African leaders who really care about food systems transformation cannot ignore what is happening in the mass market. Ignoring these markets is ignoring more than 70 percent of actors who handle food after it has been produced. In most African countries, mass markets or territorial markets are the true centre of gravity for local food Read more about We cannot achieve food systems transformation by ignoring mass markets[…]
How can African countries hope to make the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) work when there are no systems to facilitate trade within countries and between neighboring countries? African countries cannot succeed on the regional and global market stage when local trading is fragmented due to absence of reliable systems. Without data and evidence Read more about African countries cannot build a strong African Continental Free Trade Area without investing in data first[…]
One of the major challenges in Africa’s digital agriculture space is that software developers try to develop digital solutions based on a lot of assumptions. Much of the food production knowledge including Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) around food are within the old generation. The digital space is dominated by the young generation, mostly the urban Read more about Closing gaps between indigenous knowledge systems and digital solutions[…]
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being touted as a solution to many data-related challenges, it cannot generate agricultural market intelligence without human involvement. The most important first step in building an agricultural platform is generating and processing data into information and knowledge. Sources of that data are farmers, traders, vendors, transporters, consumers, formal institutions and Read more about Artificial intelligence cannot generate market intelligence on its own[…]
Whereas imported western methods of collecting data focus on scientific questionnaires, in African communities and mass markets conversations and stories are the highest form of data. while the formal education system in most African countries continues to promote the view that to be objective researchers must be detached from what they are studying, in African Read more about Indigenous Knowledge Systems have their own data collection methods[…]
With frequent reports El Nino weather phenomena across the world, signals from mass markets are becoming major sources of critical knowledge for adaptation to climate change. Increasing climate variability, shifting market dynamics, cross-border trade complexities, and the growing scale of informal markets demand a more advanced, integrated, and responsive early warning system. The rich intelligence Read more about Mass market signals are becoming more important in a changing climate[…]
By bringing diverse commodities and people together across boundaries, African mass markets create space for issues that are usually left unsaid. While the formal mainstream media is more interested in what is happening right now, mass markets bring people together to discuss what and who is causing what is happening. For instance, mainstream media can Read more about What mass markets say about the political economy of African food systems[…]
Most conversations about food systems and climate change that happen in global conferences and capital city workshops continue to miss practical community voices. When a few community representatives are invited, the purpose is mostly superficial for legitimizing the event through media coverage. In some circumstances, development organizations get into a community and introduce a goat Read more about Pitfalls of taking community voices for granted in food systems projects[…]
If there were no territorial markets many food ingredients and related recipes would have disappeared. Besides keeping rural and urban areas connected through food, African territorial markets are at the forefront of protecting food cultures. When Africans now living in the city want to remember what they used to eat growing up in rural areas, Read more about African territorial markets continue to protect food cultures and identities[…]
In addition to being a source of nutrition and income, African territorial markets provide strong evidence bases for building local food baskets. Such knowledge bases can inspire the young generation to embrace local consumption. More importantly, the evidence can strengthen counter-narratives against industrial food systems. Each documented food basket can also function as an investment Read more about Making sense of African food baskets through territorial markets[…]