Rural CBO perfects seed production for native vegetables

Paul Okong’o, a retired teacher from Yala in Nyanza, chairs a community-based farmer’s organisation called Technology Adoption Through Research Organisation (TATRO).

The CBO trains farmers on how to produce certified seeds for the traditional leafy vegetables in both Nyanza and Western provinces.

At his age, you would expect Okong’o to be slowing down, but he says his dream of a community that is able to feed itself through simple farming techniques keeps him going.

Every morning he calls various trainers across 11 districts in western Kenya to plan for the daily activities which include farm visits and hosting groups of farmers at demonstration sites.

“The small-holders discovered a market for their indigenous vegetables. However, they needed seeds that would produce high-yield, diseases - free varieties,” Okong’o says.

The rising demand for traditional vegetables played a key role in the birth of the CBO.

However, to produce seeds, Okong’o and his group faced a new challenge.

The production and sale of seed must follow strict guidelines provided by Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS).

Unlike Tanzania which has a system that allows farmers to produce ‘declared’ seeds, in Kenya they needed partnerships.

Among the collaborators who came to the rescue were CAB International, Kenya Seed Company, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and KEPHIS. Also in the loop was Arusha- based World Vegetable Centre.

Participatory approach

At the several demonstration sites across 11 districts, farmers are taught best practices in seed handling, controlling weeds and pests and packaging.

The group works closely with the Kenya Seed Company which is licensed to produce certified seeds.

Through this, the farmers are contracted to produce seeds that meet the required standards.

Okong’o says the group started seed production in late 1999.

They identified different varieties that various groups in the area opt for and which would give best results.

He commented their modus operandi, “We identify a problem, then through a participatory approach, we take the farmers through the solution such that they own it,” notes Okong’o.

According to Daniel Karanja, a scientist with CABI, farmers learn to identify certain traits that are required to produce quality seeds for different local vegetables that are popular among rural communities in western Kenya.

Sale of the seeds helps boost Tatro’s incomes.

The seed production initiative is part of a wider programme — supported by The Association of Strengthening Agriculture in East and Central Africa (ASARECA) and CAB International — to help farmers in both Kenya and Tanzania develop seed production enterprises while boosting nutrition in rural communities

The project also aims at learning through different seed production models.

Of interest was the Tanzania model where selected farmers, who have received specific training in seed multiplication, are supplied with foundation seed which they then multiply under the supervision of extension workers.  

Tanzania Official Seed Certification Agency (TOSCA) is responsible for inspecting the fields and the final product.  

Farmers sell the seed produced locally and labelled as “Quality Declared Seed” with simple packaging at a reduced price.