Nairobi News

HustleWhat's Hot

Crisis in Kakamega as shortage of chicken and eggs bites

September 11th, 2015 1 min read

Residents in Kakamega county  are a worried lot. Their favourite delicacy is in short supply and traders now have to travel as far as Uasin Gichu and central Kenya to get chicken and eggs.

In an average day, resident consume 2,000 chicken, in which 60% come from the county and 40% from other counties.

According to a report carried by Business Daily, there is a chronic shortage of both commodities which has seen their respective prices sky-rocket.

The report was compiled by the Kakamega county government. It estimated that residents consume 170 million eggs per year against a local supply of only 35 million eggs.

The report further says that traders in the county have been forced to import eggs and chicken from as far as central Kenya, Uasin Gishu and Nandi.

The shortage  is caused by poor rearing techniques, where owners of chicken let them roam around compared to holding them in safe shelters.

This has led to a rise in prices of eggs  to as high as Sh30 each, comparatively higher than in places like Nairobi where prices range between Sh8 and Sh10.

Added to poor rearing techniques is the recent bird disease in the county which killed close to 5,000 chicken.