Kenya: Fine of up to Ksh20,000 or jail term for selling vegetatively propagating seed without license in new rules

In a move to bolster the quality and accessibility of vegetatively propagating seeds (VPS), the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has unveiled the Seeds and Plant Varieties (Vegetatively Propagating Seeds) Regulations, 2023. These regulations categorise VPS into various groups, covering a wide range of crops such into root and tuber crops, oil and nut crops, sugar crop, medicinal herbs, spices and aromatic plants, beverage crops, fruit trees, grasses, and pasture legume. Among them are tea, coffee, berries, ginger, sesame, mango, peach, plum, butterfly pea, sweet clovers, horsetail grass, Napier grass, tree tomatoes, grapes, pixies oranges, pineapple, cocoa, aloe vera, vanilla, tea tree, miraa, paprika, sugar cane, cassava, and macadamia nuts among others. Under these regulations, individuals are prohibited from selling vegetatively propagating seeds without a valid Vegetatively Propagating Seed producer’s or seller’s registration certificate. It specifies that the ...