The Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has convened a consultative meeting with key stakeholders to deliberate on the Seeds and Plant Varieties (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The session, held at Parliament Buildings, brought together officials from the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) and the Seeds Trade Association of Kenya (STAK), who presented their positions on the proposed legislative changes.
The Bill, currently before the Senate, seeks to introduce a standards-based seed registration system under the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), mandate periodic renewal of registration certificates, strengthen post-market monitoring of seeds, and expand oversight of crop varieties.
The reforms are intended to enhance farmers’ access to certified, high-quality, and climate-resilient planting materials.
KEPHIS underscored the need to safeguard the integrity of Kenya’s seed industry, cautioning that the new system should complement existing oversight frameworks rather than duplicate or undermine them.
On its part, STAK called for streamlined registration processes to cut delays and encourage innovation, enabling farmers to benefit from a wider variety of seeds.
Committee members reaffirmed that the engagement was part of the Senate’s inclusive approach to lawmaking.
They assured stakeholders that their views would be incorporated in refining the Bill, particularly to address bottlenecks in seed variety approvals and to ensure regulations remain farmer-friendly.
