It’s market day in N’Djamena. Women and men jostle through the dusty streets of the Chadian capital in the morning heat. The traders sell their products. There is haggling, shouting and swearing. Right in the middle: Maimouna Bah. She works for SWISSAID in the coordination office in Chad. She notes down the prices of rice, maize and wheat. What she sees worries SWISSAID. Food prices had already risen sharply during the coronavirus pandemic. This trend is continuing. “Cereal products in particular are massively more expensive,” says Maimouna Bah.
While 100 kilos of rice still cost 35,000 Central African francs in July 2023, the equivalent of around 52 francs, the price had already more than doubled to 75,000 CFA (112 francs) by June 2024. The price of petrol has risen by 41% since February 2024 – which is also indirectly reflected in food prices. Other everyday goods such as soap, oil and sesame have also become many times more expensive.
100 kilos of rice
still cost 35,000 Central African francs (52 swiss francs) in July 2023. In June 2024, the price had already more than doubled to 75,000 Central African francs (112 francs).
41 % price increase
on the price of petrol since February 2024 – which is indirectly reflected in food prices.
And there is no improvement in sight. On the contrary: prices are continuing to rise. Our colleague Maimouna Bah knows only too well what the constant rise in prices means for people in a country where almost half the population lives below the poverty line. “The impact is considerable. Because of the exorbitant food prices, many people are living below the minimum subsistence level. The consequences are even more hunger and even more poverty.”
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Also in Myanmar and India
A similar picture can be seen 8000 kilometers further east in Myanmar. According to market observations by the World Food Program, the price of food in the country has risen by 80 percent within a year – at the same time, households are earning 40 percent less than in the previous year.
An estimated one third of the population is dependent on humanitarian aid. “Women are particularly hard hit. Due to the economic crisis in the country, they are losing their jobs and are increasingly exposed to human trafficking,” says Kaman Zau Hkam from the local SWISSAID office.
The consequences of the ongoing inflation are immense: hunger has increased again. in 2022, almost 800 million people were affected worldwide. 122 million more than in 2019. People are leaving their homes in the hope of more food and a decent life. This encourages child and human trafficking. The misery of people in the Global South is growing. The poverty gap is widening.
My name is Ma Nang Noae and I live with my husband and three children in Pin Laung Township. Many people in our village have moved away. My children are also looking for work in the city. It’s very difficult to survive here. Prices have been rising every year since 2021. While maize seeds cost 38,000 kyat (16 francs) back then, I now spend 150,000 kyat (65 francs) for a bag of exactly the same size. I’m lucky: SWISSAID is active in our village. Thanks to start-up capital, we bought our own machine and now make our own tofu. I train women to make tofu. This and the income from sales give me an additional income. In addition, my knowledge of agroecology allows me to plant my fields in a variety of ways and secure our food supply with our own harvest.
“My name is Anjali Ramdas Jadhav. I am 29 years old. My parents married me off when I was 14. But my husband disappeared eight years ago. Since then, I have been alone with my two sons. It is difficult to provide for my family. Prices have risen enormously. I can no longer afford milk for the children. The last time I bought vegetables was a month ago. Tomatoes cost 100 rupees per kilogram at the market. Normally the price is 20 or 30 rupees. How can I afford that? The children feel weak. I now spend more than half my income on food. Thanks to SWISSAID, I now have a job as a cook as part of the government lunch program at the local school. I also work as a day laborer on a neighboring farm. SWISSAID also helps me to get state aid money. This gives me some ground under my feet and more self-confidence to stand up for myself and my family!”
Time of polycrises
The reasons vary from country to country, from region to region – and are not the same everywhere. But one thing is clear: the globally highly networked food system, which is dominated by a few companies, is ailing. Especially in times of multiple crises. Every little tremor in one corner of the world drives up inflation around the globe. “The global food crisis is part of a broader polycrisis in which the consequences of climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic and debt crisis are interwoven with the effects of geopolitical conflicts,” writes the Heinrich Böll Foundation in its study “Crisis buffers against inflation”.
Necessary transformation
A transformation of food systems is needed to stop the price spiral and secure food on the planet in the long term. SWISSAID is striving for this change with its agroecology approach. Every day. In every country. With access to their own seeds, knowledge, home-grown food and local markets, people are becoming less dependent on global crises.
Like Adèle Admougo. The 36-year-old lives with her six children in the province of Moyen-Chari in the south of Chad. She is also feeling the effects of rising prices in the country. Like everyone else.
“Everything has become more expensive on the market: Food, clothes, medicine.”
In view of the tight price situation, the mother is glad that she can harvest her own produce in the fields and keep enough supplies in her storehouse. “This allows me to reduce my food expenditure considerably,” she says.
A course in composting has also helped the smallholder. Using new, sustainable techniques, she was able to increase her yields in the field. This is not only enough to feed her family – but also to sell at the nearby weekly market. “With the profits I make from my business, I can provide for my whole family!”
