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{
    "id": 1079872,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1079872/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 21,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Members, pursuant to the provision of Standing Order 225(1)(b), I wish to report to the House that I have received a Petition signed by one Peter Chemuigut of National Identification Card No.20022696 on behalf of farmers from Bomet and Narok counties in the South Rift and stakeholders in the seed sector from the North Rift, requesting the House to look into issues of poor management of the Kenya Seed Company that has occasioned circulation of fake maize seeds. Hon. Members, the Petitioners state that farmers in South and North Rift have been engaging in maize farming as their economic mainstay and for purposes of meeting the ever- increasing demand for maize, which is Kenya’s staple food. However, the Petitioners claim that poor management at the Kenya Seed Company has created a loophole for production and circulation of fake maize seeds, thereby greatly undermining their efforts to produce the crop. The Petitioners recount that, from November, 2020 to February, 2021, farmers commenced preparations for the 2021 planting season and purchased “hybrid” maize seeds from Kenya Seed Company, the trusted source of seeds for many years. They claim to have bought H624 and H6213 maize varieties, being the high-yielding maize varieties commonly planted in the North and South Rift regions. However, at the time of planting, many farmers noticed that most packets contained rotten seeds, a situation that had never been witnessed with regard to seeds purchased from Kenya Seed Company. They add that, after planting the said maize seeds, majority of farmers experienced unprecedented poor germination rates as low as 3 per cent, especially with the H624 variety. The Petitioners aver that, in spite of the continuous rains experienced in the affected regions from January to April, 2021, farmers witnessed very poor and uneven growth lengths, weakly stems, different crop colour shades and poor insects-resistance, among other challenges. Hon. Members, the Petitioners claim to have reasonable grounds to believe that the massive crop failure is attributable to fake seeds from the Kenya Seed Company because other farmers who planted maize seeds from other seed companies like ADC, PANNAR Seed, Seed Co. and One- Acre Fund, had good germination, excellent growth and resistance to infection by MLN and SMUT diseases. The Petitioners are concerned that they are staring at imminent huge losses that will negatively impact on their livelihoods and despite numerous complaints by farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture has not made any serious efforts to establish the root cause of the fake seeds and destroy the remaining seeds in the various Kenya Seed outlets so as to forestall a spill- over to the next planting season. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}