By the Witness Radio team
Starting August 24th, the East African member states opened a five-day window for researchers, policymakers, civil society organizations, and small-scale farmers to share their insights and concerns on the Seed and Plant Variety Bill as it moves toward its second reading in the East African Legislative Assembly.
The Bill completed the formal introduction and first-reading stages in the regional parliament in mid-2025.
Countries including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi have been actively consulting citizens, inviting people from all walks of life to share their experiences and perspectives openly.
This follows the bill’s introduction in 2025 and its passage through legislative procedures, including tabling and the first reading in EALA.
According to EALA, the public hearings provide a critical opportunity for stakeholders to examine the Bill from multiple perspectives and contribute practical recommendations before the Assembly’s final consideration.
From farmers and seed companies to researchers, civil society, regulators, parliamentarians, women and youth in agribusiness, development partners, and private sector leaders, every voice brings experience that can shape stronger legislation and pave the way for successful implementation.
Following the high-level openings, partner states are rolling out national and regional consultations. Uganda began its hearings on the 26th, while Rwanda and Kenya launched theirs on August 27, 2026. The East African Legislative Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources is guiding the process.
During the launch in Uganda, the Director of the Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources, Sankoko Ole David, urged participants at every level to champion inclusivity and help craft agricultural regulations grounded in real evidence.
Civil society organizations (CSOs), Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT), Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers’ Forum (ESAFF), smallholder farmer groups, and regional trade stakeholders presented divergent positions on seed sovereignty versus commercial seed harmonization through discussions and position papers on the bill.
The Executive Director for CEFROHT, Dr. David Kabanda, who also led CSOs in Uganda in the consultation process, called for improved, further considered, and scrutinized provisions.
Kabanda notes that the bill’s memorandum is silent on farmer-managed seed systems, which supply 70% to 80% of all seed planted by smallholder farmers in East Africa. The CSOs propose amending the memorandum clause so that alongside coordinating variety evaluation, seed certification, and private sector seed multiplication, the Act recognizes protection of farmers’ rights, farmer-managed seed systems (FMSS) as complementary to the formal seed sector, and conservation of agro-biodiversity, biosafety, food security, and food sovereignty.
The committee emphasized that these hearings are designed as an inclusive platform, empowering stakeholders to shape the legislative process and drive evidence-based recommendations to strengthen agricultural regulation across East Africa.
In Kenya, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) parliamentary committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources has held key consultative meetings with bodies such as the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) and the Ministry of Agriculture on the regional seed variety framework.
Debates now focus on finding common ground between formal commercial seed certification and the rights to share and save indigenous seeds. This follows a landmark Kenyan High Court decision that overturned harsh penalties on informal seed exchanges.
These hearings are collecting vital feedback on a unified regional approach to plant variety evaluation, seed certification, testing, marketing, and plant breeders’ rights. The committee will weave these insights into a formal report, shaping recommendations before the Bill’s second reading in the East African Legislative Assembly.
