Fake seeds flood market as planting season draws near
A man transports maize seed on a trolley in Eldoret town on February 15, 2022. Farmers in the country have been cautioned against buying fake seeds which have flooded the market ahead of the planting season.
Farmers in the country have been cautioned against buying fake seeds which have flooded the market ahead of the planting season.
A spot-check in the North Rift shows that most in the region have started preparing their land for planting amid high costs of farm inputs such as fertiliser.
Farmers in the region have been complaining of the high cost of the farm inputs, with the fertiliser selling at Sh6,000 for a 50-kilogramme compared to Sh2,500 last season.
Kenya Seed Company Managing Director Fred Oloibe also assured farmers that the firm has adequate stocks of certified seeds which are key in attaining higher yields.
“We have enough seeds for all the agro-ecological zones in the country. The rains are expected in a fortnight and I want to urge our farmers to buy certified seeds from accredited agro-dealers or our branches,” said the MD who spoke on Saturday during the annual Eldoret golf tournament that brought together large and small scale farmers in the region.
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos has noted that there is a rise in cases of counterfeit seeds in the market and urged the firm to work with government agencies to eradicate the fake seeds.
A lot of counterfeits
“I want to ask the company to be vigilant especially as we head to the planting season. There are a lot of counterfeits in the market and you should work to ensure that farmers get quality seeds,” he said.
Mr Oloibe disclosed that the firm is working with the research institutions such as Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) to develop more varieties for the Kenyan market.
The firm has developed a number of varieties such as H6506 which is tolerant to the maize lethal necrosis disease (MNLD), KSDV01 (maize) which is a drought tolerant variety and chairman F1 (cabbage) that is tolerant to black rot.
“We have developed several varieties and we are working with Kephis on certification for other varieties. These varieties will be released by next year,” said the MD who added that the varieties give more yield, are more tolerant to pests and do well in areas that receive little rainfall.
Mr Tolgos urged the firm to partner with local farmers in the region to plant maize through contractual agreement along the Kerio Valley, noting that it will be a long term solution to insecurity in parts of the North Rift region.
The government halted subsidies for fertiliser issued through the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) three years ago and instead introduced an e-voucher programme that targets a small section of farmers, mainly the small scale growers.
The country's annual requirement for the commodity stands at 650,000 tonnes to attain food security, with the World Bank 2019/2020 report on Kenya Economic Update indicating that the government subsidy programme mostly benefits medium and large scale farmers rather than small scale farmers.
