Nakuru, November 2023 – Foresight4Fod FoSTr programme with partners Results for Africa Initiative, International Livestock Research Institute, and the University of Nairobi, organized a ‘Nakuru Foresight Roundtable’ for food systems stakeholders in the Nakuru county in Kenya.
The roundtable sought to explore how foresight can contribute to food systems transformation and ongoing decision-making processes and brought together stakeholders from across the food system in an engaging roundtable session. With more than 80 participants, the roundtable combined insightful presentations, interactive exercises, and active exploration of critical uncertainties relevant to Nakuru’s regional food system.
The Nakuru Foresight Roundtable was an excellent way for stakeholders to share their perspectives on the Nakuru food system and helped FoSTr team to form a group of multi-stakeholders willing to support the scenario development and guide it to advise the County Government plan which will be launched in May 2024.
The County Agriculture Counsellor opened the session with a strong attendance from other county officials. Wangeci Gitata-Kiriga, FoSTr Kenya Country Facilitator, welcomed participants to the session. Joyce Nyamweya, Founder and Executive Director of Results for Africa Institute, gave an overview of the policy frameworks currently underlying food systems transformation in Kenya. The Hon. Leonard Bor, County Executive member in Charge of Agriculture, joined to share the priorities of the County Governor.
During the coffee break, participants were invited to look at key data about Nakuru and Kenya on the wall, showing information about various aspects of the food system. In groups, stakeholders together mapped the food system of Nakuru using Rich Pictures. Together they discussed and drew the key stakeholders, characteristics, challenges, and key trends. This led to a discussion of the key future risks and long-term opportunities in the county.
Afterward, various groups presented their Rich Picture and shared what they see as key trends and uncertainties that will shape the food system in the future. Based on this discussion, the participants were engaged in brainstorming what they felt was needed to transform the food system that could relate to innovations, social behavior change, and new forms of collaboration, among others. These recommendations were fed into a core group of stakeholders that were willing to take this beyond the round table.
The Foresight Roundtable closed with the announcement that, with the formation of the Small Core Group, the FoSTr team intends to return to Nakuru early next year for another workshop, and will prepare scenarios and a report to support County Government planning and budgets by May 2024. FoSTr will also explore the possibility of organizing a 1-day workshop in February for the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Technical Working Group focused on food systems transformation.