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In 2022, a group of 15 Kenyan smallholder farmers petitioned the country’s High Court, seeking to compel the government to review sections of a law that bans the sharing and exchange of uncertified and unregistered seeds.

Rural smallholder farmers in Kenya rely on informal farmer-managed systems to acquire seeds through seed saving and sharing, but the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act limited their access.

Kenya’s government enacted the law in 2012 to develop, promote, and regulate a modern and competitive seed industry, but farmers are calling for its review.

The informal farmer-managed seed system allows farmers to store a portion of their seeds after harvesting, which guarantees them seeds for the next planting season.

Victory for Farmers

In a decisive victory for food sovereignty and climate justice, the High Court on November 27, 2025, ruled in favor of smallholder farmers, declaring punitive sections of the Seed and Plant Varieties Act unconstitutional.

The judgment effectively decriminalizes the age-old practice of saving, sharing, and exchanging indigenous seeds, affirming that Farmer-Managed Seed Systems (FMSS) are a protected right, not a criminal activity.

Under the punitive law, farmers faced jail terms of up to two years and a fine of 1 million shillings (about 7,800 USD) for selling or exchanging unregistered seeds.

Farmer rights defenders had argued that the law gave control of the country’s food system to multinational corporations.

In her judgment, Justice Rhoda Rutto declared unconstitutional sections of the Act that gave seed inspectors sweeping powers to raid seed banks and seize seeds meant for the next harvest, made it illegal for farmers to process or sell seeds unless they were registered seed merchants, gave extensive proprietary rights to plant breeders and none to farmers, and made it illegal for farmers to save or share seeds from their harvest without prior knowledge of seed proprietors.

Samuel Wathome, a smallholder farmer who was a petitioner in the case, says that “just like his grandmother did, he can now freely save seeds for his grandchildren without fear of police or prison.”

According to Elizabeth Atieno, a Food Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, the court ruling affirmed the long-known tradition of seed sovereignty.

“The court ruling removed shackles from Kenya’s farmers.  This is not just a legal win; it is a victory for our culture, our resilience, and our future,” Atieno told IPS.

She added, “By validating indigenous seeds, the court has struck a blow against the corporate capture of our food system. We can finally say that in Kenya, feeding your community with climate-resilient, locally adapted seeds is no longer a crime.”

Protecting Biodiversity

According to Gideon Muya, Programs Officer, Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya, the judgment is a shield for the country’s biodiversity.

“Indigenous seeds are the library of life because they hold the genetic diversity we need to withstand droughts, pests, and a changing climate. The court has recognized that you cannot patent nature’s heritage. We have reclaimed the right to choose what we plant and what we eat, free from the coercion of commercial seed monopolies,” Muya told IPS.

Claire Nasike, an agroecologist, noted that the judgment indicates that the seed is life, and it is sovereign, and whoever controls it influences the lifeline of a generation.

Nasike observes that the ruling is a big boost for biodiversity, climate resilience and food sovereignty since indigenous seeds tend to be well adapted to local conditions like soil types, rainfall patterns, pests and disease traits that are often lost in uniform, certified commercial seeds.

“By enabling farmers to save, exchange and diversify their seed stock, communities can preserve genetic diversity, a key buffer against climate shocks like droughts and pests, as well as a safeguard for long-term food security.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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