When interpretation is more important than statistics
While collecting statistics through crop and livestock assessments is necessary, the most important missing link is interpreting and analyzing what is happening to different value…
Webs of interdependencies keep African informal economies more resilient
When you see traders in African territorial markets like Mbare in Harare selling Kapenta fish (Matemba), soya chunks, plastic packaging, potatoes and eggs, chances are…
Headaches and pathways of translating infrastructure into better lives
While infrastructure like road highways and irrigation systems continue to receive much attention, funding and media coverage, it has taken long for most intended beneficiaries…
How African territorial markets are quietly rewriting socio-economic rules
Being self-organized for decades has enabled most African territorial markets to write their own socio-economic rules in ways that are contrary to formal systems that…
Making market infrastructure fit for purpose through consultative processes
One of the major reasons why African countries are littered with abandoned market sheds intended for the poor is because these structures are set up…
The underestimated role of traditional medicine in shaping local wellbeing
In most African communities, traditional medicine and indigenous herbs are in integral component of local well-being. Any conversation about local food systems which does not…
What does knowledge mean when African scholars are not keen to understand informal economies?
If African scholars were more interested in studying informal economies and territorial markets, by now, there would be abundant literature on these important post-colonial institutions.…
Transporters as unique knowledge brokers in African markets and food systems
The process of moving food commodities from production areas to markets is rich with unique knowledge which you may not hear from farmers or traders…
How colonialists used their language to undermine indigenous food systems
In many African countries, colonialists did not just take the best land for producing their own food and raw materials for their own industries. They…
Why farmers should know how their commodities perform on the market
Why farmers should know how their commodities perform on the market It is no longer enough for farmers to know how to produce particular commodities.…