PASHFARM
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- PublicationShaping 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, ChristineBeans 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.
- PublicationEnhancing 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 IsackUrban 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.
- PublicationAddressing 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.
- PublicationBuilding 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, SarahMalnutrition 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).
- PublicationImproving 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, ZioneMalnutrition 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).