Kenya: Costly eggs threaten war on malnutrition in poor households
Kenya
Published Apr 12, 2022
Tridge summary
Four years ago, many Kenyan entrepreneurs would afford to keep poultry and earn from the business. But not anymore. A poultry farmer would spend about Sh580 to raise a day-old chic until it is mature enough to lay eggs or sold for meat. But now they would need at least Sh850 to bring it up. The exorbitant prices of animal feeds have seen a high number of farmers sell off their stock, with no immediate plans of replenishing it.
Original content
The closure of poultry enterprises has sparked a shortage of eggs and meat. For the first time in years, the price of eggs has shot up by 25 percent, threatening the fight against hunger and malnutrition in poor households. Eggs have been a popular food and source of high-quality protein in many homes because they could be produced and bought at affordable prices. Low-priced eggs have benefited both the nutritional status of poor consumers, reduced child malnutrition and the livelihoods of small-scale poultry producers. A research done by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in 2016 shows that eggs, meat and milk were widely consumed by poor Kenyans, with these animal-source foods making up nearly 40 percent of their food budget. “Half of this (the food budget) is spent on dairy products,” the research noted. But with an increase in the cost of buying eggs and rearing chicken, not many poor households can afford to buy an egg for Sh15 or Sh465 for a tray as the ...
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