By Antynet Ford

Grace Rock Farms in Kiambu has lifted the seed germination rate for its sukuma wiki, potatoes, red thunder chilli, pak choi, tomatoes and pomegranates from 65 to 90 per cent, after meeting the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KePHIS) standards for certified seed production.

“We currently sell out half the time. Farmers who buy our seedlings see the KEPHIS tag and feel confident. Before getting certified, 65 per cent of the seeds were germinating but the rate is now consistent at 90 per cent,” said Woki Njehu, a director at Grace Rock.

The farm began selling seedlings in 2018. “We began just before Covid-19 and didn’t know that we required certification, but the farmers and other people buying the vegetable seedlings from us trusted us. We never kept records to show what went wrong when our seedlings were hit by diseases,” said Woki.

But consistency was a challenge and Woki began researching KePHIS procedures after noticing that other propagators were receiving targeted requests from farmers. “I wanted my business to go beyond my neighbourhood and get access to a better market. That’s how I got to learn more what it requires to get certified and start selling the production of seedlings.”

From there, the journey to certification was “eye opening even though long and demanding,” she said.

The process began with training sessions where KePHIS introduced the team to seed regulations, nursery management standards, pest and disease control protocols, and record-keeping requirements.

“It was then we realised how much we did not know. We learnt about the spacing of trays, the cleanliness and hygiene standards including water cleanliness together with everything that is regulated.”

KePHIS extension officers then conducted full nursery inspections, assessing water quality, soil sterilisation, seed sourcing, hygiene and sanitation procedures, pest-control practices and the structural layout of the nursery. “During the inspections, the officers from KEPHIS asked questions about everything around the nurseries. They checked the logs and even took samples,” she said.

To comply, Grace Rock upgraded its nurseries with new storage cabinets, sterilised trays, a raised nursery bed system, and a hand-washing station. They also overhauled record-keeping for seed batches, disease incidents and sales.

“This made the quality of our seedlings improve immediately even though it cost a lot.”

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“We stopped buying seeds from random agrovets and now get receipts to prove the parent seeds for the red thunder, sukuma wiki and the Shangi.”

The team also tightened seed sourcing rules to avoid accidental mixing. According to Woki, “when we get seeds from the merchant seed sellers, we ensure that it’s well labelled and contains what we want to avoid our certification being cancelled, as the process of being certified is quite a long one.” For potato and red thunder, they now focus on one variety to prevent off-types that could jeopardise their status.

Grace Rock now has KePHIS certification and a nursery code that it says has transformed its performance, quality and demand.

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