T he agriculture sector accounts for 22% of Kenya’s GDP, with the majority of the population dependent directly or indi- rectly on agriculture. Kenya has a well-established seed sector and is a member of regional and international institutions relevant to the seed sector. Kenya acceded to UPOV under the 1978 Act of the Convention on 13 May 1999. The motivation to join UPOV was because of the need to promote breeding by having an inter- nationally recognized plant variety protection (PVP) system. Having an internationally recognized PVP system encourages local and international breeders to develop and commercial- ize superior varieties since they can recoup investments from breeding through royalties. Availability of superior varieties would in turn help farmers increase productivity. Kenya acceded to the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention in May 2016. The 1991 Act provides a stronger protection for the breeder. The extension of protection to harvested materials and products made directly from harvested materials enables the breeder to recover their investment for cases where they did not have sufficient opportunity to exercise rights on propagating material. Further, the 1991 Act allows contracting parties to provide for a farm- ers’ exemption on farm-saved seed without jeopardising the interest of the breeder. This is particularly important in Kenya, where farmers have the practice of saving seed of certain crops. Since joining UPOV, significant changes were noted in the field of breeding. Locally, the number of breeding entities increased significantly. Traditionally, breeding activ- ities were restricted to public breeders, but with implementation of a PVP system and UPOV membership, there was significant breeding activity among breeders from the private sector. There was also a remarkable change in the diversity of species with breed- ing programmes. Quite remarkable is the growth in the floriculture sector due to introduction of BENEFITS OF PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION AND UPOV MEMBERSHIP: THE CASE OF KENYA BY: ESTHER KIMANI BOOSTING FARMER ACCESS TO ELITE VARIETIES 8 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM KEPHIS Managing Director Dr. Esther Kimani