Seeds and Plant Varieties Act

This Act may be cited as the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act.

This section provides definitions of terms used in the Act (e.g. "authorization", "breeder", "Cabinet Secretary", "seed", "plant variety", "Service", and others).

Section 10 lists persons whose acts constitute offences (including persons making applications or representations connected with the national varieties list and applicants under section 9(3)), allows certain defences for an accused, and contains a two‑year limitation for bringing proceedings in respect of offences under sections 7–9.

Section 3 empowers seeds regulations to set requirements on information, testing, registration, sale, packaging, testing stations and exemptions, and creates an offence for false statutory statements.

The Service must be the national designated authority for seeds and plant variety protection and must be responsible for administering this Act subject to directions of the Cabinet Secretary.

Specifies appointment rules and limits for seed inspectors, analysts and examiners including that the Service must define inspectors' authorised activities, appointed persons must not engage in seed business while appointed, and appointed persons are to be issued identification.

Inspectors may enter and inspect places and examine seed material for enforcing the Act; owners must assist inspectors and provide requested information; refusing or obstructing an inspector or failing without reasonable excuse to produce seed material or documents is an offence.

Inspectors may seize and detain seeds when they reasonably believe the Act has been breached; limits apply to detention durations and disposal can occur with owner consent under Service direction; obstructing an inspector is an offence.

People engaged in enforcing this Act must not disclose information acquired while exercising their functions, except to perform their functions or if required by a court or any written law.

Seeds regulations can make a statutory statement a written warranty by the seller that the particulars are true; sellers must give written notice if a purchaser intends to obtain a test, and regulations must allow seller or agent to be present and to obtain part of the sample.

Provides several defences available to an accused in proceedings for offences against seeds regulations, including that false particulars fall within prescribed variation limits, that reasonable precautions were taken, that information about suppliers is provided on demand, that particulars were shown by testing within prescribed dates, or that the accused relied on a statutory statement delivered by the seller.

Any statutory statement made in respect of seeds which are in distinct portions shall be presumed to be made both in respect of the seeds as a whole and also in respect of each portion taken separately.

The Cabinet Secretary may prepare an index of plant variety names; sections are compiled by class and may be brought into force at different times; after a section is in force, using an unlisted name when selling seed of a listed variety is an offence; notices of coming into force and of additions, corrections and erasures must be published in the Gazette.

After the relevant Index section is in force, a person selling seed of a plant variety that belongs to the indexed class but is not listed must not use a name intended to distinguish that seed; the Cabinet Secretary must enter a provisional name in the Index if a decision on an application cannot be given within three years or if directed by the Tribunal.

The Service must prepare, maintain and publish a national plant varieties list containing names of varieties released for commercialization and make it accessible to the public.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations for national performance trials, apply those regulations by order to classes of plant varieties, exempt plant varieties on application if certain commercial-use conditions are met, and may direct that prohibitions in subsections (4) and (5) cease to apply where trials/reports justify exemption.

The Service must establish one or more official seed testing stations, either alone or with another body.

Certificates of seed test results must be in the form prescribed by seeds regulations; such a certificate is sufficient evidence of the facts stated when the sample was taken by an authorized officer and a copy served on the accused, or when the sample was taken by a person other than an authorized officer for tests mentioned in section 4(3).

Rules govern use of seed samples in criminal proceedings, including required division of samples, retention of a part for court use, evidentiary effect of certificates, prompt sending to testing stations, distribution of test results copies, an accused's right to at least fourteen days to plead after receiving analyst certificates, and production and testing of retained parts on request.

Prohibits tampering with seed samples so that a sample taken as prescribed does not correctly represent the bulk of the seeds.

Importation of seeds to which this section applies is prohibited except under a licence granted by an authorized officer; contravention is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand shillings or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both.

Section 16 gives the Service the power to authorize entry and actions to prevent injurious cross‑pollination, to recover costs from persons who fail to comply with notices, and allows authorized persons to enter land to inspect or take samples.

The authorized officer must grant plant breeders rights if satisfied that the conditions in section 18 are fulfilled.

Conditions in this section must be fulfilled for both the applicant for plant breeder’s rights and the plant variety; an applicant must be the breeder; a plant variety must conform to Part II of the Fourth Schedule.

A holder of plant breeder’s rights may apply to surrender those rights; after prescribed notice and hearing procedures, the authorized officer may accept the surrender and terminate the rights.

Specifies breeder rights over various acts (production, conditioning, offering for sale, selling, exporting, importing, stocking) and permits farmers limited use of harvests from protected varieties; the rights-holder may impose conditions when permitting use.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations about selecting names for plant varieties and keeping a register, and must publish notice of all register entries (including alterations, corrections and erasures) in the Gazette and other convenient ways.

Section 22. Maintenance of reproductive material Section 22(1) The provisions of this section shall apply in relation to all plant varieties. Section 22(2) Every holder of a plant breeder’s rights shall ensure that, throughout the period

Holders of plant breeder’s rights must stock the market with propagating material at reasonable prices and may grant licences; the Cabinet Secretary can require remedies and, if necessary, grant compulsory licences and manage their terms.

An officer may refuse an application for plant breeder’s rights if the applicant fails to pay any fees due in connection with that application.

Any person who knowingly or recklessly makes a false representation that they are entitled to exercise plant breeder’s rights (or derived rights) shall be guilty of an offence; it is immaterial whether the variety is actually subject to such rights.

Where a government servant or agent infringes plant breeder’s rights with the Government's authority, civil proceedings lie against the Government; otherwise no proceedings lie against the Government under the Government Proceedings Act in respect of such infringements; and this section is to have effect as if contained in Part II of the Government Proceedings Act (Cap. 40).

Section 27 has been deleted.

Establishes a Plant Genetic Resources Centre for Food and Agriculture responsible for conserving and sustainably using plant genetic resources and lists its functions; creates an oversight committee; Cabinet Secretary may make regulations about the committee.

Establishes a Seeds and Plants Tribunal and sets out procedures including authorizing persons to appear in appeals, suspending operation of decisions pending appeal, and publishing notices to inform persons affected by such suspensions.

The Tribunal has jurisdiction to allow, refuse or cancel various matters relating to plant breeder’s rights, can determine fees for arbitrations, parties may file certified Tribunal orders in the High Court to be enforced as decrees, the Tribunal must transmit its record to the court and the court must file it, and the Tribunal shall hear matters referred by arbitration agreements (with subsection (3) not applying to that jurisdiction).

Authorized officers can enter certain premises or vehicles to examine seeds and take samples without payment; owners or sellers may be required to provide statements within prescribed times; the section does not allow entry into premises used exclusively as private dwellings.

Proceedings relating to a tested seed sample may be brought within specified time limits (six months or, in a notified-case, up to two years) counted from when the sample was taken; a certificate by an authorized officer that notification occurred is sufficient evidence.

If an offence by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent, connivance, or neglect of a director, manager, secretary or similar officer (or someone purporting to act as such), that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty and liable to be proceeded against and punished.

A person convicted of an offence under this Act for which no other penalty is provided shall be liable to a fine up to twenty thousand shillings, or imprisonment up to six months, or both.

Section may make different provision for different types or classes of plant varieties, for different seasons of the year, and for other different circumstances.