By: Nicera Wanjiru (KYCTV) , Lazarus Muki, Charity Mumbi and Jackline Waithaka (SDI-Kenya)

The clock had just struck 7 am as vendors continued to stream in to the market. Travelling along the seemingly endless streets were little stalls, selling variety of products. Voices are heard from a distance, advertising products ranging from an array of perishables items to few non-perishables. Shoppers swarm past each other observing every product available, most pause to inquire and bargain the prices indicated.

Peninah a vendor from Kianda, Kibera, arrives at the market just in time. Morning hours are perfect for getting your hands on fresh harvested fruits, vegetables among other commodities at a reasonable price. She takes time selecting the produce that had just been unloaded off the trucks. Contented by her selection, she reaches into her pockets and pulls out a 200ksh note in exchange for the goods that eventually make up the stock at her ‘kibanda’ located at the heart of Kibera.

Micro and small businesses contribute largely to the local economies. Slums economy particularly make a substantial contribution to broader urban economies. Despite being the heart of the economy, small scale businesses continue to be negatively impacted by the strenuous economic times, and attached bureaucracies by the government for their optimal operation.

Penninah, is a small-scale vendor from Kibera. Having established her business in 2006, She begun selling a few vegetables like collard greens, tomatoes and onions. She reinvested the profits she derived from the start and added more produce to sell. However, the economy has since been strenuous and led to high cost of living.

Currently I buy a few vegetables to sell. The state of the economy has led to increase in price of commodities. Penninah, Kibera.

She admits, the wave of bad economic times has affected her customers buying power driving her to equally adjust her normal operations. Customers low demand for produce has led her to scale down on stocking up to avoid accumulating costly surplus stock that hastily deteriorates.

Daily wage earners make the largest percentage of her customers whom she strives to sell nutritious foods. She stocks up on eggs, fruits and green vegetables to sell. Nutrition plays a fundamental role in achieving optimal health and well-being. Unfortunately, poor dietary trends are largely observed.  Income insufficiency and high prices in commodities leads to inability to afford a nutritious diet which is core in boosting one’s health.

I sell 3 green collards at KSH 20, unlike previously where I would sell at 10KSH. This in turn affects how customers are able to purchase the produce Penninah, Kibera.

Community residents are among the worst hit by high food prices. The current state is exacerbated by drought. Drought continues to sharply curb harvests scaling up the prices of food to unusually high levels, posing heavier burden to buyers.

In one month, we experienced 2 rainfall periods.  Since April we have not had proper rains and in some areas, it has been as long as 3 years since proper rainfall was experienced. This makes it hard for the country’s agricultural economy to prosper Antony Malau, Kibera.

Anthony Malalu, a plantain vendor at Toi Market Kibera confirms the challenges incurred as a result of the occasional limited rainfall experienced. Limited rainfall causing a spike in food prices impacts on residents’ ability to purchase the recommended nutritional foods. He however ensures he stocks up on nutritional foods for his customers.

Having begun his business in 1997, Anthony begun selling tomatoes for about 8 years before eventually venturing into vending plantains which he obtains from Meru.

He additionally attributes the high cost of his produce to the rising energy prices contributing to a rise in transportation costs incurred. The soaring labor costs and increased government levies (CESS) also impact on the overall food prices.

A majority of residents also find that they often needed to balance the purchase of food versus non-food items. This further complicates the decision to trade-off between other responsibilities and the purchase and consumption of healthy foods.

In order to address challenges in accessing healthy nutrition, is important to consider a social protection program for very poor urban households, to enable them meet their minimum nutrient requirements. Given the importance of healthy nutrition especially among breastfeeding mothers in informal settlements, there is need to come up with programs targeting them so as to support them in keeping up with demands of their babies. There is need also to sensitize on importance of healthy nutrition and how this can be made more palatable.