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Both West Pokot and Baringo counties have made progress to come up with county level strategies and policies to improve their food security situation amid the present crises that continues to face them. However for Baringo County, they are yet to have implementable policy frameworks especially those that are meant to directly address issues of food insecurity. The county has made strides in coming up with an Agricultural Policy Draft and strategies for promoting food and nutrition security. Additionally, there is a draft policy on Disaster Risk Management (DRM), a factor that attempts to contribute to disaster risk reduction.

In West Pokot County, a lot of policy engagements have been around the development of a sound policy framework for disaster risk management. Great effort has also been made in the county and KAS together with the department for disaster risk management has recently conducted a series of community participation forums where more perspectives to improve the policy development process in respect to DRM were collected.

To connect these developments with the legislative arm which are charged with the responsibility of representation, passage of plans and budgetary estimates, oversight and legislation, a training seminar was held on the 16th and 17th of March 2017 in Eldoret at the Pearl Hotel. The seminar had three main objectives mainly: to create policy awareness among the legislative arm of the county government on the current policy frameworks on food security; 2) to build the capacity of the legislature on the different policy concepts in the area of food security and disaster risk reduction including approaches for implementation, 3) to build the capacity of the members of the county legislature on budgetary lobbying as well as the expected cost implications of policy implementation.

The seminar was able to engage 35 participants from the two counties, who were taken through a series of training by experienced trainers, guided by three objectives. General issues were discussed jointly and thereafter the two counties were separated to look into and discuss in depth, their individual policy drafts. The idea behind this approach was to build the needed political and policy awareness and capacity to allow for informed budgeting around the policies upon their adoption and formalization.

One of the ways forward agreed in the seminar was that the policy ones enforceable will be critical in helping to prioritize the budgeting process, as well as allowing the two counties to set plans of action that would reduce reliance on emergency relief while allowing the assembly time to concentrate on providing oversight on interventions that are meant to promote disaster resilience. With a clear impression and suggestions on how to pitch the policy within the present political space, political caucusing was recommended for pursuance with members agreed that they will be able to have a more objective look at some of the legislative amendments that will be presented to them on disaster risk management, agriculture and other aspects relating to the promotion of food security in view of consolidating reinforcements. Participants agreed among other things, that there was need by development partners to extend support to the county government especially in legislation and in guiding the process of food security sector budgeting and policy implementation.