From street corners to fine dining: Kenya’s love affair with the humble egg

It is just after dawn at a bus stage in Nairobi's central business district, and Duncan Muriithi has already sold 120 eggs. His cart holds a tray of hard-boiled eggs, a bowl of “kachumbari” (fresh tomato and onion salsa) and a knife. He peels an egg, slices it open, spoons in the salsa and hands it to a commuter for 30 Kenyan shillings (KES) (around USD 0.25). 

On Kenya's streets, this is “nigongee” (literally, “break it for me”). Cheap, filling, and sold almost everywhere, it is a quick snack for many buyers, and for some, the only meal of the day.

The egg doesn't stop at the street corner. At dawn, it sizzles on a roadside pan and is rolled into a chapati (flat bread) for a commuter in a hurry. By evening, the same egg may be poached or baked in an upscale restaurant. Few foods cross Kenya's social and economic divides so easily. As Kenya's appetite for eggs grows, their importance extends far beyond convenience. The appeal lies in a combination of nutrition, affordability, and a production system that connects farmers, traders, vendors, and consumers.

Nutrition in a shell

One large egg carries about six grams of high-quality protein, including all nine essential amino acids. It also provides vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium, iodine, and antioxidants that support eye health.

“Eggs combine quality protein with micronutrients, can be produced locally, and fit into many meals," says Christian Tiambo, a scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Eggs are also among the more affordable sources of animal protein. Research on food prices found that, on the basis of calories and unit cost, the energy cost of eggs is significantly lower than that of other animal-source foods such as meat, poultry, and fish.The yolk is rich in choline, an essential nutrient for brain development. Because the body only makes small amounts, most of the choline must come from food, and eggs are among the best sources. In a Cornell University study, children whose mothers took extra choline late in pregnancy showed better sustained attention at age seven.

That matters in Kenya, where 18% of children under five are stunted: too short for their age because of chronic undernutrition. Eggs alone won't fix that; children and pregnant women need diverse diets. But eggs help. Egg-a-day programs in Kenya and Ethiopia have increased children's dietary diversity by 20%.

In Ethiopia, an ILRI trial that added one boiled egg to the breakfast of schoolchildren aged 6–12improved cognitive performance, school outcomes, and iron status. Establishing poultry farms within schools allowed for sustainable egg production, directly linking poultry to school meals and demonstrating potential livelihood opportunities. The findings demonstrate how a simple, locally produced food can support both nutrition and learning.

From chicken coop to street corner

Behind every nigongee is a hen, and often a woman who keeps it. Across sub-Saharan Africa, 85% of rural households keep poultry, and women own about 70% of the hens. In Kenya ownership of rural poultry is shared among the family members but women (63%) are the primary owners, followed by children (18%). 

Those flocks face hard odds, and disease is among the biggest. Newcastle disease can wipe out a village flock in days. When rural Kenyan households vaccinated their chickens against it, their children ate 24% more protein-rich food and grew better. A relatively inexpensive vaccine can protect a family's savings, income, and children's diets at the same time.

 Preventing disease helps hens survive, but genetics help determine how many eggs they produce. Indigenous chickens are hardy but lay relatively few eggs. In Ethiopia, ILRI has supported breeding efforts involving the native Tilili chicken, resulting in a 111% increase in egg production within 24 weeks. At the same time, 16-week body weight increased by 68%, yielding more productive birds for smallholder farmers.

In Kenya, ILRI has collaborated with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and other local groups under the CGIAR Initiative on Sustainable Animal Productivity (SAPLING) to improve chicken production and smallholder farmer livelihoods. According to the initiative's outcome brief, 216 small-scale farming households in Bomet and Kakamega counties, 159 of whom are led by women, have embraced superior chicken breeds and methods, including KALRO, Kuroiler, and Sasso. 

Farmers have received better training in chicken husbandry procedures such as housing, feeding, and vaccination, as well as 12,000 chicks for brooding. The project has also provided unique feeding methods, with the production of black soldier fly larvae for chicken feed beginning in Kakamega. Tiambo explains that “improved chickens can lay much more eggs while adjusting to smallholder settings, allowing farmers to boost productivity, improve household nutrition, and make more money from poultry”.

Then there is feed, the biggest cost in producing an egg. When feed prices rise, keeping a nigongee at KES 30 becomes increasingly difficult. ILRI investigated a diet combining flaxseed and plant polyphenol extracts to produce omega-3-rich eggs.

The study found that eating one omega-3-enriched egg three to four times per week could help vulnerable populations meet the recommended omega-3 consumption levels. The science is therefore not only about producing more eggs; it is also about improving their nutritional value.

Making informal markets safer

What makes nigongee great also makes it risky: it is sold everywhere. Eggs can carry Salmonella, and an egg sliced on a street cart and topped with raw vegetables is only as safe as the vendor's hands, water, and knife. Worldwide, foodborne disease kills about 420,000 people a year and makes 600 million ill. That burden is comparable to malaria, HIV/AIDS, or tuberculosis.

Because nigongee is largely sold through informal markets, improving food safety means working with vendors rather than replacing them. Most of the meat, milk, and eggs eaten in Africa are sold in informal markets, and ILRI's research shows that banning or bypassing these markets doesn't make food safer. Working with them does.

There is a One Health angle too. Some farmers use antibiotics to keep their birds alive. Misuse can leave residues in eggs and drive antimicrobial resistance, which threatens people and animals alike. Vaccines, better housing, and good feed reduce the need for antibiotics in the first place.  Some farmers use antibiotics to keep their birds alive. Misuse can leave residues in eggs and drive antimicrobial resistance, which threatens people and animals alike. Vaccines, better housing, and good feed reduce the need for antibiotics in the first place. 

Keeping a staple on every plate

The egg's journey from backyard to bus stop is a food system in miniature. Demand for animal-source foods in sub-Saharan Africa could triple by 2050. Whether eggs stay within reach of the commuter, the schoolchild, and the pregnant mother depends on what happens long before the pan: healthy and productive hens, affordable feed, safe markets, and fair returns for the women and young people who raise and sell them.

That is where ILRI's work begins. As the world marks World Egg Day on October 6, the humble egg reminds us that ordinary foods can generate some of the biggest returns: for nutrition, for livelihoods, and for the people who bring them to market.