Food Systems in Africa: Rethinking the Role of Markets

Balineau, Gaëlle; Bauer, Arthur; Kessler, Martin; Madariaga, Nicole

doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1588-1

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Trade liberalization is a prerequisite to obtain the benefits of risk pooling, and therefore further economic integration in the region is required [1,29,46]. In order to sell food surpluses in good years and optimally allocate crop production over a larger area, appropriate investment in the distribution infrastructure is necessary [47]. In terms of fiscal sustainability, the success of the contingency fund depends on the willingness of countries to participate in risk pools and the availability of fiscal space in the participating countries [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk-Adjusted Strategies to Protect Food Supply and Farmer Livelihoods in West Africa

Leip

Rovenskaya

Wildemeersch

2022

Preprint

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Weather extremes and high population growth are challenging the achievement of SDG 2 Zero Hunger in West Africa. However, future food security scenarios are often based on models that ignore annual weather variability and weather extremes. As a result, this approach also disregards the risk of having lower than expected yields, with adverse consequences for food security and farmer livelihoods. Here we present a stochastic food production model to show how optimal crop allocations change depending on food security risk targets. To guarantee stable livelihoods for farmers, we examine the viability of a contingency fund that supports farmers in the event of low crop yields. Applied to the West African context, accounting for weather variability can substantially improve the reliability of the food supply and boost the fiscal sustainability of a contingency fund. Yet, setting reliability targets for food security is costly and leaves high residual risk in certain regions. Spatial risk-sharing through regional cooperation at the West African scale can eliminate the risk of insufficient food supply and further enhance the fund solvency without additional cost.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk-Adjusted Strategies to Protect Food Supply and Farmer Livelihoods in West Africa

Leip

Rovenskaya

Wildemeersch

2022

Preprint

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“…These changes have included more direct contractual connections between large-scale producers and suppliers, with centralized and consolidated procurement and distribution systems. These “upstream” trends are mirrored by the “downstream” diffusion and penetration of “supermarkets for the poor” into areas previously dominated by traditional and informal markets ( 8 ). In Ghana, not only has the number of modern retail outlets increased, but also the penetration of ultra-processed foods in traditional food retail outlets—including informal ones ( 9 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Availability of healthy and unhealthy foods in modern retail outlets located in selected districts of Greater Accra Region, Ghana

Adjei

Amevinya

Quarpong

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundIntake of unhealthy foods is linked to the onset of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Availability of unhealthy (nutritionally poor) foods can influence preference, purchasing and consumption of such foods. This study determined the healthiness of foods sold at modern retail outlets- supermarkets and mini-marts in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.MethodsAll modern retail outlets located in six districts of Greater Accra were eligible. Those < 200 m2 of floor area and with permanent structures were categorized as mini-marts; and those ≥200 m2 as supermarkets. Shelf length of all available foods were measured. Healthiness of food was determined using two criteria - the NOVA classification and energy density of foods. Thus, ultra-processed foods or food items with >225 kcal/100 g were classified as unhealthy. The ratio of the area occupied by unhealthy to healthy foods was used to determine the healthiness of modern retail outlets.ResultsOf 67 retail outlets assessed, 86.6% were mini-marts. 85.0% of the total SHELF area was occupied by foods categorized as unhealthy (ranging from 9,262 m2 in Ashiaman Municipality to 41,892 m2 in Accra Metropolis). Refined grains/grain products were the most available, occupying 30.0% of the total food shelf space, followed by sugar-sweetened beverages (20.1% of total shelf space). The least available food group–unprocessed staples, was found in only one high income district, and occupied 0.1% of the total food shelf space. Retail outlets in two districts did not sell fresh fruits or fresh/unsalted canned vegetables. About two-thirds of food products available (n = 3,952) were ultra-processed. Overall, the ratio of ultra-processed-to-unprocessed foods ranged from 3 to 7 with an average (SD) of 5(2). Thus, for every healthy food, there were five ultra-processed ones in the studied retail outlets.ConclusionThis study reveals widespread availability of ultra-processed foods in modern retail outlets within the selected districts. Toward a healthier food retail environment, public health and food regulators, in partnership with other stakeholders need to institute measures that improve availability of healthy foods within supermarkets and mini-marts.

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“…This complex institutional environment and high market dynamism typically result in unstable market conditions, including highly imperfect market information and high price volatility further fueled by seasonality in raw material production (Balineau et al, 2021;Hatzenbuehler, 2019;Porteous, 2019). Thus, proper market information about local supply and demand conditions is key for small enterprises.…”

Section: The Importance Of Dynamic Capabilities In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Perspectives on Institutional Intermediaries and Small Business in Developing Countries

Agossou¹

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Joy and pain are commonly said to be the two sides of the same coin and may come along the way, depending on the choice of projects we make in life and the method used to accomplish these projects. I experienced this life reality when I dreamed to do a PhD at a prestigious university; when after completing my Research Master in 2011, I was only able to start my PhD in 2017 and many circumstances have delayed this dream. But God has always been by my side and put on my way good people to whom I am greatly indebted for their support, during my search period for funding and my PhD study period. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings! I am overwhelmed with joy and satisfaction after achieving this life project.My PhD journey has been an exciting but also challenging and arduous adventure. There are several great people who played a tremendous role in helping me to complete this dissertation successfully. I want to express my gratitude for their invaluable support.First of all, I would like to express profound gratitude and admiration to my supervisors, Jordi Surroca, Clemens Lutz, and Pere Arque-Castells. Looking back on the past five years, I have received countless help and support from you in my training in becoming an independent researcher. I am deeply grateful to Jordi for being such an unforgettable academic advisor to me. The time I spent with you reminds me of the popular thinking that "a good iron, that of quality, must go to the forge". Your legendary academic rigor has transformed me in how to approach research problems and develop relevant theoretical arguments in framing a research paper. Thank you for this precious support! Clemens, many thanks for your guidance and mentoring both technically and mentally, especially with your comforting words always when times become difficult to navigate. I still remember our first online meeting in 2014 when I had the intention to join the University of Groningen for my PhD. Through that interview, you gave me the opportunity to start thinking seriously about joining Groningen and I became eager to pursue that goal. From then onwards, vii through my first stay in Groningen in 2015 to improve my research proposal to search for funding, with the difficulties I experienced in the entire search process, you have been patient, kind, and supportive until I was awarded the scholarship and was notified one of the last days preceding the Christmas celebration of 2016. For me, you are more than a supervisor, providing all the care and attention that go beyond the regular expected support. Your openness and availability during the whole PhD study allowed me to have meetings with you anytime I wished, which helped me to make progress in my research. In addition, and more importantly, your academic experience of developing countries and small business was so useful. It allowed you to quickly understand and provide practical guidance to, some of my thinking and intellectual choices that I considered are rooted in the challenges these businesses are facing and how to address them.Per...

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Food Systems in Africa: Rethinking the Role of Markets

Cited by 15 publications

References 68 publications

Risk-Adjusted Strategies to Protect Food Supply and Farmer Livelihoods in West Africa

Risk-Adjusted Strategies to Protect Food Supply and Farmer Livelihoods in West Africa

Availability of healthy and unhealthy foods in modern retail outlets located in selected districts of Greater Accra Region, Ghana

New Perspectives on Institutional Intermediaries and Small Business in Developing Countries

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