Chapter 6
GOVERNANCE
Informal Food Markets in Africa’s Cities
Danielle Resnick
Key Messages
- Urbanization is moving fastest in Africa south of the Sahara, with major implications for food security and other governance challenges.
- Large urban poor populations rely heavily on the informal economy for accessible, affordable food. Most eggs, meat, fish, and milk sold to the urban poor are from informal markets.
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Food security policies in urban Africa face institutional,
administrative, and political challenges:- Lack of local mandate for food security under decentralization policies.
- Lack of cross-sectoral, cross-ministerial policy integration.
- Political contest over cities that occasionally leads to violence.
- Government interventions have focused on control, regulation, and often violent eradication of the urban informal food economy.
Policy and Research Needs
- What tools can institutionalize regular engagement between local governments and informal workers?
- How can the informal economy be actively incorporated into discussions of urban food security?
- How can vertical and horizontal cooperation across sectors and ministries be promoted to improve governance of the informal sector?
- What approaches, such as training informal sector workers, can improve food safety and support the benefits provided by the sector?
