Fictional story of urban consumers - their problems
“If I had enough cash to buy a refrigerator, I could buy larger quantities of food and save money by making bulk purchases and storing fresh or cooked food - plus we would not have to eat everything immediately. The problem is that all my relatives and friends who visit me frequently would help themselves to my food stores.”
“I don’t mind going to the central market because I meet people there and the food is often cheaper. But the market looks like a mud puddle, there are flies everywhere and the vegetables and fruit are sometimes rotten. I wish I could buy food for my family from a cleaner place, but there is no other.”
“I nearly had a fight recently with a market trader who tried to cheat me on the weight of the rice I was buying. I know they will try, but this time it was really too much. Only the other day, I bought a packet of biscuits but I felt sick as soon as I put one in my mouth. Checking the expiry date, I saw that it was two years ago! The problem is that consumers can do nothing against these frauds: no one listens.”
“The market is always full of people. When they need to go to the toilet, they hide behind a wall or a heap of boxes. I have to do the same as well because there are no toilets to be found, and I very much doubt that people wash their hands before touching the food again.”
“When I want better quality or more choice, I go to the abattoir or fish market and to the special vegetable stall near the market gardens. If I had a market or a shop with cold storage next to my house, I could save on the cost of transport.”
“Our local market burnt down last week and I now have to walk to another one on the other side of town. Not only has this market put its prices up since the fire at ours, but just getting there also means more money and time spent.”
Source: FAO, The State of Food and Agriculture 1998
