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There are a number of legal frameworks in Kenya; both proposed (Bills) and Acts of Parliament that are imperative in promoting various components of food security. These frameworks are designed and implemented both at the National and County levels. At the National level, there are the: Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act, Crop production and Livestock Act 2012, Irrigation Act 2012, Irrigation Bill 2015, Land Registration Act and Community Land Act, 2016 and Mining Act 2016 among others. These laws and legal proposals espouse provisions for protecting and advancing the rights of communities including the indigenous and pastoralist groups against any harm by the state and other actors while providing the do and don’ts for the same target groups.

For instance, the Crop production and Livestock Act mandates the National Government to define or limit the number, kind and ages of the livestock in any area and moreover provide the legal provision for preventing losses of animals from diseases or other causes. The new Mining Act which provide the legal interpretations within the extractive industries; a sector oriented towards the exploration and extraction of mineral resources, guides on how such mineral resources should be managed in Kenya. The law lays out the formula for sharing the benefits between the National and County Governments as well as local communities. The law also talks of the manner and speed in which government ought to compensate communities and individuals whose properties are damaged in the process of prospecting and extraction.

Even with the existence of these laws, the biggest challenge however is on how to promote public awareness in a way that communities especially in Baringo and West Pokot Counties will start to appreciate the social-cultural and legal rights as well as responsibilities that they hold unaware. The two separate workshops held on 6th and 7th April 2017 in Baringo and subsequently on 12th and 13th in West Pokot were specifically designed to increase the knowledge of the Non State and State Actors on these legal frameworks that seek to assist address the problems of food and nutrition insecurities. The above laws as singled out are laws that also have a direct effect to improving food security related practices. For instance, land is seen as a means of production for crops, pasture and underground water which both the pastoralist and mixed farmers rely on. Community land ownership and the climate change Act are also meant to mitigate and build resilience among the poor communities. The diminutive knowledge of the legal environment upon which food security is meant to thrive in therefore justified the needed to explore an introductory workshop for key stakeholders to learn on the existing Acts and Bills.

Approximately 29 to 32 participants in each County including KAS staff, NSAs working in the field of food security, government institutions like the Departments of Agriculture, Livestock, Water, Health, Education, Lands, Disaster Management and agencies such as the National Lands Commission, NDMA and ASDSP all participated in this workshop. Even though the one and a half day workshop held in each county was providing a broad look at the different laws, linking them to the promotion of food security, one of the ways forward agreed by the participants was the need to revisit the laws in context of the counties and systematically analyze legal aspects that could be domesticated further for effective law enforcement within the county set up. There was also a request from participants from the two counties to have an in-depth training of the specific laws with more time allocation. Such legal trainings are deemed important for the future, especially in refining knowledge and understanding of food security through a legal lens