Managing seasonality in West African informal urban vegetable markets: The role of household relations

Abstract

Seasonality influences African informal agricultural markets, but existing literature inadequately explores its interactions with market actors' social relations and livelihood outcomes. Thus, agricultural commercialisation policy ineffectively supports such actors to manage seasonality. Across Bamako, Ouagadougou and Tamale, we conducted interviews, focus group discussions, and a survey of farmer and marketer profits across seasons. Hot, dry season lettuce transactions performed by marketers are more likely to make profit. Farmers and marketers rely on household and community relations and reproduce gendered skills to optimise profit and secure future income streams. Policies supporting household reproduction, and infrastructure, may best support their marketing activity.

Food Flows and the Roles of Cities in West African Food Distribution Networks

“…We only captured goods crossing the urban boundaries, and could not account for goods produced and consumed within the urban boundary. Therefore, we omitted leafy vegetables, such as amaranth (Amaranthus L.) and lettuce (Latuca sativa L.), which are produced almost exclusively in urban and peri-urban agriculture at the study sites and dominate urban crop production (Karg et al, 2016;Bellwood-Howard et al, 2021). Throughout the paper, we used fresh weight (kilograms, grams) for the quantification of food flows; for per capita values, we relied on the Africapolis database for urban population size (OECD/SWAC, 2020).…”

“…A strong relationship between product and distance traveled has been documented for leafy vegetables, such as amaranth and lettuce, which, after one day, are no longer fresh (Bon et al, 2010;Moustier, 2017;Lemeilleur et al, 2019). Therefore, these commodities are produced in urban and peri-urban agriculture in many cities in Africa and Asia, including our study cities (Karg et al, 2016;Bellwood-Howard et al, 2021). This is why these products are not part of the flows analyzed and discussed in this article (section Analysis).…”

Gender dimensions of solid and liquid waste management for reuse in agriculture in Asia and Africa

“…In many cities in sub-Saharan Africa, women dominate vegetable marketing where they can earn more than in open-space irrigated urban farming (Bellwood-Howard et al 2021) which is in many West African countries dominated by men (Table 1). Compared with rural farming, urban proximity and water access for farming both in the hot and dry seasons allow urban farmers and traders to pass the poverty line (Danso et al 2002).…”

“…Women farmers are thus challenged in multiple ways and resort to planting indigenous vegetables (e.g. amaranths) which require less water but sell at lower prices than lettuce, for example (Bellwood-Howard et al 2021). Particularly irrigation, if done manually, can take between 40% and 70% of farmers' time with a common distance of 50 meters (m) to 100 m between field and water source.…”

“…Delving deeper into the different gender dimensions along the vegetable value chain, it can be added that in general cash crop farming is considered in most Ghanaian communities to be the domain of men. Women, particularly in northern cities (like Tamale), have in many cases less access to resources to conduct marketoriented farming (Zibrilla and Salifu 2004;Bellwood-Howard et al 2021). Customary laws do not permit women the right to hold land except through male relatives or as widows.…”