Tuesday, October 18, 2022 – In an unlikely turn of events, farmers have sued President William Ruto’s government over the controversial law on indigenous seeds.
The farmers, led by Richard Opete, are opposing a law contained in the Seed and Plant Varieties Act barring farmers from exchanging seeds or using those not certified by the government.
According to the Act, farmers found flouting the rule risk a jail term of up to two years or a fine of Ksh1 million or both.
Opete and his team argue that the law is too punitive and an affront to their age-old tradition of sharing seeds as well as business practices.
“We have almost 10 groups here. We cultivate, never complain of hunger and people can see our farm produce. They always ask us how we do it and we teach them.”
“When they tell us they do not have seeds, we give them seeds and they will return later,” Opete stated.
He further added that individuals had been dropping out of the programme in fear of upsetting the Government.
He, however, noted that the practice was beneficial since he had been using the same seeds used by his grandparent who was alive in the 1950s.
The option is cheaper for the community members who cannot afford expensive certified seeds and fertiliser.
“When a person learns of the rule prohibiting the use of seeds, they shy away. Production has really gone down and some of us do not want to fight the government over the law. We want that law removed,” he added.
Since his inauguration in mid-September, Ruto vowed to prioritise Agriculture production in an attempt to lower the high cost of living.
He has even approved the use of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) seeds just to boost food production.
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