The predominant orthodoxy in food security policies in developing countries in the 1950-70s presumed that consumers meet their food needs wholly through subsistence production and obtain any additional supplies through barter. Arising from this perspective, consumers were not seen as separate actors from producers. Furthermore, the sale of farm produce was seen much more as the disposal of a surplus than a calculated response to demand. In contrast, this paper has argued that this conventional wisdom is not applicable to urban households, stressing the impact of socio-economic and cultural factors on food demand by the urban population.
The discussions indicate that urban households are diverse in structure, size and function. Differences also exist in terms of household income and ethnic backgrounds, which affect preference for particular staples, cooking styles and strategies to cope with food insecurity. It is further noted that the sources of supply of food to urban households also differ. In particular, significant differences occur in the contribution of subsistence production and cooked meals from informal “street” providers to satisfying the food needs of urban households. These differences reflect in part variation in household income levels.
It is evident from the discussions that urban consumers in most African cities do not exhibit some illusory “average” behaviour. Efficient food supply and distribution systems, therefore, have to be capable of meeting the diverse needs of households with distinctly different characteristics. Furthermore, policymakers have to recognise that urban households are very dynamic in terms of their characteristic features, given social and technological changes. For this reason, it is crucially important to ensure effective monitoring and incorporation of information on these features in devising policies to improve the performance of urban FSDSs. However, in most cases, there is a dearth of on urban consumers, thus necessitating indepth studies to fill gaps in understanding of the target beneficiaries of reforms to improve the efficiency of urban food markets.
Another important conclusion from the discussion is how critical contributions from various stakeholders are to the development of effective food supply and distribution policy. Quite striking, in this context, is the recent rise in the number of consumer associations in many African countries. Most of these associations are fulfilling important market regulation and quality control functions and, therefore, should be taken into account in strategies to improve FSDSs.
It appears artificial, in the case of consumer associations in Africa to distinguish between the functions of consumption and supply as applies to those in developed countries, thus restricting their activities to lobbying and agitation. This is mainly due to issues of legitimacy with regard to the needs of poorer, under-represented classes, insecurity and imperfect institutional environment in the African context. The consumer associations will, therefore, need substantial technical and financial assistance to develop their organisational capability as well as support in terms of central purchasing projects in order to counter-balance the undesirable activities of traders and other suppliers.
Trade liberalisation has accentuated the problem of food quality. This is attributable to the fact that in most cases the state, which has retained responsibility for quality control is unable to effectively perform this function because agencies involved are poorly equipped. There is, therefore, the need for the state to examine the feasibility of contracting out this function to the private sector.
Lack of information and knowledge on hygiene and nutrition issues also undermines the capacity of the urban population to collectively police maintenance of food quality standards by traders and suppliers, especially of imported and cooked meals. Hygiene and nutrition concerns have little or no effects on methods of storing, handling and preparation of meals. This situation persists despite the existence of various public education programmes on hygiene and nutrition. It is evident that such programmes have proved largely ineffective and need to be reviewed.
In summary, the paper shows that efforts to improve the performance of urban FSDSs in Africa will benefit considerably from better knowledge of the urban consumer; stronger consumer associations; improved quality control and better organised public education on food hygiene and nutrition.
