Michael Kiamba: Championing Indigenous Seeds for Life 

When Michael Kiamba was growing up in Makueni, he took note of a ritual that his mother undertook regularly.  After every planting season without fail, she ventured out to their farm and carefully earmarked the healthiest crops. Seeds from this strong stock were then set aside for planting during the next season. This ensured there was no shortage of robust crops. Even more brilliant was that neighbours engaged in seed swapping so that everyone ended up with the most viable seeds grown by the whole community! 

Though he may not have known it then, this simple selection process triggered something in Michael that would eventually lead to him training other farmers to follow his mother’s methodical practice. 

Building Farming Knowledge 

When it came time for Michael to choose a career path, agriculture was a no-brainer. He not only took interest in seed practices, but he also saw how food travelled from the farm to the table and provided sustenance for his family. Between 2005 and 2008 at Mukaa High School in Makueni, Michael was intrigued by topics such as soil health and crop management. Slowly he built on the foundation he had established on his parent’s farm. The next step was to gain even more farming know-how through higher education. In 2010, he set his sights towards a degree in Agricultural Economics at Egerton University. By 2016, he had emerged with the benefit of farming knowledge accumulated since childhood. Michael had done the preparation and from there it was time for application. 

All Roads Lead to Seeds 

Out of university and in the real world, Michael worked in both private and public offices. But his journey led him back to seeds in 2019. He joined SACDEP (Sustainable Agriculture Community Development Programme) and rolled up his sleeves for a project on indigenous seeds, water and garden marketing.  

He learned that indigenous seeds were called so because they were grown, selected and cultivated by local farmers. To the average person with no farming experience, it may seem that a seed is a seed. But Michael made it his mission to ensure that the benefits of indigenous seeds were well understood by farmers across Kenya. He found that the typical seeds that farmers used were called hybrid seeds. These were available at agro vets across the country and often contained a mix of different breeds of cereals. For example, two different types of sorghum varieties blended into one seed.  

He became familiar with all types of indigenous seeds including maize, beans, cowpeas, green grams and all their different varieties. He knew that what made these seeds special was how they took to their native environment. Green grams grown in Kitui or Busia were best suited to those areas. Aware of the vast variety and opportunity in indigenous seeds, Michael’s aim was clear. He wanted to empower smallholder farmers across Kenya to attain food security and sustainability through the best possible seed practices. 

Superior Seeds 

Michael’s work began in earnest as he began educating the public on the advantages that indigenous seeds have over hybrid seeds. He helped farmers see how much more resilient and nutritious these seeds were. They were less likely to fall prey to disease, and when grown, were even more delicious than hybrid seeds! He worked hard to spread the gospel that seeds could also be saved for replanting to avoid buying all new seeds at the agro vet.  

In times of struggle, Michael found that saving seeds was not easy for farmers who sometimes found themselves selling all their harvest or consuming it. To remedy this, Michael’s training of farmers also began to include seed banking. In the same way that people save money for a rainy day, farmers could hand over their best-harvested seeds to a seed bank and then withdraw them for planting during the next season.  

Michael has walked alongside farmers from all over the country looking to use indigenous seeds on their farms. Among these farmers are mothers who have borne the brunt of feeding their families. Through saving seeds, he has supported them to ensure that every round of planting is stronger than the previous one. 

We thank Michael Kiamba for his continued work to support farmers and highlight that not all seeds are equal. The prosperity and resilience that comes with seed saving is an ingenious way of forging a flourishing farming future for Kenya. 

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