PASHFARM

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Evidence for Impact: Lessons from the PASHFARM Project to Strengthen Food and Nutrition Policy in Africa
(AERC, 2025) Cheserek, Maureen
Malnutrition and unhealthy diets remain the major public health challenges across Africa, driven by limited access to affordable, safe, and nutritious foods. As Nutrition Research Fellow for the African Economic Research Consortium’s PASHFARM project, I observed how locally generated evidence can inform policy and drive transformation towards equitable, resilient, and sustainable food systems. Conducted across 20 African countries, PASHFARM produced 35 research papers and 25 policy briefs to guide policymakers in advancing nutrition-sensitive food systems. Working with 20 multidisciplinary teams and 95 researchers, the initiative highlighted the value of collaboration, mentorship, and shared learning. Knowledge exchange and policy forums fostered cross-disciplinary dialogue, strengthened technical rigor, and supported capacity building. Key policy priorities include strengthening markets and supply chains, incentivizing healthier food production, ensuring nutritious food accessibility, affordability, and safety, promoting genderinclusive food systems, and enhancing evidence-based policymaking. PASHFARM demonstrated that sustainable, equitable food systems are achievable through research-driven collaboration, and sustaining momentum requires continued investment in locally led research, capacity building, and multi-stakeholder engagement.
Healthy Diets in Eight West African Countries: Access and Preferences
(AERC, 2025) Gilbert, Rachel; Guene, Herve; Kazianga, Harounan; Harounan, William; Nana, Mohamed
This policy brief describes findings from a study on the role of income and preferences in the consumption of healthy diets in eight West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo). Applying the Exact Affine Stone Index (EASI) demand system to data from nationally representative household surveys collected in 2018 and 2021, we find that greater affordability of healthy diets, either from higher income or lower prices, generally leads to improved nutritional quality of foods actually consumed. However, increased income is spread over many household needs, so that only a fraction of income growth is spent on improved nutrition. Meanwhile, lower prices for nutritious foods have both income and substitution effects, so price reductions lead to larger improvements in diet quality than would income gains of the same monetary value. These patterns arise partly due to changes in nonfood spending and partly due to changes in food spending that meet household goals other than health, such as convenience, taste, and aspirations.
Gendered Barriers Faced by Food SMEs in Providing Low-Income Consumers with Safe, Affordable, and Nutritious Foods in Nairobi
(AERC, 2025) Gitau, Raphael K.; Wekesa, Bright; Harawa, Philip Philemon; Shashi, Njile Isack; Chebii, Naomi; Ninsiima, Racheal; Korir, Emily; Mugisha, Euzobia Baine
Urban food markets such as Toi and Githurai are central to Nairobi’s food system and livelihoods, especially for low-income households. Like other food markets, these markets are essential settings in the provision of nutritious and affordable food to millions and serve as a key source of self-employment. They provide affordable food to millions and serve as avenues for self-employment and income generation. Traders in these markets often face gendered barriers such as gender insensitive water and sanitation measures, lack of secure stalls, unsafe working environments, especially for women, limited access to finance, biased market policy enforcement practices, and exclusion from leadership of young vendors by experienced ones. Although Kenya’s Constitution (2010) guarantees equality and non-discrimination, and Nairobi City County has enacted trade and inspectorate legislation, implementation has often been gender blind. This results in unsafe working conditions, arbitrary enforcement, and barriers to women’s economic empowerment. Strengthening gender-responsive governance and policies in Toi and Githurai markets is therefore critical to enhance trader livelihoods, ensure fair enforcement, and improve food safety for consumers. This policy brief, drawn from a study under the Policy Analysis for Sustainable and Healthy Foods in African Retail Markets (PASHFARM) project, specifically synthesizes the gendered barriers faced by vendors in the choice, sourcing, and provision of safe, affordable, and nutritious food to low-income households in Toi and Githurai markets in Nairobi.
Integrating Street Food Vendors into Zimbabwe’s Economy: Policy Approaches for Economic Inclusion and Social Security
(AERC, 2025) Mutandwa, Edward; Saidi, Petronella T.; Munyaka, Jean-Claude Baraka
Since the year 2000, Zimbabwe’s economy is now largely informal with millions living from these activities that include urban street food vending. However, the government of Zimbabwe has been emphasising the need for illegal urban street food vendors to formalize their activities and daily operations. To this end, a robust policy architecture along with stringent set of bylaws and statutes was enacted with the aim of ensuring formalization of these activities. Due to the perceived high cost of compliance, many urban street food vendors still prefer to operate informally. As a result, they have exposed to a variety of risks mainly emanating from the run-ins with municipal police (Sepadi and Nkosi, 2022). Women, in particular, have faced several risks on a daily basis. The most common form of risk faced by female street vendors is linked to a dearth of licensing and permits which often leads to fines or even imprisonment (Thanh and Duy, 2024). This often precipitates into other gender issues that are not often visible but borne by women. This activity remains critical to the survival of many individuals and households. Subsequently, this research analyses the contribution of urban street food vending to male and female street vendor incomes, and specifically how men and women balance productive and reproductive roles. Furthermore, the research determines how the policy environment is related to the regulatory burden faced by urban street food vendors in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Breaking Barriers to Nutrition: Policy Pathways for Sustainable Fruit and Vegetable Access and Consumption in Kenya
(AERC, 2025) Cheserek, Maureen Jepkorir; Ouko, Kevin; Chagwiza, Clarietta; Opondo, Florence Achieng’; Korir, Mark
Gender disparities shape consumer purchasing patterns for fruits and vegetables (F&Vs) in urban retail markets. Women predominantly buy from informal markets, while men prefer the formal retail outlets, underscoring the need for genderresponsive retail and infrastructure planning. Fruit and vegetable consumption among Kenyan adults remains critically low, despite accessibility to formal and informal retail markets. Only 3.1% of women and 4.5% of men meet the recommended daily intake of five or more servings, highlighting the need to address barriers related to affordability, awareness, and access. Expanding access to safe, inclusive, and conveniently located markets is essential, particularly in underserved areas with limited availability and access to fresh and affordable nutritious foods. Gender-responsive policies and market regulations are vital to achieving equitable food environments. Strengthening these frameworks will promote fairness in retail access and support healthier consumer choices. Targeted consumer education and behaviour change initiatives are needed to boost fruit and vegetable intake. Investing in tailored awareness and nutrition campaigns can foster sustainable improvements in dietary habits.
Improving Food Access in Dar es Salaam’s Urban Peripheries: The Role of Weekly Markets
(2025) Kissoly, Luitfred; Ngassa, Claudio; Norman, Fatma; Rutatora, Sabrina; Aluko, Angela
Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food is a growing policy priority across Africa, where rapid urbanization and population growth are transforming cities. By 2050, sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) population will reach about 2.5 billion, with 60% living in urban areas and up to 15 mega-cities emerging (UN-DESA, 2021; Chen et al., 2022). Much of this growth is happening in urban peripheries with limited infrastructure, where access to food, water, and sanitation remains inadequate (Ingwani et al., 2024; Meth et al., 2021). Amid these gaps, Weekly Food Markets (WFMs) have become crucial food access points. Operated semi-formally by local authorities, they allow small vendors to sell fresh, affordable foods directly to consumers (Hiebert et al., 2017). This policy brief examines how WFMs contribute to nutritious food access in Dar es Salaam, the fastest-growing city in Tanzania, where many peri-urban households rely on such informal outlets (Blekking et al., 2023). The insights aim to inform inclusive food policies that improve access for underserved urban populations.
Strengthening Food Safety Through Gender-Sensitive Interventions Among Food Vendors in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements
(2025) Wawire, Violet K.; Marinda, Pamela. A; Onyango, Arnold
Informal settlements in Nairobi, such as Kibera, host over half of the city’s population and rely heavily on mainly female informal food vendors for daily sustenance. Food safety is a critical public health issue, yet, in informal settlements like Kibera, it remains under-prioritized in policy and practice. While there are food safety policies and regulations for Nairobi County, they lack gender responsive strategies that address barriers that affect female vendors who are the majority. Furthermore, these policies are poorly regulated in informal markets exposing consumers to contaminated food. The food vendors operate in challenging conditions of poor hygiene and sanitation, worsened by limited access to clean water and inadequate waste management systems. Thus, isolating and studying the underlying problems that form an obstacle to achieving better food safety practices is crucial in improving the food safety practices of the female and male vendors. Hence, this policy brief draws on a gendered study of food vendors in Nairobi’s slums to highlight disparities in food safety practices and propose actionable recommendations.
Improving Household Nutrition through Biofortified Foods: Gender-Responsive Policy Options
(AERC, 2025) Assoua, Joe E.; Kareem, Fatima Olanike; Bomdzele, Eric Junior; Etah, Ayuk Justine
Biofortification has been shown to provide numerous health and nutrition benefits, including Vitamin A, iron, and zinc to women of childbearing age and children under 5, as well as improve food security and increase food accessibility (Foley et al., 2021; Ruel & Alderman, 2013). In Rwanda, biofortification is a central focus of the government’s national agricultural policies and strategies with the aim of addressing micronutrient deficiencies prevalent among vulnerable groups like women and children, to combat malnutrition and improve public health outcomes. Despite the concerted efforts to increase the production and consumption of biofortified foods, the consumption of these products is still low, and household food and nutrition insecurity persist. It thus becomes imperative to ascertain how the interplay of factors at the household level can explain the willingness to purchase nutrition-enhanced food.
The Effect of Food Cost on Dietary Diversity: Insights from Rural and Urban Households, and Agricultural Involvement in Tanzania
(AERC, 2025) Chegere, Martin J.; Macha, Doris E.
Food is central to human survival, health, and productivity. Data from the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (2022) indicates that about 30% of children under five are stunted, while 12% are underweight and 3% are wasted. Meanwhile, overweight and obesity rates are rising, affecting 36% of women and 17% of men. Micronutrient deficiencies are also widespread, with anemia affecting 58% of children and 45% of women of reproductive age. Despite high household food expenditures, consumption of nutrient-rich foods, particularly animal-source foods, remains low. Limited dietary diversity and low intake of fruits, vegetables, and animal-source foods continue to fuel both undernutrition and diet-related noncommunicable diseases. Rising food costs and price variability directly affect household dietary diversity, particularly for low-income and rural populations.
Building Trust and Gender Equity to Increase Biofortified Food Uptake and Consumption in Malawi
(AERC, 2025) Chatenga, Humphrey; Ng’ong’ola, Chimwemwe; Phiri, Ronald; Kaphaika, Chrispin; Chimseu, Patrick K.; Tione, Sarah
Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies continue to undermine Malawi’s human-capital development. About 38 % of children under five are stunted, and 63% of women are zinc-deficient (NSO, 2024; NSO, 2016; UNICEF, 2023). These figures represent a serious public health threat. They impair children’s physical growth and limit cognitive development. To address these gaps, Malawi has adopted biofortification of staple crops such as maize and sweet potato, a strategy recognized globally as cost-effective and nutrition-sensitive (Bouis & Saltzman, 2017). Biofortification increases the micronutrient density of food crops through plant breeding or agronomic practices. It also makes nutritious diets more accessible to low-income rural households (De Moura, Bouis, & Hotz, 2017; Bouis & Saltzman, 2017). However, despite the demonstrated nutritional and economic benefits, adoption and sustained consumption remain below expectations (Kaphaika et al., 2023). In many communities, socio-cultural norms and socialisation networks guide how people learn, share information, and decide whom to trust (Beaman et al., 2018; Ren et al., 2022). However, the role of social trust in these decisions is often overlooked (Han, 2022). Gender inequities, which strongly influence who receives information and who acts on it, are also inadequately addressed in policy (Mgalamadzi et al., 2024). Trust determines whether households view new crops as safe, valuable, and worth integrating into their diets. When trust is weak, adoption slows or stops entirely (Ren et al., 2022; Han, 2022). Gender inequities further compound these challenges (Ofori et al., 2020).
Enhancing Gender-Responsive Governance in Uganda’s Urban Food Markets: Policy Options from St. Balikuddembe (Owino) and Kalerwe
(AERC, 2025) Gitau, Raphael; Baine, Euzobia M. Mugisha; Ninsiima, Racheal; Chelang'a, Naomi C.; Korir, Emily; Wekesa, Bright; Harawa, Philip Philemon; Shashi, Njile Isack
Urban food markets in Kampala and Wakiso are critical for food access, employment, and women’s enterprise. Women drive food vending but operate under conditions marked by poor sanitation, insecure stall tenure, fragmented governance, and uneven enforcement. These gaps limit their earnings, compromise their safety, and constrain their economic empowerment. Uganda’s Constitution (1995) and several laws and policies, including the National Gender Policy (2007), Markets Act (Cap. 94), Public Health Act (Cap. 281), and Domestic Violence Act (2010), provide a framework for equality and safe workplaces. However, practical implementation in St. Balikuddembe (Owino) and Kalerwe remains gender-blind, with persistent gaps in gender specific infrastructure, grievance redress, and fee transparency. This brief, developed under the Policy Analysis for Sustainable and Healthy Foods in African Retail Markets (PASHFARM) initiative, draws on evidence from St. Balikuddembe (Owino) and Kalerwe markets. Using a qualitative approach guided by Kabeer’s Social Relations Framework, it highlights gender-related constraints, vendor experiences, and opportunities for policy action to build more inclusive and equitable market governance.
Gendered Pathways to Nutrition in Tanzania: The Interplay of Household Dynamics, Food Affordability and Adaptive Strategies
(AERC, 2025) Macha, Doris E.; Chegere, Martin J.; Munuo, Adeline
Nutrition is a key driver of health and human development. In Tanzania, however, household power dynamics and economic pressures continue to create gender-based inequalities in food access and consumption. Women and children are often the most affected, as limited control over land, income, and household decisions restricts their ability to obtain and consume nutritious foods. These imbalances directly contribute to poor nutrition outcomes such as higher rates of undernutrition and stunting. Female-headed households face particular challenges. With fewer assets and limited labor support, they are more likely to experience food insecurity and child malnutrition. Addressing these inequities is essential to progress on SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality). Globally, malnutrition remains a major challenge, with approximately 149.2 million children under five experiencing stunting in 2022. In Tanzania, despite progress in agricultural production, food insecurity still affects about one-third of the population, and child stunting remains high. Persistent gender disparities such as unequal access to credit, extension services, and decision-making power undermine national efforts to improve nutrition and overall well-being.
Breaking Gender Barriers in Food Retail: Pathways to Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems in Cameroon
(AERC, 2025) Ayuk, Justine E.; Kareem, Fatima Olanike; Assoua, Joe E.; Bomdzele, Eric Junior
In developing countries, the informal food retail sector is strategic for improving access to food, particularly for poor urban individuals and households (Skinner, 2016). Women dominate the informal food retail sector in Africa and constitute the majority of food vendors in open markets in many poor rural and urban communities in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the ILO (2023), close to 90% of African women dominate the non-agricultural informal economy. In Cameroon, 68.3% of women work as independent entrepreneurs in the informal sector, compared to 48.2% of men, according to the Cameroon National Institute of Statistics [NIS] (NIS, 2022). As key players in informal food retail systems, women retailers often have direct relationships with local farmers, markets, and food suppliers, enabling them to source a diverse range of food products. With growing rates of urbanisation (i.e., 57.6% urban population in 2020 compared to 27.3% in 1976) (UN-DESA, 2018), the informal food The retail sector continues to play a critical role in urban and peri-urban food systems, enhancing access to a diversified diet for medium and low-income households in Cameroon.
Food Prices Shocks and Household Nutrition in Ethiopia: A Gender Lens for Policy Response
(AERC, 2025) Mehare, Abule; Hundie, Shemelis Kebede; Abdisa, Lamessa T.
Food prices matter because they directly shape what households can buy and eat. Between the LSMS rounds (2018/19 - 2021/22), Ethiopian households faced higher food price pressure that translated into larger food budget shares and lower dietary diversity. These trends matter for policymakers because diet quality, not just calorie intake, drives child growth, cognitive development, and long-term productivity. Gender matters because women typically manage household food procurement, preparation, and caregiving. When prices rise, female household heads and women caregivers make different trade-offs (for example, prioritizing staple purchases or sacrificing non-food spending) that can protect short-term diets but increase longer-term economic and health risks. Current food security and nutrition strategies are often gender-neutral or insufficiently shockresponsive: this policy gap reduces effectiveness at protecting the most vulnerable during price spikes. Currently, Ethiopia is facing sustained inflation and more frequent climate shocks (droughts and floods). Without targeted, gender-sensitive measures, gains in nutrition and poverty reduction risk reversal.
Improving Nutritious Food Access through Subsidies and Safety Nets: Evidence from Malawi’s Low-Income Households
(AERC, 2025) Chilora, Lemekezani K.; Salonga, Dinah T.; Chiwaula, Levison; Kalumikiza, Zione
Malnutrition continues to pose a threat to global development, with a stunting rate of 22% in 2020 (WHO, 2021). Approximately 20% of the population in Africa faces hunger, and sub- Saharan Africa alone accounts for 40% of the global prevalence of hunger and malnutrition (FAO, 2022; FAO et al., 2020). Malawi recorded a 35% level of stunting in 2023, which is very high according to the WHO benchmark of reducing malnutrition to below 20% (WHO, 2010). Inadequate dietary intake and diseases are immediate factors that exacerbate malnutrition, in addition to poor socioeconomic status, household food insecurity, inadequate sanitation, and limited access to healthcare. Moreover, socioeconomic factors such as low household income and education level contribute to malnutrition. These factors impact purchasing power and access to nutritious foods, as well as the knowledge required to make healthy food choices, leading to a lower intake of nutrient-dense foods (Katoch, 2022).
Addressing the Gendered Impacts of Food Price Volatility in Ghana: Policy Options for Nutrition and Food Security
(AERC, 2025) Ofori, Isaac K.; Asmah, Emmanuel E.; Nsiah-Asamoah, Christiana N.
Food price volatility is undermining food security and nutrition in Ghana and requires immediate policy intervention (Ofori, Asmah & Nsiah-Asamoah, 2025). Climate shocks, global market disruptions, and exchange rate instability are driving food inflation and worsening food insecurity (von Grebmer et al., 2024; FAO, 2023). Female-headed households are hit hardest because they lack equal access to land, credit, inputs, and social protection. The government must act by tightening market stabilisation measures, investing in climate-resilient food systems, strengthening exchange-rate and import management policies, and expanding gender-responsive social protection and financial services to reduce these vulnerabilities.
Shaping Demand for Nutritious Crops: Insights on Consumer Willingness to Pay for Iron-Biofortified Beans in Kenya
(AERC, 2025) Obebo, Forah; Ateka, Josiah; Muniu, Joseph; Kiio, Juliana; Mwangi, Christine
Beans are a key staple in Kenya, yet per capita consumption (15 kg/year) falls below other key foods like maize, wheat rice and potato. (KNBS, 2025). This lower intake is partly linked to undesirable traits such as flatulence, poor taste, and long cooking times. Since 2017, organizations have promoted BIBs varieties (Nyota, Angaza, and Faida). However, uptake remains low and awareness is limited as only 1 in 10 Kenyans know about BIBs (CIAT, 2020). Introducing new foods BIBs requires a strong understanding of how marketing, psychology, and economics shape consumer decisions. People weigh several attributes when choosing beans, including price, nutrition, taste, colour, size, cooking time, and convenience. Adoption also differs across social groups: women, who often make food and nutrition decisions, respond differently to health messaging, while rural and urban consumers vary in their preferences, market exposure, and familiarity with bean varieties. The findings and recommendations are based on evidence from a survey of 561 rural and urban consumers in Kenya.

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