What City and Local Authorities can Do

1. Promote supportive attitudes and policies towards food producers, processors, traders, shopkeepers, street vendors, transporters and consumers
2. Promote private investment
3. Intervene in food supply and distribution
4. Coordinate public interventions and private initiatives
5. Intermediate between central government and the private food sector

Your institutions do not usually have a direct role in national policies (food security, agriculture, public health, etc.). You can, however, take the lead in improving access to food by low-income urban households because:

• national policies may not sufficiently respond to local needs and conditions;
• you are in closer contact with the local community than central government institutions;
• your key functions already include the development, operation and management of food market and processing infrastructure and regulations, the control of urban and periurban agriculture, etc.;
• you can develop collaborative partnerships with the private sector to replace, improve and manage urban food market and processing infrastructure despite reduced investment budgets;
• you are being assigned greater responsibilities by the central government.

Your institutions can play five major roles in alleviating the food insecurity of low-income constituencies.

1. Promote supportive attitudes and policies towards food producers, processors, traders, shopkeepers, street vendors, transporters and consumers

This requires:

• the awareness of all policy-makers to the needs of those involved in food supply and distribution activities;
• the understanding by all decision-makers of how to improve the performance of food supply and distribution systems;
• regular interactions with producers, transporters, traders, shopkeepers, street vendors and consumers; the promotion of their associations (see p. 8) and their involvement in policy formulation and implementation;
• the strengthening and encouragement of representation of private associations on planning committees and in policy implementation;
• the dissemination of policy goals, objectives and related information among everyone involved in food supply and distribution activities;
• that your institution clearly states and pursues its mission to serve the consumers, traders, shopkeepers, street vendors, transporters and producers and adopts an open, communicative and efficient behaviour.

2. Promote private investment

The development of food supply and distribution systems requires augmenting the investment in food production, marketing and processing. This may be beyond the ability of the public sector to afford.

For private investment to emerge, there is the need for an economic and political environment conducive to private sector risk-taking accompanied by credible assurances by the state that the “rules of the game” will be honoured.

You can stimulate private investments by:

• promoting rules governing public and private sector responsibilities and interventions in food supply and distribution activities;
• ensuring that norms, licensing, procedures and standards are in line with investors’ expectations and capacity;
• adequately enforcing laws and regulations, particularly those concerning contracts;
• providing basic food production, market, transport and processing infrastructure, facilities and services;
• ensuring adequate management of utilities companies;
• ensuring active, efficient land and real estate markets as well as land tenure security.

Markets need to be planned because they require space, parking, infrastructure and services (water, toilets, waste collection, etc.).

Electrical systems in markets often generate fires.

Role of Civil Society Organizations in Improving Food Supply and Distribution Systems Facilitate the training by city and local authorities of their members; explain rules and regulations to members; promote respect by members of agreed rules and quality standards; diffuse market information to their members; collaborate in the design and implementation of local development initiatives; filter the needs of individual members and air the views of the group; provide advice to city and local authorities on specific issues; assist members to run and manage their businesses better; identify common problems and solutions; negotiate lower prices and purchase conditions for inputs and services; negotiate better prices for own products and lower marketing costs; exchange technical assistance among members and between associations.

3. Intervene in food supply and distribution

You may intervene in the following ways (see also Annexes 1 to 5):

Planning

• Forecast needs for the city food and water and production potential over the next ten years;
• identify poor urban households and map their location;
• prepare plans governing land use and occupancy;
• provide suitable public land, land-tenure security, safe water, etc. for urban and periurban agriculture;
• prepare rural-urban and intra-urban transport development plans;
• design urban food market and processing infrastructure plans, etc.

Information

• Provide food transporters, traders, shopkeepers, street food vendors, processors and consumers with basic information about food hygiene, health and nutrition together with their rights and obligations;
• inform producers on proper use of agricultural inputs and chemicals, safe solid waste and/or composting facilities, etc.

New market facilities are often badly designed and inappropriately located. They thus remain underutilized and the forced relocation of traders may cause unrest.

Infrastructure, facilities and services

• Define present and future needs for specific market and slaughterhouse infrastructure, facilities and services, with respect to what (type), where (location) and how (standards), taking into account the ecological conditions of the city;
• define land allocation modalities;
• successfully design, locate, construct and manage urban markets and slaughterhouses;
• maintain and upgrade public infrastructure including water, toilets, drainage and lighting;
• suitably dispose of solid and liquid waste;
• provide specific training to producers, traders, shopkeepers, etc.;
• levy municipal taxes and market fees;
• provide public transport to and from urban markets and slaughterhouses, etc.

Regulations affecting food supply and distribution activities may become so complex and contradictory that the same city and local authorities have difficulties understanding and implementing them. This prompts illegal taxation and bribery.

Regulations

• Regulate public land occupancy and use;
• license and control food production, processing and marketing activities;
• protect consumer through enforcement of food quality standards and food retail outlet hygiene including street food and restaurants;
• apply legislation and regulations for meat inspection;
• enforce hygiene and health standards in food processing and sale outlets;
• manage traffic including parking, signals, routing and restrictions on vehicle movement;
• control pollution and invoke standards for industrial and vehicle effluents/emissions and noise control;
• enforce legislation on water quality control for food production and processing, etc.

4. Coordinate public interventions and private initiatives

Conflicts in the implementation, by different institutions and non-governmental organizations, of their programmes limit the impact of development initiatives. Effective coordination is required to avoid this condition. You are in the best position to coordinate the area under your jurisdiction. You need to:

• actively seek legal reforms that clarify the role of various public agencies;
• identify institutional and departmental responsibilities concerning food supply and distribution systems;
• ensure, through training, motivation and monitoring, that personnel are technically equipped to meet the growing demand for efficiency and accountability.

Good market management, maintenance and upgrading are as important as raising revenues.

The lack of adequate food containers can encumber the development of micro and small food processing enterprises in hygienic conditions.

5. Intermediate between central government and the private food sector

You can frame interinstitutional dialogue by:

• ensuring that the needs of food producers, processors, transporters, traders, shopkeepers and consumers are voiced within central government;
• complementing efforts by farmers’ associations, non-governmental organizations and local authorities in rural and periurban areas to lobby the central government. This mediation can prioritize programmes and projects that will reduce production constraints and strengthen rural-urban linkages (e.g. improved road, food assembly and transport facilities, provide market information and marketing extension assistance).

Cities located in mountain areas, slums or slopes, may be prone to landslide and floods which can affect food and water availability, quality and price. Trees can be used to stabilize slopes and riverbanks.

Auction sales promote competition in wholesale markets.

Non motorized transport helps keep food prices low, provides employment for young and poor people and does not pollute but contributes to traffic congestion in and around markets.

Trees in and around Cities can Improve Food Supply and Distribution Fuelwood is widely used for cooking, small-scale food processing, fish and meat smoking, etc. Periurban land can be used for fuelwood plantations. Markets are frequently exposed to the weather. Trees provide shade and protection from the wind, dust and rain, thus reducing losses and contamination of food. Water may be scarce and/or expensive in cities. Encourage the use of treated wastewater for irrigating parks and tree plantations for non-food products and fuelwood. Wastewater use should meet the standards set by the World Health Organization.