The Kenya Seed Company (KSC) is staring at compensation claims if Parliament approves a petition by maize farmers who say they have lost this season’s crop as a result of planting fake seeds.
The farmers want Parliament to order KSC to compensate those who were sold fake seeds by traders, who were reusing the parastatal’s branded packaging.
“That the National Assembly recommends that the Ministry of Agriculture together with Kenya Seed Company compensate farmers who had losses after planting fake seeds in Kenya Seed Company branded materials,” the farmers said.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has directed the Agriculture committee to inquire into the claims raised by the farmers drawn from the North and South Rift.
The farmers have singled out Kenya Seed’s maize varieties H624 and H6213 as the most affected by fakes.
“At the time of planting, most packets of H624 and H6213 contained rotten seeds, a situation that has never been witnessed before,” the farmers said. “After planting, a majority of the farmers experienced poor germination at 30 percent for H624. There has been poor and uneven growth.”
They said poor management by KSC has created a loophole for the production of fake maize seeds, hampering output.
The petitioners have also laid blame on the KSC board of directors and the acting managing director arguing they have outstanding integrity issues including the sale of Sh10O million worth of seeds in Narok and Sh10 million at its Kitale headquarters.
As a result of fake seeds, the farmers said they are counting huge losses after they were supplied with suspect seeds that did not germinate, leading to crop failure.
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