Certified seed varieties for Kenya — matched to your altitude zone and soil

ShambaIQ shows KEPHIS-certified and KALRO-approved seed varieties after every fertilizer plan — filtered to varieties that suit your altitude zone, soil conditions, and target market. Below are the varieties in the database for the most common crops.

For a personalised variety recommendation filtered to your exact county and farm, run the free ShambaIQ tool and check the seeds section in your results.

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Highland (>1,800m)Medium Altitude (900–1,800m)Dryland (<900m)

Maize certified seed varieties24 varieties

H614

Highland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 180-240 days

Yield: 35-40 bags/acre

Excellent grain quality; tolerant to common blights.

H6218

Highland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 170-210 days

Yield: 38-42 bags/acre

High yielding; strong stalk preventing lodging.

H513

Medium Altitude

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 120-150 days

Yield: 25-30 bags/acre

Fast maturing; good performance in transitional climates.

Katumani Composite B

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 90-120 days

Yield: 15-18 bags/acre

Highly drought-tolerant; ensures harvest in low rainfall.

DH04

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 90-110 days

Yield: 18-22 bags/acre

Extremely fast maturing; escapes late-season heat stress.

H625

Highland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 150-180 days

Yield: 32-40 bags/acre

Frost tolerant; resistant to grey leaf spot and northern blight; suited to cold highlands 1800-2500m.

H6213

Highland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 150-200 days

Yield: 40-54 bags/acre

High yielding; excellent ear rot and GLS resistance; large cobs; good standability 1500-2100m.

H626

Highland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 150-190 days

Yield: 40-50 bags/acre

Semi-dent; stays green at harvest for dual grain and fodder use; resistant to GLS.

H628

Highland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 150-195 days

Yield: 31-50 bags/acre

Late maturity; suited to cold and wet highland conditions 1600-2300m; good disease tolerance.

H629

Highland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 150-190 days

Yield: 36-45 bags/acre

Good standability; stays green; high potential highland zone 1500-2100m.

H623

Medium

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 120-150 days

Yield: 31-40 bags/acre

Resistant to blight rust and grey leaf spot; good husk cover; medium altitude 1400-1700m.

H516

Lowland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 80-110 days

Yield: 13-22 bags/acre

Drought tolerant; MSV tolerant; suited for coastal and semi-arid lowlands below 1200m.

DH01

Dryland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 90-120 days

Yield: 27-40 bags/acre

Drought tolerant; MSV tolerant; semi-arid adapted 0-1500m; good for low-input farmers.

DH02

Dryland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 90-120 days

Yield: 27-40 bags/acre

MSV and GLS tolerant; drought tolerant; widely adapted to low-medium altitude 0-1500m.

DH03

Dryland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 90-120 days

Yield: 13-22 bags/acre

Drought tolerant; tolerant to leaf diseases; suitable for dryland short second season.

WH403

Medium

Breeder: Western Seed Company

Maturity: 120-150 days

Yield: 28-35 bags/acre

Prolific; excellent GLS and rust tolerance; good for silage; medium altitude 1200-1600m.

WH507

Medium

Breeder: Western Seed Company

Maturity: 130-160 days

Yield: 27-40 bags/acre

Tolerant to leaf diseases; good standability; widely adapted medium to high altitude 1000-1700m.

Ukamez-2

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 90-110 days

Yield: 21-41 bags/acre

KEPHIS certified; drought tolerant; GLS and MSV resistant; dry mid altitude Eastern Kenya 800-1600m.

Ukamez-1

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 85-100 days

Yield: 18-22 bags/acre

KEPHIS certified; early maturing; drought tolerant; suited to ASALs in Eastern Kenya.

Embu-537

Medium

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 120-140 days

Yield: 28-32 bags/acre

Medium altitude composite; consistent yield under Central Kenya conditions.

KH500-48A

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 90-110 days

Yield: 20-25 bags/acre

KALRO open-pollinated hybrid; heat tolerant; widely adapted in eastern regions.

FAWTH2001

Medium

Breeder: CIMMYT/KALRO

Maturity: 130-150 days

Yield: 32-38 bags/acre

MLN-tolerant; developed in response to Maize Lethal Necrosis; KEPHIS listed.

FAWTH2002

Medium

Breeder: CIMMYT/KALRO

Maturity: 125-145 days

Yield: 30-36 bags/acre

MLN-tolerant; CIMMYT East Africa release; grey leaf spot resistant.

FAWTH2003

Medium

Breeder: CIMMYT/KALRO

Maturity: 120-140 days

Yield: 28-34 bags/acre

MLN-tolerant; combined resistance package; suited to highland Kenya.

Beans certified seed varieties7 varieties

KAT B1

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 60-65 days

Yield: 8-10 bags/acre

Yellow bean; highly tolerant to drought and heat.

KAT X56

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 65-70 days

Yield: 10-12 bags/acre

Red mottled; resistant to bean common mosaic virus.

Chelalang

Medium

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 75-80 days

Yield: 12-15 bags/acre

High yield; resistant to root rot and angular leaf spot.

Nyota

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 65-70 days

Yield: 10-13 bags/acre

Navy bean type; iron-rich; KEPHIS certified; popular in export markets.

KAT B9

Medium

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 70-75 days

Yield: 12-14 bags/acre

Bush bean; resistant to anthracnose and angular leaf spot; good grain quality.

KAT X69

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 60-65 days

Yield: 8-11 bags/acre

Small red bean; heat tolerant; suited to semi-arid lowland conditions.

Kenya Mali (KAT SW-12)

Medium

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 70-75 days

Yield: 11-13 bags/acre

Speckled sugar bean; high market value; widely traded in Nairobi market chains.

Potato certified seed varieties14 varieties

Shangi

Medium

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 80-90 days

Yield: 300-350 bags/acre

Very fast cooking; high tuber density per plant.

Unica

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 90-100 days

Yield: 350-400 bags/acre

Heat tolerant; highly resistant to late blight.

Tigoni

Highland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 90-100 days

Yield: 350-450 bags/acre

Late blight resistant; well adapted to cool highland conditions above 2000m.

Asante

Medium

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 85-95 days

Yield: 320-400 bags/acre

High yielding; good cooking quality; suited to medium altitude 1500-2000m.

Kenya Furaha

Medium

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 90-100 days

Yield: 340-420 bags/acre

Good taste; disease tolerant; KEPHIS certified; consistent yield.

Kenya Mpya

Medium

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 85-95 days

Yield: 300-380 bags/acre

New release; adapted to Central Kenya highlands; good storability.

Clone IG-70

Highland

Breeder: CIP/KALRO

Maturity: 95-110 days

Yield: 380-460 bags/acre

Virus resistant; developed by CIP for highland Kenya; high dry matter content.

Dutch Robijn

Highland

Breeder: KARI-Tigoni

Maturity: 90-100 days

Yield: 310-400 bags/acre

Classic highland variety released 1960s; high tuber uniformity; excellent crisping quality; tolerant to late blight; short dormancy.

Kenya Baraka

Highland

Breeder: KARI-Tigoni

Maturity: 95-105 days

Yield: 280-320 bags/acre

Oblong/round tubers; resistant to late blight and viruses; good storability; table and chips use; released 1973.

Sherekea

Medium

Breeder: KARI/CIP

Maturity: 90-105 days

Yield: 320-380 bags/acre

High yielding; good cooking quality; medium dormancy; suited to highlands 1400-3000m; released 2010.

Lenana

Highland

Breeder: CIP/KALRO

Maturity: 90-105 days

Yield: 320-400 bags/acre

Late blight tolerant; PVX and PLRV tolerant; dry matter 22%; good for French fries; upper highlands; released 2017.

Wanjiku

Highland

Breeder: CIP/KALRO

Maturity: 100-120 days

Yield: 400-480 bags/acre

Extremely tolerant to PVY; late blight tolerant; dry matter 21%; French fries and crisps; 1800-3000m; released 2017.

Nyota

Highland

Breeder: CIP/KALRO

Maturity: 90-105 days

Yield: 280-360 bags/acre

Late blight tolerant; heat tolerant; dry matter 20%; table variety; upper highlands; released 2017.

Chulu

Highland

Breeder: CIP/KALRO

Maturity: 100-120 days

Yield: 280-360 bags/acre

Late blight and PVX tolerant; heat tolerant; dry matter 24%; table and processing; widely adapted; released 2017.

Wheat certified seed varieties2 varieties

KS Mwamba

Highland

Breeder: Kenya Seed Company

Maturity: 130-150 days

Yield: 30-35 bags/acre

Stem rust resistant; strong lodging resistance.

Robin

Highland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 120-140 days

Yield: 28-32 bags/acre

Consistent performance across environments.

Tomato certified seed varieties2 varieties

Rambo F1

Medium

Breeder: Royal Seeds

Maturity: 75-80 days

Yield: 6–7.2 tons/acre

Determinate hybrid; excellent disease tolerance.

Money Maker

Medium

Breeder: Simlaw Seeds

Maturity: 80-90 days

Yield: 4–4.8 tons/acre

Reliable open-pollinated variety.

Kale (Sukuma Wiki) certified seed varieties2 varieties

Thousand Headed

Medium

Breeder: Simlaw Seeds

Maturity: 60-70 days

Yield: 5–6 tons/acre

Continuous harvesting up to 9 months.

Collard Mfalme F1

Medium

Breeder: Royal Seeds

Maturity: 45-60 days

Yield: 7–8 tons/acre

High yielding hybrid; soft large leaves.

Sorghum certified seed varieties2 varieties

Gadam

Dryland

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 100-110 days

Yield: 12-15 bags/acre

Ideal for commercial brewing; highly drought resilient.

Seredo

Medium

Breeder: KALRO

Maturity: 110-120 days

Yield: 15-18 bags/acre

Brown grain; excellent bird resistance.

Avocado certified seed varieties2 varieties

Hass

Medium

Breeder: KALRO/HCDA

Maturity: 1000-1200 days

Yield: 4.5–6.3 tons/acre

High export demand; rich oil content.

Fuerte

Medium

Breeder: KALRO/HCDA

Maturity: 1000-1200 days

Yield: 5.4–7.2 tons/acre

Pear-shaped; great local market demand.

More crops with seed variety data

ShambaIQ also shows certified varieties for these crops after your fertilizer plan:

How ShambaIQ matches seed varieties to your farm

Altitude zone

ShambaIQ uses your county's elevation profile to filter varieties — highland varieties on lowland farms produce poor yields and vice versa.

Breeder

All varieties are from KALRO, Kenya Seed Company, Simlaw Seeds, Royal Seeds, or other KEPHIS-approved breeders. No unverified varieties are listed.

Maturity days

Matched to the typical growing season length for your location. Short-rains farmers in drier zones see faster-maturing varieties ranked higher.

Special attributes

Drought tolerance, disease resistance (e.g. late blight in potato, common mosaic virus in beans), export suitability (e.g. Hass avocado), or premium market attributes are flagged per variety.

Frequently asked questions

Are these varieties KEPHIS certified?

Yes. All varieties in the database are officially certified by KEPHIS or approved by KALRO. Only commercially released varieties with documented performance data are included.

What altitude zone do I need?

Highland (above 1,800m) — Nakuru, Nyeri, Nyandarua. Medium altitude (900–1,800m) — most of Central, Western, Rift Valley. Dryland (below 900m, under 700mm rain) — Machakos, Kitui, Kajiado. ShambaIQ auto-detects your zone from your county.

Can I buy these seeds from agrovets?

Yes. After your fertilizer plan, ShambaIQ shows verified agrovets within 50km of your farm. You can also buy from Kenya Seed Company branches and KALRO field stations directly.

What is the difference between hybrid and open-pollinated?

Hybrids (e.g. H614, H6218) yield 20–40% more but seeds cannot be saved for replanting. Open-pollinated varieties (e.g. Katumani Composite B) can be saved. Both types are listed.