A Kenyan court declared parts of a law that prevented farmers from selling and sharing seeds unconstitutional on Thursday, in a ruling welcomed by campaigners.
Smallholder farmers make up 70 percent of the East African country’s agricultural sector and rely on the informal sharing of seeds when they are in short supply.
Some fear that rules introduced in 2012 and 2016 have made the practice illegal by forcing farmers to only buy and exchange certified seeds.
The government has said the Seed and Plant Varieties Act is necessary to maintain quality and productivity, and has imposed penalties of up to two years in prison or a 1 million shilling ($10,000) fine.
In a brief statement, Justice Rhoda Rutto declared that sections of the act challenged by the claimants were “unconstitutional”. The full ruling was yet to be released.
Lawyer Wambugu Wanjohi, of Law Society Kenya (LSK), which brought the challenge alongside Greenpeace Kenya, said parts of the act contradicted Kenyans’ constitutional economic and cultural rights.
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“This is why these provisions have been declared unconstitutional,” he told AFP, describing the win as “very significant” and a “huge blow” for the government.
The government must now amend the act in parliament, or appeal the court’s decision.
“What has happened in Kenya today is actually an example to the rest of Africa, and the rest of the world, that farmers’ rights must always be respected by law and at the national level,” agro-ecologist Claire Nasike told AFP.
Nasike called the ruling “incredibly important” because it would allow farmers to preserve and protect indigenous seeds, tied to local customs and traditions.
She dismissed suggestions from proponents of the law who said it was about preventing counterfeits.
The claimants had argued that the act undermines food security in a country where more than 2.2 million people face acute hunger, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report.
AFP