This archive report was first published on 11 December 2019.
Published on December 11, 2019, a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) revealed that the average Kenyan household spends a significant portion of its income on food. The prices of essential items such as tomatoes and matumbo (offals) have doubled between 2009 and 2018, with tomatoes increasing by 120% and matumbo by 101%.
As a result, Kenyans have been forced to dig deeper into their pockets, even as economic conditions hardened. Many companies have laid off workers, and consumer spending has declined. The prices of other essential items such as sukuma wiki, Irish potatoes, and Tusker beer have also skyrocketed.
The government has set its legacy on ensuring food security, with President Uhuru Kenyatta aiming to enable all Kenyans to get a nutritious diet. However, the increasing prices of food items have hit low-income households the hardest, with many spending close to half of their income on food and non-alcoholic beverages.
According to the Statistical Abstract for 2018, the manufacture of food products registered the fastest job creation at 68% between 2009 and 2018. The government has vowed to focus on enhancing large-scale production, boosting smallholder productivity, and reducing the cost of food to achieve food security and improved nutrition.
