Kalro’s Red Flag: The Urgent Need to Tackle Counterfeit Seeds in Kenya

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) has raised a red flag over the proliferation of cartels and unscrupulous businessmen dealing in fake seeds resulting in farmers realizing poor or no harvests.

Kalro has warned that counterfeit seeds are the leading contributor to poor harvests, food and nutritional insecurity, and low crop production thus leading to a high cost of living as food is imported from outside the country.

Speaking while opening a Mkulima shop at Njoro Township, within Nakuru County, Kalro Director in Charge of Food Crops and Research, Godwin Macharia, disclosed that the organisation was opening 16 other shops across the country to ensure farmers get a chance to buy certified and quality seeds from the organisation.

Reduced production

While indicating that Kalro intended to open the Mkulima shop in all its 54 centres across the country, Macharia revealed that researchers from the organisation have developed high-yielding, drought- and disease-resistant bean, sweet potato, sunflower, and cassava seed varieties in a bid to encourage alternative crops in the face of reduced maize production.

Other seeds that farmers would access from Mkulima Shop at low prices include green grams, sorghum, millet, cowpeas, maize, rice, wheat, Irish potatoes, and soya beans.

They will also get fruit tree seedlings, including avocado, mango, macadamia, citrus, pawpaw, tissue Culture bananas, and passion.

The varieties, he said, would be able to withstand drought, pests, and diseases. He, however, urged farmers to only use seeds certified by the research organization.

“Kalro provides clean planting materials to farmers. That’s why we are encouraging farmers to get certified seeds from our institutions to reduce the chances of the diseases being spread,” he said.