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Modernizing Africa’s Fresh Produce Supply Chains without Rapid Supermarket Takeover: Towards a Definition of Research and Investment Priorities

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  • Tschirley, David L.
  • Ayieko, Miltone W.
  • Hichaambwa, Munguzwe
  • Goeb, Joey
  • Loescher, Wayne

Abstract

After a burst of enthusiasm through the middle part of this decade regarding the supermarket revolution, there now exists a broad consensus that this phenomenon is likely to proceed much more slowly than once thought in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is especially true in fresh produce supply chains, where both the promise and the perils of supermarket expansion have received greatest attention. In nearly the entire continent, the so-called traditional marketing sector – open air markets, dispersed informal vendors, and traditional shops – is expected to play a dominant role in fresh produce marketing for several decades. If true, this finding has profound policy implications. Specifically, it suggests that private investment in modern, integrated supply chains cannot be relied upon to solve the multitude of problems that increasingly plague these traditional production and marketing systems over a time frame acceptable to most policy makers and donors. Public engagement, preferably through meaningful public-private partnerships and an accompanying re-definition of public and private roles, will be central to improving these systems. This paper first reviews the evolution of thinking on the supermarket revolution in Africa and presents empirical evidence from Kenya and Zambia. It then lays out a set of stylized facts and key gaps in knowledge regarding traditional fresh produce production and marketing sectors on the continent, and closes by outlining priorities for research and for public and private investment to modernize these systems in the absence of rapid supermarket takeover.

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  • Tschirley, David L. & Ayieko, Miltone W. & Hichaambwa, Munguzwe & Goeb, Joey & Loescher, Wayne, 2010. "Modernizing Africa’s Fresh Produce Supply Chains without Rapid Supermarket Takeover: Towards a Definition of Research and Investment Priorities," Food Security International Development Working Papers 93030, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:midiwp:93030
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.93030
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Baker, Derek & Mtimet, Nadhem & Pica-Ciamarra, Ugo & Nsiima, Longin, 2016. "Consumers’ preferences for animal-source foods and retail outlets: The case of Tanzania," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 11(3).
    2. Woldu, Thomas & Abebe, Girum & Lamoot, Indra & Minten, Bart, 2013. "Urban food retail in Africa: The case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia," ESSP working papers 50, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Minnaar, Amanda & Taylor, John R.N. & Haggblade, Steven & Kabasa, John David & Ojijo, Nelson K. O., 2013. "Food Science and Technology Curricula in Africa: Meeting Africa’s New Challenges," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 183415, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    4. Fadiga, Mohamadou L. & Makokha, Stella Nabwile, 2014. "Consumer valuations of the quality and safety attributes of milk and meat in Kenya," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, April.
    5. David Tschirley & Thomas Reardon & Michael Dolislager & Jason Snyder, 2015. "The Rise of a Middle Class in East and Southern Africa: Implications for Food System Transformation," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(5), pages 628-646, July.
    6. World Bank, 2013. "Growing Africa," World Bank Publications - Reports 26082, The World Bank Group.
    7. Hichaambwa, Munguzwe, 2012. "Urban Consumption Patterns of Livestock Products in Zambia and Implications for Policy," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 132343, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    8. David Tschirley & Thomas Reardon & Michael Dolislager & Jason Snyder, 2015. "The Rise of a Middle Class in East and Southern Africa: Implications for Food System Transformation," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(5), pages 628-646, July.
    9. Alejandro Guarín, 2013. "The Value of Domestic Supply Chains: Producers, Wholesalers, and Urban Consumers in Colombia," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 31(5), pages 511-530, September.
    10. Guillaume Soullier & Paule Moustier, 2021. "The modernization of the rice value chain in Senegal: A move towards the Asian Quiet Revolution?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(S1), pages 81-101, August.
    11. Md. Jahangir Alam, 2018. "Transformation of Retailing in Bangladesh: A Holistic Approach," Journal of Asian Business Strategy, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 8(2), pages 38-51, December.
    12. Rosina Wanyama & Theda Gödecke & Christine G. K. Chege & Matin Qaim, 2019. "How important are supermarkets for the diets of the urban poor in Africa?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(6), pages 1339-1353, December.
    13. Rischke, Ramona & Kimenju, Simon C. & Klasen, Stephan & Qaim, Matin, 2015. "Supermarkets and food consumption patterns: The case of small towns in Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 9-21.
    14. Tschirley, David L. & Hichaambwa, Munguzwe, 2010. "The Structure and Behavior of Vegetable Markets Serving Lusaka: Main Report," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 93006, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    15. Thomas Vetter & Marianne Nylandsted Larsen & Thilde Bech Bruun, 2019. "Supermarket-Led Development and the Neglect of Traditional Food Value Chains: Reflections on Indonesia’s Agri-Food System Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, January.

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    Keywords

    Agribusiness; Food Security and Poverty; International Relations/Trade; Marketing;
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