By Antynet Ford

Nakuru farmers are among thousands now using Kenya’s 121 community seed banks to store indigenous crop seeds for future seasons, pushing up germination and guaranteeing them seeds no matter the hardships ahead.

The initiative, led by the national Seed Savers Network in Elementaita, Gilgil, is giving smallholders access to traditional, high-quality seeds that are rare in commercial markets and more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

The farmers, who are organised into groups, take the seeds into the banks for storage.

At the centre, they are tested for moisture in a bottle with salt. Once well dried, they are tested to see how many germinate.

“When we do a germination test and 80 per cent or below of the seeds have germinated, we do not place the seeds in the bank because when you plant them, they’ll not fully germinate. Only those above 80 per cent are placed in the seed bank,” said Beatrice Ndungu, a leader for one of the farming groups in Gilgil.

The seeds are then stored in glass bottles to stop them being destroyed by weevils.

“We have a house seed bank and a farm seed bank where sweet potato vines, indigenous trees, onions, sugarcane, among others, are planted and preserved,” said Beatrice.

Seeds stored in the seed bank freezer can be stored for up to ten years, while the normal refrigerator can keep the seeds safe for up to five years.

The Elementeita centre also has an underground seedbank where the seeds are kept in a freezer and can remain intact for up to 15 years.

.“We have 47 varieties of beans, 8 varieties of local maize, and twelve varieties of indigenous vegetables. When it rains, I decide on when to plant because I already have my seeds, hence my farm cannot be without anything every time. Unlike my counterparts who depend on hybrid seedlings, who have to wait when they have money to buy the seeds before planting,” said Beatrice.

Another Nakuru farmers’ group leader Peninah Ngahu said the seed banks have helped cut their cost of production, because they do not have to buy seeds, as they replant only the seeds they harvested in previous seasons.

“Many farmers come to us asking where we get the seeds, and that’s how we win them into agro ecology, because when they start practicing it, they do not have to go to the agrovets each time to buy seeds, which is especially important in these hard economic times,” she said.

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Her experience is the reason why Seed Savers Network Director Daniel Wanjama started the network in 2009. 

His aim was to reduce the dependency of farmers on commercial seeds, which are mostly imported and struggle in the local soil.

“Kenya imports over 95 per cent of vegetable seeds, and that means if we are unable to import, we shall be unable to feed ourselves. If we are unable to feed ourselves, then that is a very serious problem,” he said.

Fifteen years onwards, some seeds can only be found at the centre.

“It is hard to get some seeds in the Kenyan commercial markets, and the only way they can be accessed is through farmers having their network and sharing seeds and multiplying them,” he said 

The centre’s indigenous seeds include legumes, nuts, vegetables, maize and tree seedlings, many of which are overlooked by commercial producers.Yet indigenous seeds are adapted to local climate conditions and can be replanted, unlike commercial seedlings.

The centre is also a hub for traditional agriculture knowledge with facilities for composting, tree nurseries, vegetable dehydration, and soil conservation.

“Our mission is conservation of agrobiodiversity because communities are losing their food at an alarming rate and as a network we are coming in to bridge that gap by working together with communities to ensure they are growing their food in an agro ecological way, and that way they can be climate resilient because the rains cannot be predictable anymore,” said Julia Kamau, the head of Programs at Seed Savers Network.

The network has trained over 74,000 farmers to identify and collect seeds facing extinction and aims to set up seed banks across the country, with 121 already up and running.

“When farmers come for training, we ensure they get the why, and mostly the why is why are we still depending on donors for food, when we import almost everything? What can we do to utilise our local indigenous foods” she said.