By Buziwe Nocuze
- The family used to cook potatoes with almost every meal but now limits them to twice a week and replaces them with cheaper vegetables.
- Farmers say rising costs mean potatoes are becoming less affordable, turning a daily staple into an occasional food.
The Ngwendu family in Khayelitsha used to eat potatoes with almost every meal they cooked.
Every month, when Lulama Ngwendu did her grocery shopping, a bag of potatoes was always included.
“We were eating potatoes with rice, samp and many other meals,” Ngwendu said. “We even made potato chips to snack on before lunch or supper.”
That has changed.
Ngwendu said the family stopped cooking potatoes every day after prices increased.
“We no longer cook mash because it needs a lot of potatoes,” she said. “Now we eat potatoes only twice a week, usually with rice. We don’t eat them with samp anymore.”
Instead, the family cooks samp with oil and soup for flavour. Potato chips as a snack have been completely cut out.
She said cutting back has been difficult.
“Most dishes don’t feel complete without potatoes,” Ngwendu said. “But we had no choice.”
The family has started replacing potatoes with cabbage, which she said is more affordable.
“We still need vegetables, but potatoes are now too expensive,” she said.
Farmer Sibongile Hlobo said rising farming costs are one of the reasons prices have gone up.
Hlobo started farming in 2014, when he paid R120 for 2kg of potato seedlings. Today, the cheapest he can find costs R280.
He said fertiliser, medicine, transport and fuel costs have all increased.
“For a 50kg bag of fertiliser, I pay R1,200,” Hlobo said. “I also buy medicine for fungal infections, and fuel to transport potatoes to the market.”
In 2014, a 10kg bag of potatoes cost about R60. Today, the same bag costs around R110.
Hlobo said farmers are not raising prices by choice.
“The costs we pay keep increasing every year,” he said. “That’s why the price of potatoes has changed.”
For families like the Ngwendus, it means a food that was once eaten every day is now treated like something special.
Pictured above: Potatoes.
Image source: Pexels
