We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Supermarket Food Procurement Practices in Dar es Salaam: Risks and Benefits for Rural Smallholder Farmers.
- Authors
Wagner, Jeremy; Nickel, Sierra; Rempel, Josh; Verbenkov, Marie
- Abstract
While modern food retail development in Dar es Salaam is an indication of food system formalization, the degree to which development will increase food security and alleviate poverty in rural farming communities is questionable. Based on observational research and interviews with supermarket staff, this study explores the recent emergence of supermarkets in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and the implications of their procurement practices for Tanzania's rural smallholder farmers. The emergence of supermarkets is slowly directing Tanzania's food system toward centralized and regionalized procurement networks, specialized wholesalers and supplier systems, and supply for increased consumer demand of quality products. The development of an efficient and effective food procurement system is a prerequisite for fostering market-oriented contribution to income generation and poverty reduction within Tanzania's rural communities. However, due to processes of land acquisition and the tendency of supermarkets to import food products, the bridge between domestic rural farmers and supermarket shelves has not been formally established, and competition runs the risk of building bridges which exclude Tanzania's largest and most vulnerable rural peasant communities. If poverty reduction and development from the bottom are priorities, then food procurement development should be directed towards supporting rural farming communities' efforts to access the emerging supermarket economy.
- Subjects
DAR es Salaam (Tanzania); SUPERMARKETS; FARMERS; RETAIL industry; FOOD security
- Publication
Undercurrent, 2016, Vol 12, Issue 1, p36
- ISSN
1712-0934
- Publication type
Article