The growing popularity of seedless fruit is transforming consumer preferences, but it is also raising important questions about who controls planting material and how African smallholder farmers access the means of production.

Unlike conventional seed-based crops, many seedless fruit varieties are propagated through cuttings, grafting or tissue culture. Farmers therefore cannot simply save seeds from one harvest and replant them the following season. Instead, they may depend on commercial nurseries and other suppliers for new planting material, sometimes under licensing arrangements.

That dependence matters in Africa, where informal seed systems remain central to smallholder agriculture. Research covering thousands of seed transactions across several African countries has found that farmers obtain more than 90% of their seed through informal channels, including their own stocks, local markets and exchanges with other farmers. When crops or varieties cannot be reproduced through these traditional systems, an important part of the agricultural economy is disrupted.

For generations, African farming communities have developed their own systems for selecting, preserving and exchanging planting material. Seeds were often chosen according to local conditions, including drought tolerance, soil suitability, taste and storage characteristics. These practices also helped communities maintain crop diversity and adapt to changing environmental conditions.

The history of African seed systems also demonstrates their cultural importance. Historical accounts describe West African women carrying rice, okra and other seeds in their hair during the transatlantic slave trade, allowing important crops and agricultural knowledge to survive displacement. The story illustrates how seeds have represented far more than agricultural inputs: they have carried food security, cultural knowledge and resilience across generations.

These traditions are increasingly relevant as African countries strengthen laws governing plant varieties and intellectual property. Critics argue that regulations designed primarily around commercial breeders can sometimes restrict traditional practices such as saving and exchanging planting material, while providing insufficient recognition for farmer-developed varieties and indigenous knowledge.

Kenya’s experience illustrates the tension. Provisions that imposed penalties for handling uncertified seeds were struck down by the High Court in 2025, while Ghana continues to maintain strong penalties for violations of breeders’ rights. Such regulations highlight the challenge of creating systems that protect innovation without undermining farmers’ ability to maintain and exchange planting material.

The debate is therefore not simply about seedless fruit. It is about seed sovereignty, farmer rights and control over Africa’s agricultural resources. As the continent modernises its food systems, policymakers face the challenge of ensuring that intellectual-property protections and commercial breeding can coexist with indigenous knowledge, farmer-managed seed systems and affordable access to planting material.

For Africa’s long-term food security, agricultural policy will need to recognise both sides of this equation: encouraging innovation while ensuring that farmers and communities retain meaningful control over the genetic resources and knowledge on which their food systems depend.