Nakuru County is moving to integrate food systems, climate resilience, and sustainable land use into its next five-year development plan. This initiative comes as officials and development partners warn that climate change, urban expansion, and declining agricultural land increasingly threaten food security.
Over 100 county partners and stakeholders recently participated in a two-day policy dialogue and advocacy workshop. The workshop aimed to identify priorities for the 2028–2032 County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), which will replace the current plan when it concludes next year.
Discussions at the workshop focused on incorporating food-system priorities into county policies, strengthening resource mobilisation, and ensuring adequate budgetary provisions for activities aimed at improving food security and climate resilience.
Dr Michael Cheruiyot, Nakuru County Chief Officer for Livestock, Fisheries and Veterinary Services, highlighted the immediate impact of climate change on agricultural production. He noted that the county is facing a possible crop failure, particularly for maize.
“Climate change is so real, as we are speaking. There is a foreseen crop failure, particularly maize, and this is due to the global warming brought about by climate change. We must take action to mitigate climate change and protect food security,” Cheruiyot said.
He added that the workshop had produced a communiqué that would be presented to the county government for consideration during the development of the next CIDP.
“From this workshop, we have come up with a communiqué which is going to be presented to the county government for further deliberation. So that as we develop the new CIDP, we will develop activities and factors to strengthen and assist in food security,” he explained.
The county government, led by Governor Susan Kihika, is expected to collaborate with development partners to address climate change, disaster management, and other factors affecting food production and livelihoods.
Michael Onchabo, Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) Kenya Country Director, explained that the workshop brought together county departments and development partners to examine evidence that will shape the next generation of CIDPs.
He noted that discussions drew upon studies examining policy gaps, Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), national adaptation plans, and biodiversity strategies and action plans, exploring how these national frameworks could be integrated into county development planning.
“The two-day workshop in Nakuru County, together with many partners and stakeholders from various departments within the county government and local development partners, brought forward results from studies conducted by our consultants,” Onchabo said.
“One looked at policy analysis and the Nationally Determined Contributions, while others looked into our national adaptation plans and national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and how those will be integrated into the next generation of county integrated development plans.”
The discussions also emphasised the need to protect the riparian areas of Lake Nakuru while considering economic activities and other land uses within the county.
Onchabo stated that spatial analysis would provide evidence on how land use, vegetation cover, and settlement patterns have changed over time and how these changes could affect food security in both urban and rural communities.
“Most importantly, the spatial study of Nakuru County will show how the vegetation cover, for example, and land uses have changed over a number of years and how that is likely to impact food security, both in urban and also in rural communities within Nakuru County,” he elaborated.
He added that this evidence would be crucial for developing policies that support sustainable food production while balancing economic development, environmental protection, and the needs of a growing population.
“We are looking for inclusive, resilient, and climate-smart adaptations that, of course, will support the livelihoods, the people, and the planet collectively,” Onchabo stated
Vincent Kinyua from the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Irrigation and Cooperative Development, highlighted that evidence from spatial studies could provide important guidance for the next CIDP, particularly concerning agrifood systems.
He noted that increasing urbanisation is putting pressure on agricultural land at a time when the county’s growing population demands more food.
“Spatial studies about Nakuru City and their results can inform the County Integrated Development Plans on matters of agrifood systems,” Kinyua said. “The use of evidence and data to inform policy is very important, hence to make future policy for CIDP 2028–2032 for Nakuru County successful.”
The workshop also addressed challenges facing neighbouring Narok County, including declining soil fertility and the loss of organic carbon in agricultural soils.
Kinyua suggested that partners could support efforts to increase the production and use of organic manure to restore soil health and improve agricultural productivity.
“We hope that the partners can also help us support Narok County in matters of processing organic manure. One of the studies from Strathmore University shows that there is a lot of organic soil reducing in Narok County, reducing the production of maize as the nutrients are reducing,” he said.
He further noted that agroforestry could play a vital role in restoring degraded land, especially given Narok’s large areas of bare land. He mentioned that Narok launched its Agroforestry Policy on 24 July 2026 and is seeking partners to support its implementation.
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Kenya has been supporting two initiatives in Nakuru: spatial analysis and mapping for land-use management, and policy analysis and integration.
SDSN Kenya Network Manager Dr Stella Mbiti said the spatial planning initiative examined urban expansion, conversion of agricultural land, vegetation loss, and climate-related environmental risks.
“For the spatial planning and land management plan for Nakuru, it focused on issues to do with urban expansion, agricultural land conversion, and also vegetation loss and climate environmental risks,” Mbiti said, adding that “The future development of the spatial plan for Nakuru is to guide development because with the development of activities by the national government comes urban expansion, population increase in the rural setup and at the grassroots.”
She added that the spatial planning tool could guide land-use decisions while informing economic planning and other sectors, including health and the environment.
Mbiti also stated that SDSN Kenya is working to bridge the gap between research and implementation by connecting scientific knowledge with communities and policymakers.
“Our mandate in SDSN Kenya is to bridge the science, policy, and practice gap,” she explained. “What we realised in SDSN Kenya is that there are so many technologies and innovations in different areas, including climate change and food security. But these technologies and innovations have not been cascaded to the grassroots; they have remained on our shelves. SDSN Kenya has stepped in to close this gap.”
Consultant in Climate and Sustainability Waithira Gichiri said the findings from the two studies could be applied in other counties facing similar food-system and climate challenges, such as Bungoma, Narok, and Kiambu.
“Following the success of these two studies, we’re hoping to scale to other counties, such as Bungoma, Narok and Kiambu. We have heard from representatives of these counties that they face similar challenges,” Gichiri said.
She cited urban expansion into agricultural areas in Kiambu and declining soil quality in Narok as examples of challenges requiring evidence-based planning.
Stakeholders emphasised that stronger collaboration between county governments, researchers, and development partners would be critical to ensuring that the 2028–2032 CIDP effectively addresses food security, climate resilience, sustainable land use, and the long-term sustainability of Nakuru’s food systems.
