A women-owned group in Kisumu County, Kenya, can now legally sell indigenous seeds after the High Court in Machakos declared sections of the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act unconstitutional. This ruling allows organizations like the Kabudi-Agro Community Seed Bank to invest further in indigenous seed enterprises, ending years of fear of prosecution for saving and exchanging traditional seeds.

• The Seeds and Plant Varieties Act, enacted in 1973 and amended in 2012 and 2016, previously criminalized the saving, exchange, and sale of traditional seeds by small-scale farmers.
• Evalyne Adhiambo, the chairlady of the Kabudi-Agro Community Seed Bank, feared a prison term of up to two years or a fine of up to Sh1 million under the old law.
• The Kabudi-Agro Community Seed Bank, established in 2020, conserves varieties including eight varieties of maize, 18 varieties of sorghum, seven varieties of finger millet, 15 varieties of traditional leafy vegetables, and 17 varieties of beans.
• The November 27 court ruling affirmed that farmer-managed seed systems are a protected right and struck down provisions granting sweeping powers to seed inspectors.
• Dr. Carlo Fadda, research lead on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, emphasizes the need for a new seed law that enables farmers and community seed banks to sell seeds legally.