Africa Focus: Informal markets main source of food for Africa's poor

Rose Wangui has been selling raw milk to her clients in Kangemi estate, in the outskirts of Nairobi for the last 13 years.

But to some residents of the area, informal sale of raw milk in buckets is not fit for consumption for fear of contracting diseases. They therefore prefer buying milk from supermarkets.

According to studies by scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), informal markets, however, provide essential sources of food and income for millions of poor, with milk and meat that is often safer than supermarkets.

"Blunt crack-downs on informal milk and meat sellers that are a critical source of food and income for millions of people are not the solution," Delia Grace, ILRI's program leader for food Safety and Zoonoses, said during the launch of the study in Nairobi on Tuesday.

She warned that the push for greater food safety standards in these markets must be informed by an understanding of their vital role as a provider of food and income to several hundred million people who rank among the world's poorest.

The study probes the complicated world of traditional or informal markets in livestock products. Grace noted that misguided efforts to control the alarming burden of food-related illnesses in low-income countries risk intensifying malnutrition and poverty while doing little to improve food safety.

She said the study that was done in eight countries in Africa cautioned against the adoption of solutions developed in wealthy countries that favor large commercial operations over small producers.

While the food sold in informal markets is often safe, in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world, they are suspected of spreading dangerous pathogens ranging from Salmonella to SARS, avian influenza and tuberculosis.

"This situation is unlikely to change for decades to come as the venues sell most of the livestock and fish products consumed in Africa where currently the rising populations and incomes drive greater demand for meat and milk," she added.

Grace said the studies in East and Southern Africa found that, due to a poorly patrolled chain of custody between producer and seller, milk and meat sold in supermarkets may pose a greater health threat than what is sold in traditional markets.

In most developing countries, more than 80 percent of livestock product purchases occur through informal markets and in places where there is no "formal" alternative, like a western-style supermarket.

Given the current economy in Kenya, most informal milk dealers sell the products in 200, 300, 400, 500, 100 milliliters.

"This is what majority of consumers can afford since the packed milk in supermarkets are too expensive for them to afford in a daily basis," said Wangui.

According to Simon Kinyanjui, a dairy farmer in Uthiru area in southwest of Nairobi, milk from his six cows are sold to the informal market dealers as return is quick.

"Most consumers like raw milk because it has its cream intact and is often not adulterated," said Kinyanjui.

The researchers noted that the poor consumers in developing countries who suffer the most from food-borne illness are often the same people who survive by selling meat and milk at the informal markets to supply affordable, nutritious food for their families. "We need to understand how much disease is caused by unsafe milk and meat in low-income countries and also how much they contribute in terms of nutrition and income," said Kristina Roesel, a researcher at ILRI.

Roesel said this approach will help understand the complete picture to improve food safety without harming food and economic security.

In sub-Saharan Africa, one out of ten, and possibly more, cases of gastrointestinal or diarrheal diseases are caused by food-borne threats. These afflictions rank among the top three killers in the region and are a leading cause of death for children under the age of five.

Milk, meat, fish and fresh vegetables are common carriers of disease-causing pathogens. But at the same time, these foods are essential for maintaining health and proper childhood development.

Moreover, around the world, around one billion smallholder farmers rely on livestock for their livelihoods, with sales of milk and meat through informal markets providing much needed income.

The researchers appealed to policy makers in Africa to look to the facts, not just the fears, before moving to curtail meat sales at the local wet market or purchases of unpasteurized milk from traditional street vendors. Endi