If you are an agriculture graduate or professional, you will need a license to work in the private and public sectors if a bill fronted by Tigania West Member of Parliament John Mutunga Kanyuithia becomes a law. The legislature chairs the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Livestock.
This bill cited as the Agricultural Professionals Registration and Licensing Act, 2024 seeks to train, register, and license agricultural graduates and professionals in Kenya. As per the definition stated in the Act, agricultural specialty includes “training or specialization in crop production, horticulture, plant breeding, seed technology, agronomy, botany, crop science, crop protection, home economics, food science, farm management, animal production, range management agricultural economics, agribusiness, agricultural extension, agricultural education, agricultural marketing agricultural policy and law, floriculture, biotechnology, agricultural engineering, soil and water engineering, soil science, agro-forestry, and natural resources management.”
Establishment of a Board
The bill seeks to establish the Agriculture Professionals Registration and Licensing Board consisting of the Current Principal Secretaries from the Ministry responsible for agriculture and livestock or their representatives and other members appointed by the cabinet secretary by a gazette notice.
All graduates and professionals in the agriculture sector will need to seek registration and receive a practice certificate from the Board.
Requirements for Registration
An individual will be required to have a certificate, diploma, or degree recognized by the board in addition to paying a prescribed subscription fee to be eligible for registration. Further, one will need to be a member of a professional body recognized by the board among other requirements.
Practicing without registering with the board as per the proposed act will attract a fine of not less than Ksh1 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.
The bill further states that “A person who, in an application for registration, willfully makes a false or misleading statement or presents a false certificate, commits an offence and shall, upon conviction, be liable to a fine not less than one million shillings, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.”
Validity and Renewal of the Practice Certificate
As per the Act, “ a practicing certificate issued under this section shall be valid from the date of issue and shall expire on the last day of December in the year it is issued.”
One may apply for renewal of the certificate in the prescribed form at least thirty days before the practicing certificate, the date of expiry thereof. Failure to renew the practicing certificate within the prescribed period will require an agricultural professional to pay a late application fee.
Professional Conduct of Agricultural Professional
Besides registration and licensing, the bill provides a list of conduct inconsistent with the Act. According to the bill, you are guilty of professional conduct if you:
(a) Deliberately fail to adhere to the stipulated standards of conduct and practice of the agricultural profession as laid down by the Board
(b) Commit gross negligence in the conduct of professional duties
(c) Allow another person to practice in their name where such person is not a holder of a practicing certificate issued under this Act, and is not in partnership with them
(d) Take advantage of a client by abusing a position trust, expertise, or authority;
(e) Are insensitive to clients through lack of regard or concern for clients’ needs, feelings, rights, or welfare of others;
(f) Show incompetence or inability to render services, for reasons ranging from inadequate training or inexperience to personal unfitness, such as a character defect or an emotional disturbance
(g) Proof to be irresponsible including lack of reliable or dependable execution of professional duties attempts to blame others for one’s mistakes, shoddy or superficial professional work, or excessive delays in delivering necessary feedback, assessments, reports, or services
(h) Are guilty of abandonment through failure to follow through with the duties or responsibilities thereby causing clients to become vulnerable or feel discarded or rejected
Requirement for Employers
The bill further restricts employers or heads of agricultural institutions or any other agricultural organizations in Kenya from recruiting individuals who are not registered as per the Act. Contravening the provision will attract a fine of not less than Ksh1 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both.
Persons Dealing with Agricultural Inputs
The Act also requires a person who deals and manages agricultural inputs to be eligible for registration or licensing. Otherwise, managing or dispensing agricultural inputs in the form of fertilizers, feeds, and agricultural chemicals will be an offence attracting a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.
Professionals Already in Private Practice
If you are engaged in private practice as an agricultural professional immediately before the date of commencement of the act, you are entitled to continue with the private practice without a license for six months from the date of commencement of this Act. Besides, you can continue practicing up to the period your application for registration under this Act is approved or rejected by the Board.