February 2020 Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket: Investment in Sustainable Climate Resilient Agriculture is a Must

The JCTR’s Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket (BNNB) which measures the cost of living for a family of 5 stood at K7, 015.90 for the month of February 2020. This was a 5.33 percent decline from K7, 410.96 in January 2020. The basket reduced by K395.06. In February 2019, the basket stood at K5, 331.12. The drop in the February 2020 basket was mainly due to a reduction in the prices of food items such as vegetables which reduced from 669.77 in January to 391.00 in February for a monthly requirement of 40kg. Other fruits also reduced from 439.93 to 369.04, kapenta reduced from 299.07 to 202.73, onion moved from 150.88 to 58.19 and tomatoes moved from 118.58 to 60.92. For the recommended amounts of 14 kg, 1kg, 4 kg and 6 kg respectively. From the essential non-food items, a noticeable reduction was seen in the price of charcoal which moved from K360.00 in January to K300.00 in February 2020. Additionally, the cost of housing increased to K3300 in February 2020 from K3000 in January 2020. This was obtained from recent estimates in the cost of housing.