Landmark Win for Kenyan Farmers as Court declares law banning Seed Sharing Unconstitutional
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 29 –The High Court of Kenya delivered a landmark ruling on Thursday, November 27, 2025 declaring several sections of the country’s Seed and Plant Varieties Act unconstitutional, the pivotal decision dismantles legal barriers that previously barred smallholder farmers from freely sharing and selling indigenous seeds.
The judgment effectively decriminalises the age-old practice of saving, sharing and exchanging indigenous seeds, affirming that Farmer-Managed Seed Systems (FMSS) are a protected right not a criminal activity.
Kenyan farmers for years have lived under the shadow of a law that threatened jail terms of up to 2 years and a fine of 1 million shillings (about 7,800 USD) for selling or exchanging unregistered seeds, effectively handing control of the country’s food system to multinational corporations.
Samuel Wathome, a smallholder farmer who was petitioner number 1 in the case he filed with 14 others said the judgement dismantles the monopoly noting that
“I have waited years to hear these words, My grandmother saved seeds, and today the court has said I can do the same for my grandchildren without fear of police or prison”.
Greenpeace Africa, Food Campaigner Elizabeth Atieno lauded the judgment saying shackles have been removed from Kenya’s farmers.
“The court has affirmed what we have known all along Seed is Sovereign this is not just a legal win; it is a victory for our culture, our resilience and our future By validating indigenous seeds, the court has struck a blow against the corporate capture of our food system”, said Atieno.
“We can finally say that in Kenya, feeding your community with climate-resilient, locally adapted seeds is no longer a crime”.
Additionally, Gideon Muya, Programs Officer, Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya lauded the judgment noting that it is a shield for biodiversity Indigenous seeds are the library of life they hold the genetic diversity.
“We need to withstand droughts, pests, and a changing climate The court has recognised that you cannot patent nature’s heritage, We have reclaimed the right to choose what we plant and what we eat, free from the coercion of commercial seed monopolies”, He said.
Claire Nasike, Agroecologist, stated that the judgment indicates that farmers’ right to seed must be recognised and protected through policy instruments Seed is life, and it is sovereign, and whoever controls it influences the lifeline of a generation.
“It is a delight that the right to save, share and exchange seeds is in the right hands, those of Kenyan farmers”.
Justice Rhoda Rutto while delivering the judgment said unconstitutional sections of the Act which gave seed inspectors sweeping powers to raid seed banks and seize seeds meant for the next harvest, made it illegal for farmers to process or sell seeds unless they were registered seed merchants, gave extensive proprietary rights to plant breeders and none to farmers and made it illegal for farmers to save or share seeds from their harvest without prior knowlege of seed proprietors.
Wambugu Wanjohi, Legal Counsel for the Law Society of Kenya which supported the petition, said the court correctly interpreted the Constitution to find that the rights of farmers supersede punitive and restrictive commercially driven laws that infringe on their inherent rights.
The judgment sets a powerful legal precedent not only for Kenya but also for the entire African continent.
Greenpeace Africa and its partners now call on the Ministry of Agriculture to immediately align national policy with this judgment and support the formal recognition of Farmer-Managed Seed Systems.
