National Seed Bank of central Kenya, hidden away in the country’s main town of Kikuyu. It is a powerful bastion for security should anything go bad with the country‘s agriculture. Over 50,000 seed varieties are stored and recorded by the National Seed Bank in this government’s cold storage room. It goes a long way in guaranteeing national food security.
Birth of the National Seed Bank in Kenya
This National Seed Bank was formed in 1988 when it was discovered that Kenya was losing some of its traditional seed varieties, which was increasingly happening as climate change effects kept intensifying. The major role of this seed bank is to store seeds for research purposes and, when possible, re-introduce them back to the farms so that such valuable genetic resources are not lost forever.
Desterio Nyamongo, Director of the Genetic Resources Research Institute, explained the importance of conserving these Indigenous varieties: “We realize that some of the traditional varieties that we had abandoned then are more resilient to climate change, so when you introduce them, especially in marginal areas, those varieties outperform the improved varieties,” referring to hybrid seeds that farmers must buy each planting season.
Nyamongo also pointed out the other advantages of the seeds in the bank: “Some of the bank’s seeds were found to be more resistant to diseases and pests and were high-yielding.”
Indigenous Seeds: A Solution to Climate Vulnerability
The discovery of the resilience of indigenous seeds brings hope to Kenya, where agriculture relies heavily on rain-fed farming. The sector accounts for a third of Kenya’s GDP, making it highly vulnerable to climate shocks such as drought. As climate change increasingly threatens global food security, Kenya has found itself grappling with a challenge faced across much of Africa. According to a 2023 U.N. report, over a billion people in Africa cannot afford healthy diets, and the number of hungry individuals continues to rise.
For Kenyan farmers, however, another problem has emerged in recent months: losses due to counterfeit seeds sold by private vendors. These seeds have cost farmers millions of shillings, adding to the pressure on the agricultural sector.
Challenges of Seed Sector in Kenya
Kenyan officials agreed that boosting the country’s seed sector was important. During the first international conference on seed quality, held in August, the permanent secretary of the agriculture ministry, Paul Rono, commented that Africa did not have enough capacity to produce high-quality certified seeds that met world standards.
Stephen Muchiri, the head of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation, said the vigor of crops in Kenya is declining. He attributed this to a faulty seed breeding and propagation program. The country also has the added complexity of a 2012 law that prohibits seed sharing, a practice millions of farmers used to reduce production costs.
Seed Sharing Ban Sparks Controversy
The 2012 law, which prohibits the circulation of uncertified seeds, has raised a legal battle from over a dozen farmers. They have argued that it is burdensome and forces them to buy new seeds every planting season. One of the farmers is Francis Ngiri, who operates an indigenous seed bank on his five-acre farm in Gilgil, 120 kilometers from Nairobi.
Ngiri, who has observed the superior performance of indigenous seeds in his area, shared his findings: “We have seen that indigenous seeds are more resilient and perform better in our area even when there is reduced rainfall.”
Ngiri has become a vocal advocate for the conservation and sharing of indigenous seeds, using traditional methods such as storing seeds in earthen pots or covering them with wood ash to protect them from pests. These methods are not only cost-effective but also align with sustainable farming practices.
Role of Indigenous Crops in Food Security
Sorghum farmer Maximilla Onyura of western Busia County also identifies indigenous crops as the way out to food security. Onyura, a partner with Ngiri in the Seed Savers Network, feels that the government needs to embrace those engaged with indigenous crops more. “Instead of our government encouraging people who are coming with solutions using indigenous crops, they are now coming hard on those who share their seeds at the grassroots level.”
Under the new law of 2012, seed sharers face a punishment of up to two years behind bars or an award of up to 1 million Kenyan shillings in fines. To date, no farmer has been prosecuted.
Role of National Seed Bank Towards Resilience
The National Seed Bank has occasionally made some of its seed collection free to farmers, with the hope that these traditional varieties, which have long adapted to local conditions, will prove more resilient in the face of climate challenges. According to Director Nyamongo, the benefits of indigenous seeds include: “It would be wrong for farmers, especially farmers in marginal areas, to start thinking that using the indigenous seed is backwardness. Far from it, because some of the Indigenous varieties have adapted over time to the local conditions and therefore, they are more resilient.”
Global Perspective on Indigenous Seeds
The director’s words align with the views of experts like Patrick V. Verkooijen, president of the Global Center on Adaptation. Verkooijen advocates for investment in community-based seed programs to preserve the diversity of indigenous crops. “Indigenous crop varieties offer many benefits, particularly their genetic diversity, which helps farmers adapt to climate change, combat pests and diseases, and manage poor soil fertility,” he said. However, he indicated that when the seeds are removed from their home area, several risks such as lesser yields and sensitivity to novel pests and diseases would be encountered.
However, Ngiri asserted that indigenous crops experience the above challenges only when they are transferred from their original areas. He emphasized the fact that native seeds by nature are adaptable to the conditions of climatic variation and diseases that can be found within their original setting: “The reason why they are Indigenous is that they have adapted to the climatic conditions and the diseases found in the area they originally came from.”