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Cases / Pesticides and agrochemicals · Kenya · 2012–2025

Kenyan court removes seed-sharing offence in 2025; destruction costs fall on farmers

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

Kenya's seed law made sharing unregistered seed a crime until a court ruling in November 2025, and the permanence of that ruling is unclear. Farmers paid for the destruction of banned pesticides, while EU exports of banned pesticides rose.

What?
Banned pesticides and a seed law that criminalised sharing unregistered seed shaped farming in Kenya; a court removed the offence in November 2025. Public Eye
Where?
Kenya
When?
2012 to 2025
Who?
Gained
  • EU exporters of banned pesticides — Exports of banned products rose; the sources list EU exporters as gainers Public Eye
  • Sector and subsidy recipients — Benefited from subsidised inputs; no amounts are given for Kenya
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Farmers — Paid the destruction cost of banned pesticides
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Acidity linked to DAP fertiliser was addressed with lime and a '50% organic' fertiliser, while banned products were destroyed at farmers' cost.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Until a court ruling in November 2025, Kenya's seed law made sharing unregistered seed punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to one million shillings, according to the sources reviewed.

Public Eye reported in September 2025 that EU exports of banned pesticides had risen sharply; the EU notified exports of 75 banned substances to 93 countries in 2024, about 75% of the destinations being low- or middle-income.

The sources reviewed say the cost of destroying banned products fell on farmers and that exports continued.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Unclear Whether the November 2025 ruling is permanent is unclear in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record The amounts of the destruction costs are not stated in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record The volume of banned products exported to Kenya is not stated in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record Kenya's Pest Control Products Board is named as the administrative body; the sources do not describe its decisions.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Communities and civil society

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