Nairobi, Kenya — In the past decade, Francis Ngiri has taken pride in conserving seeds - a responsibility he holds dear.
Francis Ngiri has worked and trained with the Seed Savers Network in Elementaita Ward in Gilgil, Nakuru County, for the past ten years. Ngiri also serves as the chairperson of the Makongo Farmers Network, where they manage the Eden Seed Bank, which started with just 14 varieties and now preserves 119 varieties.
"I am proud to have personally taken seeds to the Kenyan National Gene Bank, as well as to the International Gene Bank in Norway. Through the National Gene Bank and Seed Savers, I have sent 22 accessions. We are grateful for the Crop Trust's support," he said.
Ngiri shared his experience of transitioning from commercial seed production to Indigenous seed production. "Before, we were involved in the commercial seed sector. We were contracted by a certain learning institution to produce seeds, and we even took out loans from the bank to buy them. Unfortunately, things didn't go well. After the El Niño of 2013-2014, all our seeds were destroyed, and we were left with nothing," he said."
That's when the Seed Savers Network came in and told us we could start planting the indigenous seeds we already had. I remember we began with just 14 varieties, but after training, seed exchanges, and fairs, we've now established our own seed bank with 119 varieties of indigenous seeds."
Importance of Indigenous Seeds
Ngiri explained how farmers can join networks like Seed Savers and the benefits of traditional seed preservation methods.
"Seed Savers Network is a community, and they have forums like WhatsApp and Facebook. They are based in Gilgil, and any farmer who reaches out to them will be trained by their staff. I'm also a seed ambassador, which means I've been trained and now help train other farmers and recruit them into Seed Savers. It's free to join.
As for traditional farming practices, they benefit us a lot because we don't need to spend money. For instance, to preserve indigenous beans from weevils, we mix them with wood ash, maize cob ash, or dry cow dung ash. There's no oxygen in the ash, so the seeds survive, staying dry for up to two or three years. This is a traditional method like hanging seeds in the kitchen has worked for generations. We also use simple methods for germination and moisture tests - like using salt for moisture and paper towels for germination.
"As for seed banks, we farmers take seeds to them, but we haven't used seeds from the gene banks yet."
He also called for the importance of documenting indigenous seed varieties as a way to safeguard sovereignty and history.
"Documenting indigenous seeds is crucial, and that's something the government should be supporting," he said. "Seed Savers are helping us document some varieties, but they rely on external funds. "We contribute our share of taxes but the authorities are not in any way helping us in the process of recording the details of our own produce… It seems certain groups are blocking us, benefiting from the current system, and influencing the government to pass laws that do not acknowledge us or our seeds. We need the government to be open and protect its farmers."
Punitive Laws
In the recent past, many smallholder farmers have been shocked to learn that the Seed and Plant Varieties Act Cap. 326 of 2012 prohibits farmers from exchanging, sharing, or selling seeds that are not certified and registered. Those who violate this law are subject to a prison sentence of up to two years or a fine of up to KES 1,000,000 (US$ 7,500) or both. Seed Savers Network has taken steps to take the government to court over punitive laws, and Ngiri is one of the farmers in the case.
"I'm one of the 15 farmers who went to court to seek an interpretation of these laws," he said. "We believe that any law which contravenes our constitution is illegal. The reason we went to court is that many of these traditional practices have deep cultural value in our society."
"For instance," he said, "when a woman is getting married, the mother must give certain items as a symbol of fertility. If this isn't done, there's a belief that the daughter may struggle to have children. These are serious cultural consequences. Some of the plants we use are crucial for initiation ceremonies or traditional healing. We have our own medicine men who rely on these items, some of which are inside the gourds you see in pictures."
"If the government says these things need to be certified before we can exchange them, it's simply not possible. That's why we went to court," he said. "We need to be involved in these decisions. The best solution is to formally withdraw the current act, and then we can move forward. These punitive seed laws are threatening traditions that have been part of our society for thousands of years."
Ngiri said that the government could support traditional seed practices by introducing a policy that allows us to register our own seeds.
"Currently, to make a patent for one variety of seed, it costs over two million shillings which farmers cannot afford. They should create simpler processes, like quality-declared seeds or a standard certification program that isn't so expensive. We also need scientists - Frontiers - who can help register seeds and apply for open seed source licenses. This way, farmers can use and trade seeds without being restricted or told they're patented by someone else."
"Currently, Kenyan law doesn't allow for open seed source licenses, which would be helpful," he said. "Instead, the law says you must patent a seed after registering it."
"We also have another challenge: some breeders have patented seeds, and although the protection period is supposed to be 20 years, they still hold onto them even after that period has passed. The law says that after the protection period, the seeds should be given back to the farmers," said Ngiri. "We're asking the government to help address these issues and make it easier for farmers to work with seeds."
He urged the government to "abolish those punitive laws and introduce new laws that create an enabling environment for seed conservation and selling."
"We need what is called benefit sharing. Farmers like us are doing a lot of work conserving seeds that have been in this country for thousands of years, and we're still conserving them. There should be some form of compensation," he said. "When a breeder comes to take our seeds, there's something called prior informed consent, which is in the law, but it's not being implemented. It should be clear that if a breeder takes our natural resources, we farmers should benefit directly, not through other organizations. We are the ones conserving the seeds, so we should be the ones allowed to benefit."
Farmers' Struggles
"A big challenge is the lack of support from both the government and society," he said. "As farmers, we receive very little help, mostly from our trainers. But in society, we're often seen as people doing primitive things, just keeping old seeds. There's no recognition or promotion of the work we do."
"It's also hard because people see hybrid seeds as superior. The more hybrids come into the market, the more our seeds get forgotten. Indigenous foods are mainly promoted by doctors, but others look at what we do as moving backward. It's a big challenge," said Ngiri.
"We have very punitive seed laws that stop us from saving, selling, exchanging, or even gifting our seeds."
"On top of that, we have very punitive seed laws that stop us from saving, selling, exchanging, or even gifting our seeds," he said. "These laws mostly protect intellectual property and those who create new varieties, but there's no support or recognition for farmers like us who conserve seeds. It's biased."
He called for the need to raise awareness and sensitize farmers on the importance of seed conservation. "I have personally taken 22 seed varieties to the gene bank, but I still have to explain what it's all about," he said. "What is a gene bank?… Not so many farmers know about it, so there is a need to sensitize them. But as for now, it is a challenge."
Ngiri recalled visiting a gene bank in Uganda, and he saw a lot of seeds put in a black box, meaning that it was a farmer's seed, and whoever came as a breeder had to seek permission from the farmers. "But in Kenya, I don't know whether that happens," he said. "So that one we would like a lot because we don't want to see the gene bank as an entry point where our seeds get lost. And also that sensitivity of making breeders and farmers come together so that their research is farmer-led and farmer-based. We will own the process."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
He also addressed the challenges of climate change. "We are also facing issues like climate change and biodiversity loss, but we're mitigating those challenges through water conservation techniques and seed exchange programs. Although we can't sell seeds directly due to legal restrictions, we've found ways to exchange seeds for food, which helps us continue the work of conservation despite the many challenges."
Climate change is not only leading to a lot of biodiversity loss, but climate change is also leading to farmers requiring a lot of turnover of varieties.
Future of farming
Ngiri said if the government doesn't step in, and help preserve indigenous seeds, they don't know what will happen. "Whatever they do to us, we will continue because we wouldn't like to go in history as those farmers who were living when the seeds got lost."
"We won't stop conserving indigenous seeds. It's our duty as farmers, agroecology farmers, to conserve the indigenous seeds and ensure that these seeds don't disappear during our lifetime," he said. "We believe very soon, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel because we are many, and 80% of the seeds that are planted in Kenya come from the informal sector, yet we are unsupported."
"The message I would like to give out is that there is no profession as special as farming. I'm proud to be someone who feeds people. No one can survive without food. So, even if you don't respect a farmer, you have to respect the food," he said. "With time, you will come to understand how important food is, especially as our population grows, land decreases, and farmers lose their morale. One day, people will realize how essential farmers are and start taking better care of them."
