The document discusses a research project that used food as a lens to understand multi-dimensional poverty in secondary African cities. The research was a collaboration between four African institutions and studied cities in Zambia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. It found very high levels of urban food insecurity and challenges assumptions about urban food security. The research highlighted issues like the normalization of food poverty, supermarket transitions, and weak urban food governance. While there was significant learning and impact at the institutional level, local scale impact has been slower.

1. Governing Food Systems to Alleviate Poverty in Secondary Cities
in Africa
- Consuming Urban Poverty (CUP)
Gareth Haysom & Paul Opiyo
Understanding multi-dimensional poverty in secondary African cities.
An enquiry into urban poverty through a food and food systems lens.

2. “In order to understand cities properly, we need to
look at them through food”
Carolyn Steel (2010: 4)
Partners
• Research involved a collaboration between four African research institutions:
 The African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town
 Copperbelt University, Zambia
 The Kisumu Local Interaction Platform – a research partnerships between
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOST) and
Maseno University in Kisumu, and
 The University of Zimbabwe, Harare.
KLIP
Key research question and problem statement:
CUP used food as lens to understand multi-dimensional
poverty in secondary African cities, cities that have not
received adequate research focus, specifically when their role
in Africa’s urbanisation trajectory is considered.

3. Key project findings
Indicators Kitwe* Kisumu Epworth
LPI > 1 (=some lack of access) 58% 26% 63%
HFIAS (out of 27) 14 8 12
HFIAP (Food Secure) 6% 20% 8%
HDDS (possible 12) 3,3 4,1 4,1
MAHFP (12 month review) 8,49 10,31 8,9
* Kitwe was a pro poor survey in specific poor neighbourhoods. Others representative across cities.
• Very high levels of urban food insecurity
• The normalization of food poverty
• Challenges the normative assumptions
embedded within urban food
perspectives held by key global
governance processes – CRFS, NUA,
SDGs
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Kitwe Kisumu Epworth
Food Secure Mildly Food Insecure Moderately Food Insecure Severly Food Insecure

4. Key project findings cont.
• The urban condition
• Supermarket transition
• Informality
• Weak urban food governance
systems
Photo: J Battersby
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Borrow food from others
HH grows it in urban area
Food provided at work
Food provided to children at…
HH grows it in rural area
Food sent by relatives in another…
Food provided by neighbours…
Shared meal with neighbours…
Livestock owned by HH
Food sent by relatives in other…
Fast food take away
Food sent by relatives in rural…
Restaurant
Wholesaler
Kiosk/tuch…
Mini market
Grinding mill
Butcher
Market
Supermarket
Kiosk/ house shop
Frequency
Sourceoffood
At least five days a week
At least once a week
At least once a month
At least once in six months
At least once a year
Kisumu food retail profile n=3492

5. Impact?
• Significant learning at partner
scale
• Innovative policy engagements
• Impact at global scale (Global
Nutrition Report, New Urban
Agenda, World Bank)
• Local scale slower …
Instrumental
NUA, GNR, WB,
Others
Conceptual
Institutional, at
partners, wider
public
Capacity Building
Yes,
methodological
focus, tools used
Thank you
Gareth Haysom: gareth.Haysom@uct.ac.za
Paul Opiyo: popiyo2002@yahoo.com
The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) and the UK
Department for International Development is gratefully acknowledged. The project is
funded under the ESRC-DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research (Grant
Number ES/L008610/1).