaches that are fit for different crops and contexts, particularly where conventional certification pathways may be difficult or costly to apply. Participants reflected on differentiated approaches, including Quality Declared Seed and other practical quality assurance models, especially for crops and seed systems that are less well served by conventional formal pathways.
Third, the review of the Plant Genetic Resources Institute Bill raised the importance of institutional arrangements that support conservation, access and benefit-sharing, and the protection of farmer and community interests in plant genetic resources.
CGIAR’s contribution: technical perspectives and comparative experience
CGIAR colleagues provided technical perspectives and comparative experience to support the ongoing legislative review, drawing on experience across diverse crops, seed systems, and country contexts.
Discussions on community and farmer-managed seed systems emphasized the importance of legal and regulatory approaches that strengthen access to quality seed while recognizing how farmers and local seed systems operate in practice. Participants also reflected on the contribution of community seed banks and farmer varieties to seed access, biodiversity conservation, and resilience.
Inputs on vegetatively propagated crops highlighted the need for crop-specific regulatory thinking, recognizing that seed systems for crops such as roots, tubers, and bananas often face different quality assurance and distribution realities from those of grain crops.
The conversation on forage seed systems underscored that regulatory systems need to be effective but also commercially and practically workable. Experiences shared during the meeting pointed to the value of fit-for-purpose quality assurance approaches where full certification may be difficult or costly to implement.
Participants also considered how policy can support access to newer, quality seed innovations. A point raised during the online discussion noted that, even where formal seed use is relatively established, as in hybrid maize, the varieties dominating farmers’ markets may not always reflect the latest genetic gains emerging from public and private breeding pipelines. This raised the broader question of how policy and seed-sector support can help accelerate the commercialization and uptake of improved varieties that offer gains in productivity, resilience, and adaptation to emerging stresses.
Next steps in the review process
Following the meeting, CGIAR centres consolidated their inputs into a joint memorandum submitted to the Ministry and KEPHIS as part of the ongoing review process. Receipt of the memorandum has since been acknowledged by the Ministry. The Ministry indicated that the memorandum would be treated alongside submissions received from other stakeholders in the wider consultation exercise. Revised versions of the Bills are expected to proceed through an extensive public participation process before transmission to the Attorney General’s Office and, thereafter, to Parliament for the subsequent legislative process.
The consultation demonstrated the value of collaborative, evidence-informed policy engagement in shaping inclusive and responsive seed-system legislation in Kenya. By bringing together government, regulators, seed-sector stakeholders, and CGIAR expertise, the meeting created an important space to consider how legal reform can support both innovation and access, while remaining grounded in the realities of farmers and other seed-system end users. The next phase of the process will be equally important: translating the discussion into concrete technical inputs that can inform public participation and the formal legislative review pathway. This will help shape how effectively the final legislation balances innovation, access, and inclusivity in Kenya’s evolving seed systems.
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