Florence Kambua (left) rummages through the trash for anything she can sell.
In Kenya, rising food prices mean that some families eat only once a day or not at all, writes the BBC’s Catherine Byaruhanga in Nairobi.
Early in the morning I find Florence Kambua bent over, digging through the rubbish dump outside her door to pick up plastic, glass, clothes – anything she can sell in Kenya’s capital.
The 40-year-old wears a black sweater and knee-high plastic boots. His work is not for the faint of heart. It’s also dangerous.
In the slum of Mukuru Kwa Njenga, rotten groceries and stuffed diapers wriggle under his feet.
“Sometimes you get diarrhea, sometimes you get pneumonia. I persevered because I had no other choice,” Ms. Kambua told me.
The mother of six children has experienced difficult times. 19 years ago she moved to Nairobi, the largest metropolis in East Africa, hoping for a bright future.
During that time, she lost her job, her children’s father left her, and the small diner she built was demolished to make room for a new highway through town.
So what she’s doing now is the only option she has to put food on the table. She earns about 100 Kenyan Shillings a day (535 FCFA).
Even with such a meager income, Ms Kambua says she was able to feed her family twice a day before food prices soared.
“My kids like rice, I wanted 50 shillings (265 FCFA) [au magasin] half a kilo of rice and I cooked for them. Now it’s impossible.”
photo credit, Getty Images
Activists called for government intervention to ease people’s suffering.
Ms Kambua has turned to a well-known staple, cornmeal, a grain often cooked into a thick paste called ugali that can fill you up, but even its price has risen.
Today she feeds her family once a day, if at all.
“I used to buy the cheapest flour for 85 shillings (450 FCFA). Now flour costs 150 shillings (798 FCFA). If I can’t earn money, we sleep hungry.”
A few weeks after our meeting there is more bad news for Ms. Kambua, the average price for two kilograms of maize flour is now over 200 shillings (1,064 FCFA), an increase of 25%.
The latest data from the Kenya Bureau of Statistics show that annual food inflation is in double digits, with prices in May 2022 12.4% higher than in May 2021.
Maize, grown in Kenya and also imported from neighboring countries, is consumed by most households.
It’s a cheaper option during lean times, but Kennedy Nyagah, president of the United Grain Millers Association, says there’s a shortage now.
“I attribute it to a poor harvest due to insufficient rainfall and problems with the prices of agricultural inputs like fertilizers,” he adds.
Activity is low at Ms. Kambua’s local market. On my two visits, it wasn’t uncommon for customers to buy a single onion or a single tomato as these were getting too expensive.
“We used to sell a tomato that we now sell for 10 shillings for 5 shillings,” salesman Elijah Machuki Nyabutohe tells me, pointing to a basket.
“That’s why there are no buyers. They’re scared because if they buy a lot of tomatoes, they won’t have money to buy flour and they end up going to bed hungry,” I said.
photo credit, Getty Images
Mukuru Kwa Njenga is one of Nairobi’s largest slums.
Though far from Ukraine, he is acutely aware of the impact of the war there and how it has driven up fuel and fertilizer costs.
“Farmers have to spend more to buy the fertilizers needed to grow tomatoes. Many stop growing tomatoes because of the high cost of fertilizers and tomato seeds,” Mr. Nyabutohe tells me.
Catherine Kanini lives a few hundred meters from the market – she has been unemployed since the bar where she worked was demolished to make way for the development of a road connecting to the dual carriageway.
The 30-year-old mother can’t afford to rent a house, so she built a makeshift structure out of mosquito nets, plastic sheeting and wooden poles.
Hailing from Kitui County in eastern Kenya, like many low-income people in urban areas, she relies on her relatives to support her when prices are high.
His mother would send him food from the village, but due to the ongoing drought, that’s not an option.
“Right now it’s very dry in our rural area. It doesn’t rain. When it rains there is food and my mother can send food there,” I said, Mrs. Kanini said.
“Now she expects us to send her something. She is counting on us, but we have problems there.”
Catherine Kanini (centre) built a temporary shelter after her home was demolished.
The rise in the cost of living comes as Kenya prepares to hold general elections on August 9th. The issue plays a prominent role in the election campaign of the two main candidates to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Vice President William Ruto speaks of a “bottom-up” approach to improving the economy, while longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga promises cash transfers to poor households.
Ms. Kanini has her own advice for her.
“I suggest they open factories and give us jobs. They should lower the prices of the basic products they have raised. So that if you can make some money, you can go get food.”
International Crisis Group analyst Meron Elias warns the cost-of-living crisis could lead to instability, especially in a tight poll.
“Although the outcome of the election is uncertain – which is a credit to Kenyan democracy – we fear that frustration over high food prices and general inflation will allow politicians to more easily mobilize frustrated crowds on the streets,” he says.
“There is also a risk that unemployed young people will be recruited into gangs during the election period to carry out violence,” he continues.