Stefano,
Thanks for re-igniting this important issue of street vending. Certainly, street food vending is one of the hallmarks of most developing countries. For the obvious reason that many urban people cannot afford the so-called safe food found in licensed supermarket chains. You have given an interesting context within which this discussion will be carried out: that FAO does support street food vending. I found this point particularly refreshing because many governments are only starting to notice that this kind of activity can provide any meaningful contribution to lives of individuals, families (mostly women) and nations. Now, let me turn my attention to question 1. Pertaining to question one, I do know of scenarios where there are indeed direct linkages between street food vendors and peri-urban farmers in Zimbabwe. However, not all peri-urban agricultural activities are recognized particularly those taking place on council land. Again, all street food vending is illegal. Thus their relationships are based on social capital and highly informal networks. However, there are an number of projects in Harare (Zimbabwe) that were mooted under the auspices of Natural Resources Institute and other NGOs where vendors received training on various issues ranging from personal hygiene, marketing, food preparation and food storage. Unfortunately, follow up studies indicated that some foods weren’t safe. For example microbiological counts showed high amounts of Salmonella in meat or streptococci bacteria on fruits. Institutions and organizations should have an important role to play but it is rare to typically find Street Vendor Associations to lobby and advocate for formalization of this activity. Again, the legal framework still patchy such that you have food health laws not in sync with urban councils Act. Without Urban Street Food Associations, it is going to be difficult to make a case for a policy framework that integrates their activities into mainstream economy. Moreover, they would need financial support which must be sustained in the long run. The private sector, NGOs and civil society in general could be involved here.
Thanks,
Edward
Dr. Edward Mutandwa