When fresh fruits and veggies turn into fancy luxuries, you don’t even need to scroll through the news; just take a sec to reflect on how the climate crisis is messing with our daily lives.
Let me spill some tea!
Last weekend, I had a little rendezvous in Odza, a neighborhood in Yaoundé, and decided to do some shopping for veggies. I strolled up to a vendor who hit me with, “The bunch is 500 FCFA, which is like one euro.
I was shook, and my face said it all. The vendor caught my vibe and went on, “Honey, everything’s a pretty penny these days! Farmers are trying, but the rains are playing hard to get. The harvests are a flop, and those veggies you want are getting rare.”
The next day, I hit up another market hunting for cucumbers. When I asked for the price, the vendor shot back without missing a beat: “1,000 francs for the bunch.” Almost 2 euros for four mediocre cucumbers… Can you believe it? Total robbery, especially in Yaoundé’s rainy season when cucumbers should be popping up everywhere!
This is the stark reality for many Cameroonians; securing food is becoming increasingly difficult. A report from May 2023 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development revealed that three million people in Cameroon, around 11% of the population, are facing acute food insecurity, with climate change cited as a significant contributor.
Last year, Greenpeace Africa urged Cameroonian leaders to take action, warning that excessive rainfall threatens food security and could drive up living costs.
But who’s the real villain here?
Sure, I’ve been in the climate game for a hot minute, but let me tell you, it’s the everyday reality that slaps you in the face harder than any report ever could.
Climate change isn’t some far-off fantasy; it’s right here, lurking in our markets, invading our kitchens, and ruining our meals – and it gets more brutal by the day.
When the climate shifts, it’s not just the ecosystems that are in peril; it’s our very way of life. Those fancy COP summits need to stop being glorified photo ops and start being battlegrounds for genuine change, where countries actually commit to action and stick to it.
The clock is ticking, and every moment we sit on our hands pulls us deeper into chaos while pretending we’re making progress.
This is a full-blown crisis – not just for us now, but for the generations to come. It’s high time we take action, tax the filthy rich and the major polluters, and force them to quit wrecking our planet.
The Earth isn’t a toy for endless exploitation or a trash can for the mining and gas industries’ toxic waste. Nature is a priceless gem, a shared legacy we need to defend with everything we’ve got – before it’s game over.
Luchelle Feukeng
Communication and Storytelling Manager, Greenpeace Africa
