Urban food markets in Africa: stakeholders discuss project findings

The research project ‘Urban food markets in Africa: Incentivizing food safety using a pull-push approach’ aims to mitigate food safety risks in the poultry and vegetable chains of Burkina Faso and Ethiopia. Initiated in 2018, the project, led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and its partners, supports government authorities to achieve this in a cost-effective way by providing scientific evidence.

On 27 August 2021, the research project organized stakeholders’ workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to:

• inform stakeholders on the progress of current project activities
• increase the usefulness and uptake of project outputs for food safety
• enhance collaboration on national food safety activities and update and discuss upcoming activities

Charlemagne Ouedraogo, the Minister of Health in Burkina Faso, speaking to journalists at the workshop (Photo credit: BF1 TV)

In his opening remarks, Charlemagne Ouedraogo, the Minister of Health in Burkina Faso, indicated the importance of the project to address prevailing food chain issues. He further noted the project’s visions are aligned with the vision of the Government of Burkina Faso to promote food safety in the country.

During a plenary session, more than 30 actors from the poultry and vegetable value chains in Burkina Faso were presented with the project’ objectives and approach by the project coordinator, Michel Dione.

This was followed by a presentation by ILRI researcher Valérie Lallogo on the results of poultry and tomato value chain assessments conducted in the Greater Ouaga from December 2019 to January 2020. The study has identified risky practices within the poultry value chains, including lack of quality control over inputs and products sold; non-compliance with withdrawal periods for drugs at farms; administration of inappropriate drugs for the immediate sale of birds; unsanitary conditions in slaughter areas; and inappropriate management of waste at the slaughter point.

In the tomato value chains, risky practices included use of wastewater (e.g., around hospitals and plants); failure to meet the withdrawal period of pesticides before harvest; uncontrolled and abusive use of chemicals (pesticides) in gardens; excessive use of chemical fertilizers compared to organic fertilizers; and improper hand washing during handling. The assessment also investigated the consumption patterns among the low, medium, and high-income households.

Guy Ilboudo of ILRI presented the summary of the preliminary results of the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) survey of tomato and poultry value chain actors. The study was conducted in the greater Ouagadougou from February to June 2021. Accordingly, the preliminary analysis show that for the tomato KAP, 98.7% of sellers are women, with street vendors selling 10 to 31 kg/day versus 18 to 66 kg/day for market vendors. There are four types of tomatoes sold: intact, slightly damaged, severely damaged, and rotten.

For the poultry KAP, preliminary results show that 93% of actors are men, almost half of outlets are not inspected, and most actors (89%) have not received any training. Regarding processing, it has been observed that in 85% of the cases, the chicken is slaughtered for immediate consumption and the slaughter is done on the ground.

The studies also documented gender roles in the poultry and vegetable value chains and how to better target children and women with interventions to improve nutrition.

Following the presentations, participants discussed the significance of focusing on chicken street vendors for the project interventions, and the selection of tomatoes instead of other commodities in the value chain.

During the second part of the workshop, stakeholders discussed potential interventions to reduce risk to food consumers based on the assessment studies. Potential interventions were classified on the following criteria: acceptability (social, environmental), feasibility (economic, policy, capacity), and sustainability (likeliness to continue without project support).

At the end of the workshop participants identified the next steps:

• develop and test potential interventions at point of consumption to reduce risk to consumers. The interventions will include training and certification, and support of markets actors, food processors and consumer awareness campaigns. They will be implemented hand in hand with the local regulators and the value chain stakeholders.
• promote stakeholders’ engagement to implement project recommendations
• reach out important decisions makers that would support interventions at scale

The research project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture and for Nutrition and Health.

For more information on the project visit this page:

The research project ‘Urban food markets in Africa: Incentivizing food safety using a pull-push approach’ aims to mitigate food safety risks in the poultry and vegetable chains of Burkina Faso and Ethiopia. Initiated in 2018, the project, led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and its partners, supports government authorities to achieve this in a cost-effective way by providing scientific evidence.

On 27 August 2021, the research project organized stakeholders’ workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to:

• inform stakeholders on the progress of current project activities
• increase the usefulness and uptake of project outputs for food safety
• enhance collaboration on national food safety activities and update and discuss upcoming activities

In his opening remarks, Charlemagne Ouedraogo, the Minister of Health in Burkina Faso, indicated the importance of the project to address prevailing food chain issues. He further noted the project’s visions are aligned with the vision of the Government of Burkina Faso to promote food safety in the country.

During a plenary session, more than 30 actors from the poultry and vegetable value chains in Burkina Faso were presented with the project’ objectives and approach by the project coordinator, Michel Dione.

This was followed by a presentation by ILRI researcher Valérie Lallogo on the results of poultry and tomato value chain assessments conducted in the Greater Ouaga from December 2019 to January 2020. The study has identified risky practices within the poultry value chains, including lack of quality control over inputs and products sold; non-compliance with withdrawal periods for drugs at farms; administration of inappropriate drugs for the immediate sale of birds; unsanitary conditions in slaughter areas; and inappropriate management of waste at the slaughter point.

In the tomato value chains, risky practices included use of wastewater (e.g., around hospitals and plants); failure to meet the withdrawal period of pesticides before harvest; uncontrolled and abusive use of chemicals (pesticides) in gardens; excessive use of chemical fertilizers compared to organic fertilizers; and improper hand washing during handling. The assessment also investigated the consumption patterns among the low, medium, and high-income households.

Guy Ilboudo of ILRI presented the summary of the preliminary results of the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) survey of tomato and poultry value chain actors. The study was conducted in the greater Ouagadougou from February to June 2021. Accordingly, the preliminary analysis show that for the tomato KAP, 98.7% of sellers are women, with street vendors selling 10 to 31 kg/day versus 18 to 66 kg/day for market vendors. There are four types of tomatoes sold: intact, slightly damaged, severely damaged, and rotten.

For the poultry KAP, preliminary results show that 93% of actors are men, almost half of outlets are not inspected, and most actors (89%) have not received any training. Regarding processing, it has been observed that in 85% of the cases, the chicken is slaughtered for immediate consumption and the slaughter is done on the ground.

The studies also documented gender roles in the poultry and vegetable value chains and how to better target children and women with interventions to improve nutrition.

Following the presentations, participants discussed the significance of focusing on chicken street vendors for the project interventions, and the selection of tomatoes instead of other commodities in the value chain.

During the second part of the workshop, stakeholders discussed potential interventions to reduce risk to food consumers based on the assessment studies. Potential interventions were classified on the following criteria: acceptability (social, environmental), feasibility (economic, policy, capacity), and sustainability (likeliness to continue without project support).

At the end of the workshop participants identified the next steps:

• develop and test potential interventions at point of consumption to reduce risk to consumers. The interventions will include training and certification, and support of markets actors, food processors and consumer awareness campaigns. They will be implemented hand in hand with the local regulators and the value chain stakeholders.
• promote stakeholders’ engagement to implement project recommendations
• reach out important decisions makers that would support interventions at scale

The research project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture and for Nutrition and Health.

For more information on the project visit this page:

Urban food markets in Africa: Incentivizing food safety using a pull-push approach | International Livestock Research Institute (ilri.org)