The African Union (AU) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have partnered to develop the first framework for addressing the unique challenges of the informal food sector – a vital yet often overlooked component of Africa’s food systems. They are developing the first formal guidelines to help governments better integrate the informal sector into national food systems and establish conditions that enable individuals and small enterprises to ensure food safety effectively.
Urbanisation is poised to profoundly transform the African continent in the 21st century. By 2050, Africa’s cities are expected to accommodate an additional 950 million people (1). This demographic shift brings a spectrum of opportunities and challenges, including significant implications for food security.
Seventy per cent of Africa’s urban households purchase food from informal markets (2) — kiosks and small shops supplied directly by producers or through middlemen. These markets are deeply embedded in African culture, serving as vital links between rural and urban communities. They include the street vendor selling fruit and vegetables on the pavement; the butcher displaying carcasses in a makeshift stall, the pop-up stand roasting maize and cassava; and the hawker walking the streets with a bucket of cooked food and a flask of sweet tea. While these markets are easily recognizable, they are difficult to quantify. Despite their critical role in food systems, they remain unregulated and undervalued, and authorities often overlooking or downplaying their significance and potential.
A thoughtful and strategic approach is needed to address the informal agrifood sector. Not only does it provide a livelihood for millions, but it also has significant implications for public health and wellbeing. Each year, 90 million Africans suffer from food-borne illnesses, leading to an estimated US$16 billion in productivity losses. Yet, in contrast, the international community invests only US$55 million annually in food safety initiatives across the continent.
The informal agrifood sector faces significant food safety challenges due to the lack of essential equipment such as refrigeration units, limited access to training and information, and the generally makeshift nature of market stall. However, despite these challenges, studies suggest that traders and consumers can effectively manage risks, and in many cases, the informal food sector poses no greater risk than its formal counterparts.
“Western approaches to improving food safety, which include compliance with strict requirements and involve complex documentation processes, are really only suited to the formal sector, which is regularised and has sufficient financial resources,” said John Oppong-Otoo, Food Safety Officer, AU-IBAR. “The reality is most African consumers buy food from the informal sector, which requires different approaches for food safety management. With the right support, governments can unlock the informal food sector as a vehicle for healthy and safe foods for all, and a source of decent and dignified employment for men and women, especially youth, in Africa.”
The guidelines are informed by ILRI’s research and interventions for improved food safety across Africa and will help unlock the full potential of informal food markets to support improved food and nutrition security and livelihoods across the continent. To tackle the fragmentation in the informal food sector — which makes it difficult to communicate and implement food safety practices at scale — the guidelines support and encourage the development of associations and cooperatives that unite those working in the informal food sector and legitimately represent their interests. This offers more consolidated channels through which government agencies can interact to support those in the sector improve their food safety practices.
The AU and ILRI have held several sessions with informal sector actors and partners to help refine the guidelines and ensure they are comprehensive, realistic, relevant, and ready to be endorsed by African countries. The consultation process with member states will continue throughout 2024 and 2025 before the framework is scheduled to be presented to the AU policy bodies for approval in 2025.
1. OECD/SWAC (2020), Africa’s Urbanisation Dynamics 2020: Africapolis, Mapping a New Urban Geography, West African Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b6bccb81-en.
2. Crush, J. and Frayne, B. (2011). Supermarket Expansion and the Informal Food Economy in Southern African Cities: Implications for Urban Food Security. Journal of Southern African Studies 37(4): 781–807. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2011.617532
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).
