Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

Street food and urban farming is not something new in the world.It began long time ago in places like Machu Picchu in Peru back in the days when water could be reused as a form of new architecture to grow vegetables. During world wars I and  II, urban farming began in places like US,CANADA and UK -Victoria gardens emerged which were used to produce vegetables and fruits thus ensuring food security for the soldiers.

As the world population increases, food security becomes an issue.the world rate of urbanizing is high and it is estimated that by 2050,60 percent of the world will be urbanized. The importance of urban agriculture is threefold: it provides food, its a source of employment and a source of income to the urban poor households(Mittlin, 2005).Urban agriculture is good since it can promote women empowerment as it goes along well with other household chores done by women which can sometimes denay them the oppotunity of a formal  job.For example, as they water vegetables on the backyard, they cook for the family. Urban agriculture should be promoted and encouraged through proper policy enactment.

In Kenya for example, urban and peri-urban agriculture is doing well in places like kiambu which was initially agricultural land but due to rapid urbanization, it has already been engulfed by the ever expanding Nairobi city. Farmers here, have devised several means of remaining food secure through urban agriculture by constructing storey buildings for keeping say pigs, chicken and dairy goat/cow on different floors. They again live some little part of the garden for fodder and home gardening purposes. This not only ensure food to the household but also income from the sale of produce.

However, urban farming comes with it threats and challenges. The example of  a storey building in Kenya for animals faces a threat of outbreak of zoonitic diseases.Respective governments therefore needs to ensure that good policies are enacted to regulate urban agriculture. for example, the government should make it mandatory that from specific time period say 5pm, certain streets in the city should be opened for food street vendors to sell their produce. strict food policies should be enacted to regulate urban farming and certain standards have to be set to avoid issues of food poisoning from polluted foodstuffs.

Governments need to protect its citizen from issues of food poisoning from the urban agriculture. sometimes the source of water used  for irrigation in urban areas, is not safe for human consumption. for example, in kenya, urban farming has improved the living standards of some youths in shanties like kawangware slums by growing indigenous vegetables along the Nairobi river.the water from this river is polluted from industrial wastes and so  these vegetables can be harmful to human health by containing heavy metals. the issue is not improved standard of living, but the impact of this activity on the social welfare of the larger population.

In conclusion, urban farming is good though good and strict policies need to be enacted to regulate the sector to avoid food poisoning and other diseases that can emanate from this activity. if properly regulated, it can be a vehicle towards food security and poverty alleviation for  most of the urban poor.

Although the street food sector plays an important role in urban food security, state-led food security measures in India have failed to provide a role for poor urban street food vendors to engage in the distribution and consumption of healthy foods. Instead, state-led food security schemes, whether production, distribution, or consumption oriented, have viewed the urban poor simply as beneficiaries of subsidized grain.

We would like to share our research paper published in recent issue (December) of Food Security journal based on our empirical research with street food vendors in Madurai, India. The paper discusses many questions, including rural-urban linkages, posed for discussion in this forum.

This case study of Madurai street vendors illustrates how the street food sector, operated by poor urban vendors selling ready-to-eat, healthy millet-based rural porridges in Madurai, has improved access to nutritious foods and created livelihood opportunities for the urban poor. The paper provides an overview of the informal street food sector, socioeconomic conditions of vendors, gender-based division of labour, as well as the food preferences and health awareness of consumers. The analysis of data indicates the marginalization of street food vendors under the existing policy environment in urban India. The paper discusses how the state, as a regulatory body and a service delivery agent, as well as research and development organizations can strengthen the rights and capabilities of street vendors to improve urban food security.

Bibliographic info of our paper:

Patel, K., Guenther, D., Wiebe, K. Seburn, R. (2014). Promoting food security and livelihoods for urban poor through the informal sector: a case study of street food vendors in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Food Security, 6(6), 861-878. DOI: 10.1007/s12571-014-0391-z

I would appreciate comments and suggestions on our paper. If any member has problem in accessing my paper, please email me: [email protected]

Thank you.

Kirit Patel

The direct link between street food vendors and local urban farmers prove to be advantageous, as consumers will be having easy access to fresh produce. Encouraging urban agriculture according to demand is necessary to keep up and increase this kind of link.  When compared to Super markets or commercial vendors the wastage of produce, in case of street vendors is very low. Usually super markets prefer to keep only very good quality produce discarding even slightly damaged, though it is in edible condition. Street vendors make grade the produce according to quality and fix prices according to quality, making the produce available to all economic sections and minimising wastage. There are some government subsidies being given to establish kitchen gardens and also to encourage urban agriculture, but the pace of urban agriculture is slow and rather decreasing because of high commercial demand for lands in urban area for constructing buildings or other high investment infrastructures to accommodate increasing urban population.

The direct link between street food vendors and local urban farmers may also have a risk of health hazard to consumers as most of the street vendors directly bring their produce form farms, with no knowledge about ‘waiting period’ of chemicals used. They sell the produce, especially vegetables, immediately harvested a day after spray of chemicals. Hence there exists risk of residual chemicals in foods directly brought from these farms. Establishing a Government policy and its strict implementation to have a basic check of vegetables before entering into market to prevent presence of residual chemicals in them could make the vendor and farmer link safe and strong. Imparting free basic trainings to street vendors and farmers regarding chemical usage, waiting period, residual chemicals etc... and issuing licence to vendors who undergo the training and follow the standards would show good results. Providing incentives to such licence holders to sell near schools, hospitals, transportation hubs would encourage the vendors to follow standards while selling their produce.

Vijay Yadav Tokala, Postharvest Education Foundation (Trainee), India

Thank you to all those who have posted their very interesting comments. Here is my addition:

Street foods have several potential benefits in Africa, along with their convenience and source of income for low-income people, particularly women. In sub-Saharan African cities, street foods are to become the local ‘fast food’, thereby preventing the progressive invasion by imported ultra-processed foods. Street foods are not only consumed by lower socioeconomic groups, as often believed and as shown in South Africa (Steyn NP et al 2011). Street foods may contribute to diet quality: in the cited study, fruits were the most frequent street foods among Black respondents. In the absence of organized institutional feeding for schools and businesses, street foods are the main option. The strategy should therefore be to improve the quality of street food. Street food vendors would benefit from training in hygiene and basic nutrition, as was done in Benin among those selling foods to school pupils, in the framework of the Nutrition Friendly School Initiative tested as an approach in Cotonou (Benin) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Improvements were noted in the nutritional quality, diversity and safety of the foods and drinks offered to school children. Vendors were resistant at first to offer healthier foods and drinks, fearing loss of income, but as teachers and pupils were also sensitized to nutrition, vendors, sales did not go down. Whether or not street food vendors should be registered or not is an issue that must be addressed locally.

Few thoughts facilitating the following:

• tie up with local village farmers for purchase 
• credit facility for buying in bulk 
• organizing street vendors self help groups as unregistered societies may benefit
• millet based street foods can cater to low income diabetics 
• millet based street foods can cater school children 
• Finger millet does not absorb oil therefore will be a profitable option for street food vendors 
• training to street food vendors on Millet based and local greens based snacks can reduce their expenses 
• training in food preservation and storage aspects will help them 
• opinion collection of customers will help them to improve their skills

1. TASTE ; RED / GREEN    
2. HYGIENE ; RED  / GREEN 
3. QUICKNESS; RED/ GREEN
4. NUTRITION; RED/GREEN
5. PRICE ; RED/ GREEN 

red is need to improve , green is satisfactory 

A white sheet with a pencil or pen is sufficient 

I want to share with the forum about perimeter vegetables cultivation by Farmers interest groups in our area. CASE STUDY . Perimeter horticulture plays a vital role in food security to some extent. The lands in around town is the base for this cultivation. In India in the state of Tamil Nadu Tuticorin is one of Dist, capital slowly shifted to industrialisation. In this mean time the villagers around this town earn their income by cultivating horti. Crops and marketing their marketable surplus to this town. In this context 15 no. Farmers interest groups were formed by horticulture department. The main objective of this FIGs integrating farmers to adopt new technology, and using of hybrids to maximize the yield.

Integrating the famers to market their produce to nearby town at reasonable price without middleman. For which Greenveg. outlet have been started by coperative dept. The produce obtained from these FIGs are sold here. The urban people getting good quality vegetable with less price. Thus perimeter veg. cultivation and marketing in urban area increases the food security in sustainable manner.

Hello Stefano.  Good topic of high relevance to facilitate on global level. I just hope a more relevant strategy would be the outcome to be in favor of the group in focus. Most of your questions are answers to themselves when read in reverse being they are revealing and create awareness about a salient issue which seem to be helping authorities but with little policy incentive to address the issue, at least in developing countries. 

Pl check my little contribution as attachment below.

Thank you.

Thank you for all the contributions and to our moderators! Here are my answers to questions 2, 3 and 4. I will get to questions 5 and 6 in the next few days.

2.     Are there examples of concrete measures promoted by local authorities to recognize and increase such kind of link?

I am unaware of concrete measures but there may well be some examples. The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) as well as other organizations such as the Cebut City United Vendors Association (which I documented for FAO at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-y1931m/y1931m05.htm) may have information on this.

3.   If so, how have these actions influenced consumers’ choices towards street food?

Unknown to me.

4.   Have similar initiatives been prompted directly by street food vendors associations? How?

As above. Unknown to me. 

Thank you Cecilia for mentioning the food safety issue of street food.  

Nutritional and sustainable diets cannot avoid the food safety aspect of foods.

Ready-to-eat foods, prepared and sold by street food vendors represent a food security strategy put in place to support low-income populations. All over the world street foods provide a wide range of commodities and nutrients, helping people to meet their nutritional needs: indeed, easy accessibility, variety in taste and choice and low cost make street foods an affordable option. Moreover, street foods play an important socio-economic role, in terms of employment and income for those involved in their production and/or selling, empowerment of the local economy and the preservation of the local food cultures.

Nevertheless, the food sold on the street may also represent a risk. Food prepared and exposed for sale may become contaminated by pathogenic micro-organisms as well as hazardous chemicals. Vending stands are often not adequate and clean water, waste disposal and sanitary facilities are often not available in the whole vending area. Poor storage facilities and transport conditions also contribute to the overall difficulties in managing and improving street food safety.

As a consequence, greater awareness and preventive measures need to be implemented for coping with risk factors in a systematic and effective way.

More information specifically on chemical/toxicological risks is available on the paper: Identification and management of toxicological hazards of street foods in developing countries (Food and Chemical Toxicology 63 (2014) 143–152).