Increasing Kenya’s food, land and water policy coherence through coordination and collaboration
On 15 August 2023, the CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS) hosted the stakeholders’ workshop, ‘Policy Coherence in Food, Land and Water Systems in Kenya,’ at the International Livestock Research Insititute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya. The aim of the workshop was to review and make recommendations to the ‘Draft Flagship Policy Analysis Report’ that analysed the coherence of food, land and water (FLW) policies and strategies in Kenya. After the study was presented, stakeholders recommended creating a multisectoral committee to improve policy coherence within FLW systems for increased coordination and collaboration.
Joseph Karugia, agricultural economist and policy expert at ILRI, explained how this report on policy coherence will help policymakers in Kenya:
Decisionmakers often have to make quick decisions, sometimes less optimal decisions based on very little information. This report will lead to creating a mechanism for national and international policymakers to respond rapidly and analytically to crises.
The study also proposed the following broad recommendations:
- Enhance the capacity of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), the ministries (MDAs) and civil society organisations (CSOs)
- Improve collaboration and coordination
- Enhance budgetary allocation
- Allow more time and provide resources to CSOs to enhance consultations & deepen public participation
- Strengthen the capacity of civil society movements to monitor and sustain the momentum and enhance accountability
To these recommendations, stakeholders agreed that collaboration and coordination must be improved, suggesting different sectors in FLW systems should come to a consensus on desirable and priority outcomes. Stakeholders also emphasised the role of county governments, suggesting enhancing monitoring and evaluation capacity for county government staff to strengthen policy implementation.
Moving forward, stakeholders want to establish a comprehensive committee for improving coordination and collaboration. This committee would evaluate new and existing policies, work with development partners to develop a FLW strategy and monitor overlapping interests from ministries and stakeholders outside FLW. This committee will be led by national high priority and high interest groups identified by the study like the ministries and supported by development organisations like ILRI.
Susan Moywaywa, Agriculture Transformation Office from the Ministry of Agriculture, reflected on the workshop’s success:
This workshop was an eye opener. The study was really in-depth because it helped us realise where we need to be coherent in our policies within the agriculture sector. For example, water is very critical for production, so we need policies in the water sector to be coherent with policies in forests, crops and livestock.
Read the full article on CGIAR.org.