Agriculture, environment and climate journalists have been urged to take a keen interest in Kenya’s agriculture policies by factually reporting on its effects on the country’s food system.
Seed Savers Network (Kenya), Chief Executive Officer Daniel Wanjama says the media has a critical role in amplifying the country’s hits and misses towards the realization of a food secure status.
“As journalists, you need to understand that whatever happens on the farm directly affects you, whether you are a farmer or not. When bad agricultural policies are passed, the entire nation suffers’’ Wanjama said.
Wanjama observed that journalists are powerful vessels for amplifying work being done by stakeholders within the food system sector, including farmers.
“The largest food producers in Kenya are the millions of smallholder farmers, and when they are being oppressed, the media has a duty to offer them a voice’’ he said.
He spoke during a one-day training workshop for journalists on Kenya’s Farmer Managed Seed System. The journalists drawn from Nakuru, Nairobi, and Eastern Kenya counties were also updated on the progress of the seed case filed by smallholder farmers.
The case whose judgment is set for November 27, 2025, was filed at the Machakos High Court challenging the legality of sections of the Seed and Plant Varieties Act (Cap. 326) of 2012 and the Seeds and Plant Varieties (Seeds) Regulations, 2016. , which prohibit the sale and exchange of unregistered seed varieties.
During the sessions, the journalists were taken through the legal, social, and economic implications of the case.
Wanjama argued that many smallholder farmers in Kenya depend on the tradition of sharing seeds, and criminalizing the Farmer Managed Seed System threatens their livelihoods and undermines food security.
Elizabeth Atieno, a food campaigner from Greenpeace Africa, called for informed media coverage to help the public stay updated on the progress of the case.
“It is only through the work of journalists that Kenyans will understand the broader implications of such laws that threaten the country’s food security”, said Atieno.
She added, “The media plays a powerful role in shaping policy debates. By equipping journalists with accurate information, we hope to foster more balanced and inclusive reporting on seed sovereignty issues,”.
A tour around the Seed Savers farm in Gilgil provided the journalists with a firsthand account of the Farmer-Managed Food System and how it supports and enhances community resilience, biodiversity conservation, and food security.
The journalists were challenged to keep track of the seed litigation progress and continue amplifying the voices of farmers who may otherwise be left out of policy decisions.
Atieno, at the same time, underscored the importance of accurate, people-centred reporting in the agriculture and food systems sector.
