With the short rains planting season approaching, farmers are being urged to be on the lookout for fake seeds even as they prepare for the short rains planting season.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, September 3, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) Managing Director Theophilus Mutui announced that it would be monitoring agrovets selling seeds in an attempt to protect farmers from accessing fake seeds.
Mutui confirmed that KEPHIS has dispatched a team of inspectors to monitor these businesses, ensuring that the seeds sold in these establishments are certified by the authority.
If a business owner is found selling fake seeds, they will be arrested and prosecuted in court, according to KEPHIS.
"We have dispatched our inspectors across the country and especially during the short rains around September, October, and any person found selling fake seeds is going to be arrested and taken to court, and charged in line with the Seeds and Plants Varieties Act," Mutui said.
Furthermore, KEPHIS has expressed opposition to the proposed amendment of the Seed and Plant Varieties Bill, which was proposed by Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina, warning that this would, as a result, increase the sale of counterfeit seeds in the country.
KEPHIS has noted that the sale of fake seeds has significantly contributed to declining agricultural harvests in some parts of the country over the years.
Agricultural areas
In its three-month forecast, the Kenya Meteorological Department predicted that several parts of the country.
The areas include the western Highlands, the Lake Victoria Basin and the Central and South Rift Valley, would experience rainfall interspersed with dry periods.
These regions are home to some of Kenya's most important agricultural areas.
The department urged farmers, especially in the Highlands West of the Rift Valley, the Lake Basin, and parts of the Rift Valley, to take advantage of the rains, which are favourable for agricultural activities.
"This rainfall will support crop growth, improve pasture conditions, and enhance overall agricultural production," Kenya Met stated.
