Nairobi, Kenya | 7 August 2025 — Amid growing outcry from indigenous and small-scale farmers, and civil society allies, Greenpeace Africa urgently calls on the Kenyan Senate to reject the Seeds and Plant Varieties (Amendment) Bill, 2025, a proposal that trades one flawed system for an even more dangerous one, escalating corporate control over Kenya’s seeds and sidelining the voices of those who feed the nation.

“The current seed laws have already marginalised indigenous and small-scale farmers through restrictive policies now under court challenge, toward dependency and corporate control, sidelining traditional seed systems and threatening food sovereignty,” said Elizabeth Atieno, Food Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa. “The new Bill doesn’t solve these injustices; rather, it intensifies them.  It’s a classic case of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

The Bill proposes to transfer oversight of seed certification and registration from the current system, which is already under legal challenge for threatening farmers’ rights, to a standards-based system overseen by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).  This risks creating institutional chaos while failing to protect indigenous and underutilised crops. The repeated exclusion risks exploitation of traditional knowledge, and the erosion of agrobiodiversity, violating Kenya’s constitutional duties and international commitments like the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasant

“Indigenous farmers are the guardians of our resilient, diverse seed heritage. They deserve laws that empower them, not exploit them. This Bill will deepen rural inequality, privatise our seeds further, and weaken community resilience against climate change,” added Atieno

On 29th  July, Greenpeace Africa and partners presented a memorandum to the senate, citing objections to the proposed new law. Stakeholders are deeply alarmed that such a move risks:

  • Further marginalising indigenous and smallholder farmers,
  • Excluding farmer-managed seed systems from legal recognition and protection,
  • Increasing corporate influence over Kenya’s seed supply,
  • Undermining Kenya’s agrobiodiversity and food security.

Greenpeace Africa joins indigenous farmers and allied organisations in demanding a truly inclusive review of Kenya’s seed laws, one that centres farmers’ rights, safeguards traditional knowledge, and builds genuine food sovereignty. The Senate must halt this dangerous leap and prioritise protections that honour our people and planet.

ENDS

Our memorandum to the Senate can be found here

For media inquiries, contact:

Ferdinand Omondi, Communication and Story Manager, Greenpeace Africa, [email protected], +254 722 505 233  

Greenpeace Africa Press Desk: [email protected]