00:06at this bustling shopping center in Kenya's capital Nairobi consumers gather to select
00:12the best of the day's produce Jacqueline Iowa a mother of three is trying to fit as many items
00:18as she can into her shopping bag but lately she like many other shoppers finds she's leaving with
00:25far fewer items than she used to consumers tell us that in the last few months they have seen the
00:32prices of food rise so that now a regular shopping trip to the market is now a balancing act between
00:39squeezing the family budget and making every last shilling count the cost of food has really gone
00:48up starting with flour maize and vegetables everything is really expensive with food
00:55prices climbing steadily her household has cut out some groceries and even reduced the number
01:00of meals they eat every day just to get by if you take black tea in the morning it's enough
01:07you skip
01:08lunch and come back to have your supper that's all and they aren't alone across the country
01:13households are filling the pinch as a cost of basic food items continues to rise we are persevering and
01:21if we get a little money we are grateful but things are really hard right now while market vendors point
01:30to transport costs and hiccups in the supply chain climate scientists single out a broader underlying
01:36issue shifting weather patterns where the scientists have predicted that the country will experience heavy
01:43rains due to the El Nino weather phenomenon expected to begin this month the dry spell before these rains has
01:50impacted agricultural yields in some farming regions livestock have been affected with a milk shortage
01:57attributed to a decrease in pasture reduced farm harvests also mean lower food supplies and higher food
02:05prices for consumers most of our agriculture is rain fed that means that it depends on the masses of
02:12nature and rainfall and that's where we need to move away from compared to the global north that means that
02:17when the weather patterns changes and it becomes drought there's no water then it means that the
02:22agricultural produce will be affected the key to food security they maintain lies in coming up with
02:28measures to mitigate the effect of shifting weather patterns while tackling climate change how can we
02:35harvest this water right now when it is in plenty so that we can use it when it is not
02:40available during the
02:41la nina effect but what we see right now is nobody's taking cognizant to either harvest this water and
02:46use it when it is needed during the drought season and it's only during the drought season that this
02:51aspect of food insecurity arises because that is when the plants and the animals actually require this water
02:58in that huge capacity as climate and predictability continues to impact food security families are hoping the
03:05rains will stabilize food prices even as they fear that heavier than usual rains could destroy the produce
03:11in the farms driving food prices even higher with an election in Kenya next year voters will likely want
03:18to know which candidates have the best plan to mitigate the impact of a problem that won't go away
