Enhancing the food security of the peri-urban and urban poor through improvements to the quality, safety and economics of street-vended foods

Johnson, Paa-Nii T. and Yawson, Robert M. (2000): Enhancing the food security of the peri-urban and urban poor through improvements to the quality, safety and economics of street-vended foods. Published in: Natural Resources Institute, Chatham Maritime, UK: : pp. 1-63.

Abstract

There has been a continuing growth in urbanisation in developing countries, and governments’ face a major challenge in ensuring that city dwellers are able to procure sufficient food. Street foods are sold in almost every country in the world. In most towns and cities in Ghana, selling of snacks and whole meals on the streets is an important way to obtain income, especially among the poor women. Street foods have a long tradition in most countries. The role of this sector in the urbanisation process and the urban economy reflects the way of life and the survival and coping strategies adopted in most African cities. Some earlier studies on street food vending in Ghana have taken place. The FAO and WHO have funded these. Unfortunately, the studies did not include potential food safety concerns such as the presence of heavy metals, pesticide residues and the presence of mycotoxins. The studies did not also examine the contribution of these informal microenterprises to the Ghanaian economy. The DFID/NRI/FRI project on improved street-vended foods was a one-year exploratory study aimed at assessing the safety and quality of food sold in Accra as well as estimates the contribution of this sector to the national economy of Ghana. The project complemented previous work carried on the sector by other workers. This workshop was therefore organized to present findings and identifies new areas where further knowledge is required. As part of this dissemination, key stakeholders of the streetfood vending business in Ghana made short presentations on the status of the foods sold in Accra. These short presentations are also included in this report.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Streetfood; microenterprises; mycotoxins; public health; economics; Organochlorines; Poverty
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F4 - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance; L - Industrial Organization > L4 - Antitrust Issues and Policies > L44 - Antitrust Policy and Public Enterprises, Nonprofit Institutions, and Professional Organizations; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I12 - Health Behavior; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics; N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy; L - Industrial Organization > L4 - Antitrust Issues and Policies; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A11 - Role of Economics ; Role of Economists ; Market for Economists; K - Law and Economics > K3 - Other Substantive Areas of Law > K32 - Environmental, Health, and Safety Law; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H75 - State and Local Government: Health ; Education ; Welfare ; Public Pensions; L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise > L33 - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprises and Nonprofit Institutions ; Privatization ; Contracting Out; L - Industrial Organization > L6 - Industry Studies: Manufacturing > L66 - Food ; Beverages ; Cosmetics ; Tobacco ; Wine and Spirits; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A10 - General; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture; L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise > L32 - Public Enterprises ; Public-Private Enterprises; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H51 - Government Expenditures and Health; L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q56 - Environment and Development ; Environment and Trade ; Sustainability ; Environmental Accounts and Accounting ; Environmental Equity ; Population Growth; P - Economic Systems > P4 - Other Economic Systems > P42 - Productive Enterprises ; Factor and Product Markets ; Prices ; Population; P - Economic Systems > P4 - Other Economic Systems

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