Studying African markets, indigenous food systems critical
GIVEN the competitive nature of the food systems landscape, building powerful roadmaps for African markets and food systems requires each African country to have an institution responsible for understanding the whole agricultural supply chain and indigenous food system from how they operate, their connectivity, knowledge and information within supply chains and production zones, data flows, relationships and governance systems.
The absence of such an institution at government level shows how African policymakers have neglected a big mass market economy which they have left to run its own affairs in spite of its critical contribution to economic development.
This makes it imperative that African markets and indigenous food systems should be thoroughly studied and below are four reasons why.
Recognising champions: The fact that African mass markets and indigenous systems continue to thrive against the onslaught from Western markets and imported food indicates the existence of champions with strong values in local food systems.
Such champions deserve various forms of recognition from policymakers.
Unless policymakers fully understand the mass market and indigenous food ecosystems, they will not know these champions and recognise them. Identifying best practices: African mass markets and indigenous food systems would not have survived for more than a century if they did not have capacity to cultivate best practices.
The diversity of African cultures and food systems is also the diversity of contextual best practices worth studying and understanding.
Providing benchmarks to measure progress: A lot of initiatives are happening to advance African markets and indigenous food systems, but solid benchmarks are required in order to measure progress.
For instance, African food is gaining a foothold in the Global North through the African diaspora. Such pathways for growth can only be fully understood through thorough research and investment in fluid data collection, processing and sharing to demonstrate progress.
Building a roadmap for others to follow: While it appears the African young generation is being swept away by the fast-food culture, there is a large population of young Africans embracing indigenous food systems as part of their identity restoration and consciousness on eating health.
Where are African universities and research institutions?
It is unfortunate that African universities have not been able to adapt Western knowledge and use it to advance industrial growth of indigenous food systems and medicines, starting from production all the way to the market.
At production, inadequate inputs remain a challenge for indigenous food.
For instance, compost is often recommended but what if materials for making compost are not available?
Maize husks have multi-purposes for supporting other ecosystems including livestock production and can also be used for making compost.
The Western industrial system has invested in producing industrial livestock feed but there is no such effort on indigenous food-based livestock feed made from small grains, for instance. What is stopping industrial development of indigenous livestock feed?
Rather than getting communities involved in gruelling studies through farmer field schools trying to produce compost and other inputs at individual level, is it not better for such initiatives to be institutionalised at community level in order to achieve economies of scale?
That way, farming communities become implementers of bigger initiatives at scale.
Not every farmer has to be involved in manufacturing fertiliser, a processing machine or a tractor in order to use it.
Given the amount of investment that has gone into African research institutions and universities, by now these institutions should have been driving investments that support large-scale production so that communities enjoy economies of scale.
Instead of pursuing vanity research that does not address practical challenges, African universities should be out there working with communities and guiding industrial development to ensure science is used to enable communities to move out of poverty.
With the right knowledge and messaging, climate change should not be presented to communities as a threat but a situation that requires systematic adaptation.
The message should be: “As climate is changing, how can communities learn to observe and reflect on what is happening in order to adapt accordingly?”
Should, for example, a community continue pursuing maize when it is clear that maize is failing to withstand a changing climate?
University research should ensure the diversity of the local food basket to enable communities to replace maize with other diverse commodities.