Measuring the resilience capacity of people to food insecurity and other shocks as well as the effectiveness of FAO’s resilience interventions has been a significant activity of the Organization since 2008. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been a pioneer in the development of the Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis II (RIMA-II) model – an innovative quantitative approach to resilience analysis designed to explain why and how some households have the ability to cope with shocks and stressors better than others.

In a bid to stimulate and facilitate the discussion among key stakeholders on the relevance of resilience analyses in Kenya to the various policy processes and national resilience initiatives, the FAO Sub-Regional Resilience Team for Eastern Africa hosted a one-day workshop and invited key stakeholders and representatives of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Kenyan national government institutions as well as donor and partner organizations to provide updates on the RIMA-II model and its applications in Kenya.

In his opening remarks, Gabriel Rugalema, FAO Representative in Kenya, emphasized that analytical models like RIMA-II are crucial for evidence-based good decision making. “The model is key in generating evidence for policy and actual development interventions", he stated. "Given the current situation of drought in the region we cannot avoid generating evidence that is crucial for informing us where the problem is and how big it is, how widespread is the impact, how is the problem evolving over time, and what interventions are needed, when and where. But even under a no drought situation we need to measure the magnitude of vulnerability of our households and communities as well as ecosystems with the view of designing appropriate programmes. Building resilience is an imperative”, he added.

During the workshop was also presented the resilience analysis that was carried out in three counties of Kenya (Isiolo, Marsabit and Meru) using the RIMA-II model. The study aimed at understanding household resilience capacity in the three counties and revealed that productive assets, income diversification and distance to basic services have a huge impact on households’ resilience in Isiolo, Marsabit and Meru. Clear policy interventions are being circulated through the related policy brief.