Empowering African Market Traders to Deliver Safe Food – Global Issues
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BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Aug 13 (IPS) – Local illegal food markets feed millions of urban dwellers in Africa’s bustling cities, but the consequences of contaminated food can be illness and death for unwary consumers.
More than 130,000 people across Africa get sick and die from eating unsafe food, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
An estimated 70 percent of urban households in Africa buy food from informal markets, such as street vendors, stalls, and traditional market vendors. Despite being key to food security and nutrition, informal food markets have been neglected in terms of improved food security, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has noted.
Informal food markets are important economic engines, providing livelihoods for many but hygiene concerns, and uncertainty about regulations pose a threat to the growth of these markets where people buy and sell food.
Godknows Skota, who hails from Binga District, trades in kapenta fish (Tanganyika sardine) and Kariba Bream (Tilapia) harvested from Lake Kariba, in northern Zimbabwe, which are available in public markets in the city of Bulawayo, a distance of more than 400 km. away.
“Fish spoil easily if they are not caught and prepared properly, which means I have to make sure I process them in a clean way so I don’t throw away the fish I caught,” Skota told IPS as he cleaned the Bream fish to get the fish. a customer at a fishing camp in Binga, south of Lake Kariba.
“I put the fish in salt to preserve it and I take precautions to ensure that the fish does not get dirty when it is prepared and I use enough salt to keep the fish well so that they do not rot,” said Skota.
The significant burden of poor food safety on the continent’s health systems is reflected in its economic impact. Foodborne diseases cause an estimated USD 15 billion in medical costs every year, according to the World Bank, which estimates that foodborne diseases are associated with productivity losses of up to USD 16 billion across Africa.
“It’s not that the illegal food sector is the one that is facing the brunt of diseases, but we must focus more on this sector because it is important and contributes about 80 percent of the food consumed by urban people,” said John Oppong-Otoo, of Food Safety. Chief, African Union International Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).
The African Union (AU) and ILRI have produced the first draft of food safety guidelines to support African governments’ efforts to improve food safety across the continent’s informal food sector. The draft guidelines were developed following the AU Strategy for Food Security in Africa, which was published in 2021 to encourage improvements in food security management.
Oppong-Otoo stressed that the new guidelines will provide practical and practical guidance to help governments work with the illegal food sector to manage food safety risks and deliver safe food. Food risk can arise from processed or raw food that may be contaminated, poor food handling, and infrastructure, for example, in informal markets.
“It’s not that people want to produce unsafe food, it’s because they don’t know that their habits may lead to the production of unsafe food so they need to be guided,” Oppong-Otoo told IPS, noting that unsafe food. it undermines the human right to food and nutrition security for millions of Africans every year.
Food security is a major health and economic burden across Africa. According to ILRI research, Africa has the highest global health burden caused by foodborne diseases.
Silvia Alonso, Principal Scientist Epidemiologist, at Nairobi-based ILRI, says the guidelines are being developed in consultation across the continent with informal market traders, agricultural actors, and governments. African governments are expected to implement the guidelines by developing regulatory frameworks and administrative processes to support their implementation.
Alonso told IPS that the guidelines developed by the AU and ILRI are currently undergoing a consultation process, with informal actors from the agricultural industry, partners, and AU member states, before being approved in 2025.
“As the guidelines are informed by ILRI research and examples of successful interventions to improve food security across Africa, we hope to show national governments that a new approach to dealing with illegal food markets is possible and entirely beneficial to them,” said Alonso, explaining that although it is not expected For it to be legally binding, the consultation process should arouse the interest of governments to see the guidelines implemented in their countries.
ILRI has supported informal food markets across Africa through food safety training. For example, in Kenya, the More Milk project has trained more than 200 milk sellers in Eldoret, to improve hygiene and management practices.
Milk seller Francisca Mutai, from Kenya, said she has gained knowledge about milk hygiene and is improving her interactions with customers. His clients grew and he grew his business, which led to increased profits.
“With this information, I can advise those who buy milk and customers to handle the milk in a clean way and the nutrition found in it,” said Mutai.
Another milk seller, Daniel Kembo, also from Kenya, switched from using plastic containers to aluminum ones, which ensured hygiene and better milk quality. As a result, he has increased his milk sales.
While I was in Ethiopia, a consumer awareness campaign helped reduce the recall of tomatoes sold in informal markets. Called “Abo! Eat the Unchangeable” (Amharic word for ‘hey’), the campaign achieved a 78 percent recall rate, the need to drive a full, or safe, tomato in the areas of Dire Dawa and Harar by improving home security. tomato preparation practices.
Akintayo Oluwagbemiga Elijah, chief whip of the Oyo State Butchers Association at Bodija Market, Ibadan, Nigeria, has been briefed on hygienic practices in the handling and processing of meat. Now he pays close attention to the cleanliness of the stall where the cows are slaughtered and uses drinking water to clean the meat and its products.
Oppong-Otoo, said promoting food security in informal markets is one of the objectives of the ongoing One Health program of the African Union because food trade is an opportunity for economic growth under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“The illegal food sector, which includes people who manage and produce food, is at the heart of the AfCFTA and it means that if we can support them to produce and market safe food, we will have more products to trade,” he said. said. “The AU Food Security Strategy recognizes that although Africa has great agricultural resources, we have not been able to use their full potential due to unsafe food production.”
It is expected that by 2030, agricultural trade between African countries will increase by 574 percent if import tariffs are eliminated under the AcFTA. This would be a big boost for the continent that spends more than USD 50 billion every year on food exports, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
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