MPs push to transfer seed subsidy programme to NCPB amid delays
By Emmanuel Rono, March 17, 2026The National Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Livestock has directed that the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) take over the distribution of subsidised seeds, effectively stripping the Kenya Seed Company of the role amid delays in implementing the programme.
According to a report by the Parliament of Kenya on Monday, March 16, 2026, the Committee said the change is necessary to ensure the timely delivery of seeds to farmers, pointing to the success of NCPB’s fertiliser subsidy system, which is already linked to farmers and counties across the country.
Committee chairperson John Mutunga said the board should extend its current structure to cover seeds, noting that the system already in place can support both inputs without disruption.
“Let the NCPB be mandated to use whatever mechanism they use for fertilisers to also procure seeds for subsidy since they already have a mechanism for farmers to get fertiliser based on their farm size, and that is also how seed subsidy should be,” Mutunga directed.
Subsidy Implementation
Kenya Seed Company Chairperson Purity Ngirici, while appearing before the committee alongside Managing Director Sammy Chepsiror, defended the firm’s position on procedural concerns.
Ngirici argued that the directive to implement the subsidy did not originate from the Cabinet Secretary, but from the Principal Secretary, whom she said is not the policymaker.
They disclosed that they were yet to implement the maize subsidy program, despite a circular signed by the Agriculture Principal Secretary last week directing them to provide subsidised seeds to farmers before the end of the planting season.
Need for Formal Approval
She cautioned that proceeding without formal approval at that level could expose the company to the same challenges experienced in earlier seasons.
“If we start discussing a directive that isn’t accompanied by a Cabinet memo, we are entering the same quagmire we faced in previous seasons, where we were pressured into accepting a directive from a PS who isn’t a policymaker. The policymaker is the CS, and if he doesn’t commit himself by issuing a Cabinet memo on the subsidy, then we’re going in circles over the same issue,” she said.
Committee members questioned why it was taking so long, saying that farmers who had already been told about the subsidy might miss out during the planting season.
Soy MP David Kiplagat said NCPB’s coordination with county governments has proven reliable in getting fertiliser to farmers and can be used to handle seeds as well.
“We already have a working system in the NCPB that is working together with counties to provide the last mile. Our farmers are not complaining about fertiliser. Why don’t we use the same infrastructure to execute the seed subsidy? My proposal is that the money for both fertiliser and seeds subsidy should go to NCPB, which will then source from Kenya Seed and distribute to farmers,” Kiplagat said.
Konoin MP Brighton Yegon said that fertiliser and seeds go hand in hand, and since NCPB has mastered how fertiliser works, it should take over the role.
“Since the planting season is 60 per cent complete, the approved Kshs. 2 billion should be used to pay the pending bill of Kshs. 1.4 billion from last year, with the remaining going to NCPB, which has a framework. Kenya Seed seems to be worried about the pending bill, and since the supplementary budget ends in three months, I don’t think they will be able to fully utilize the funds,” Yegon said.