Reimagining Food Safety for Africa’s Informal Food Sector
The African Union (AU) and the International Livestock Institute (ILRI) have collaborated to develop the first framework to address unique challenges in the informal food field, a crucial but often overlooked component of the African food system. They are developing the first formal guidance to help governments better integrate informal sectors into the national food system and to establish conditions that enable individuals and small businesses to effectively ensure food safety.
Urbanization is expected to profoundly change the African continent in the 21st century. By 2050, African cities are expected to accommodate an additional 950 million people (1). This demographic shift presents a wide variety of opportunities and challenges, including significant impacts on food security.
70% of African urban households buy food from informal markets (2) – kiosks and small stores are provided directly by manufacturers or middlemen. These markets are deeply integrated into African culture and are an important link between rural and urban communities. These include street vendors selling fruits and vegetables on the sidewalks; butchers displaying bodies at makeshift stalls, pop-up racks grilled corn and cassava; hawkers walk down the street with a bucket of cooked food and a pile of sweet tea. Although these markets are easy to identify, they are difficult to quantify. Despite their critical role in food systems, they remain unregulated and underestimated and are often overlooked or downplayed by authorities.
A thoughtful strategic approach is needed to address informal agricultural cluster areas. It not only provides livelihoods for millions of people, but also has a significant impact on public health and well-being. Each year, 90 million Africans suffer from food-borne diseases, causing an estimated $16 billion in productivity losses. However, by comparison, the international community only invests $55 million a year in food safety programs across the continent.
The informal farm industry faces enormous food safety challenges due to the lack of basic equipment such as refrigeration units, access to training and information, and the general temporary nature of market stalls. But despite these challenges, research shows that traders and consumers can effectively manage risks, and in many cases, the informal food sector is not more risky than formal food.
“Western approaches to improving food safety, including meeting stringent requirements and involving complex documentation processes, are really only applicable to formal departments, which are formal and have sufficient financial resources,” said John Oppong-Opoo, Food Safety Officer at AU. . -ibar. “The reality is that most African consumers buy food from the informal sector, which requires different approaches to food safety management. With the right support, governments can unlock the informal food sector as a tool for healthy and safe food for all, as well as Africa provides a decent and dignified source of employment for men and women, especially youth. ”
ILRI research and interventions provide guidance for research on improving food safety in Africa and will help unlock the full potential of informal food markets to support improvements in food and nutrition security and livelihoods across the continent. To address the division in the informal food sector, which makes it difficult to communicate on a large scale and implement food safety practices, support and encourage the development of associations and cooperatives that unite people working in the informal food sector and legally The land represents their interests. This provides more channels for mergers through which government agencies can interact to support people in the industry to improve their food safety practices.
AU and ILRI have held several meetings with informal sector actors and partners to help refine the guidelines and ensure they are comprehensive, realistic, relevant and ready to be recognized by African countries. In 2024 and 2025, the consulting process will be conducted in 2024 and 2025 before the framework plans to submit the framework to the AU policy bodies in 2025.
1. OECD/SWAC (2020), African Urbanization Dynamics 2020: Africa, Mapping New Urban Geography, West African Studies, OECD Publication, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b6bccb81-en.
2. Crush, J. and Frayne, B. (2011). Supermarket expansion and informal food economies in southern African cities: Impact on urban food security. Journal of Southern African Research 37(4):781–807. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2011.617532
Distributed by Apo Group on behalf of the African Union – Inter-Africa Animal Resources Agency (AU-IBAR).
