This document summarizes findings from a study on diet transformations and food environments in West Africa. It analyzes data from Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal. Key findings include: - Diets are changing rapidly due to urbanization and income growth, with increased consumption of fruits, dairy, and meat. - Households consume a more diverse set of food groups, especially in urban vs. rural areas and higher income groups. - Households rely heavily on markets for food due to a wide variety of retail outlets like open-air markets and supermarkets. - Food expenditures account for a large share of household budgets, especially in rural and lower income groups.

1. PRAIA CABO VERDE
5-8 December 2023
Diet Transformation &
Food Environments
in West Africa
39th
ANNUAL MEETING
© Shutterstock/PhotopankPL
www.food-security.net
Veronique Theriault and Amidou Assima

2. Rapid diet transformations
Key drivers of diet transformations:
• Urbanization
• Income growth
Changes in eating habits have influenced what
food is consumed, purchased, where, how,
and by whom.
The food environments have affected food
quality, availability, and accessibility.
Figure 1. Food Systems
Source: HLPE (2017)

3. Increased demand for diversified foods
Figure 2. Food group consumption (#days/week)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets
-1 1 3 5 7
Roots/Tubers/Plantains
Fruits
Pulses/Nuts/Seeds
Milk/Milk Products/Eggs
Vegetables
Meat/Fish/Seafood
Oils/Fats
Sugar/Sweets
Grains/Grain Products
Mali
2018/19 2014/15
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Fruits
Milk/Milk Products/Eggs
Sugar/Sweets
Pulses/Nuts/Seeds
Roots/Tubers/Plantain
Meat/Fish/Seafood
Vegetables
Grains/Grain Products
Oils/Fats
Nigeria
2018/19 2015/16
-1 1 3 5 7
Pulses/Nuts/Seeds
Fruits
Roots/Tubers/Plantains
Milk/Milk Products/Eggs
Vegetables
Meat/Fish/Seafood
Oils/Fats
Grains/Grain Products
Sugar/Sweets
Senegal
2018/19

4. Diversified foods – Differences across income groups
Figure 3. Food group consumption across expenditure quintiles, 2018/19
(#days/week)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Roots/Tubers/Plantains
Milk/Milk Products/Eggs
Pulses/Nuts/Seeds
Fruits
Vegetables
Meat/Fish/Seafood
Oils/Fats
Sugar/Sweets
Grains/Grain Products
Mali
Quintile 5 Quintile 4 Quintile 3 Quintile 2 Quintile 1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Fruits
Milk/Milk Products/Eggs
Roots/Tubers/Plantains
Meat/Fish/Seafood
Sugar/Sweets
Pulses/Nuts/Seeds
Vegetables
Grains/Grain Products
Oils/Fats
Nigeria
Quintile 5 Quintile 4 Quintile 3 Quintile 2 Quintile 1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Roots/Tubers/Plantains
Fruits
Pulses/Nuts/Seeds
Milk/Milk Products/Eggs
Vegetables
Meat/Fish/Seafood
Oils/Fats
Sugar/Sweets
Grains/Grain Products
Senegal
Quintile 5 Quintile 4 Quintile 3 Quintile 2 Quintile 1

5. Diversified foods - Similar trends in urban and rural areas
Figure 4. Food group consumption in rural and urban areas, 2018/19
(#days/week)
-1 1 3 5 7
Roots/Tubers/Plantains
Pulses/Nuts/Seeds
Fruits
Milk/Milk Products/Eggs
Vegetables
Meat/Fish/Seafood
Oil/Fats
Grains/Grain Products
Spices/Seasonings
Sugar/Sweets
Mali
Rural Urban
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Fruits
Milk/Milk Products/Eggs
Sugar/Sweets
Pulses/Nuts/Seeds
Roots/Tubers/Plantains
Meat/Fish/Seafood
Grains/Grain Products
Vegetables
Spices/Seasonings
Oils/Fats
Nigeria
Rural Urban
-1 1 3 5 7
Pulses/Nuts/Seeds
Fruits
Roots/Tubers/Plantains
Milk/Milk Products/Eggs
Vegetables
Meat/Fish/Seafood
Oils/Fats
Spices/Seasonings
Grains/Grain Products
Sugar/Sweets
Senegal
Rural Urban

6. Increased demand for diversified foods
Number of food groups (up to 12) consumed in the
previous 7 days
1. Cereals 7. White tubers and roots
2. Vegetables 8. Fruits
3. Meats 9. Fish and seafood
4. Eggs 10. Milk and milk products
5. Oils and fats 11. Legumes, nuts, and seeds
6. Sweets 12. Spices, condiments, and beverages
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Mali Nigeria Senegal
Figure 5. Number of food groups consumed, 2018/1
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets

7. Diversified foods- Increases in rural and urban areas
Figure 6. Number of food groups consumed in rural and urban areas over
time
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2018/19 2014/15 2018/19 2014/15
Rural Rural Urban Urban
Mali
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2018/19 2014/15 2018/19 2014/15
Rural Rural Urban Urban
Nigeria
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Rural Urban
2018/19 2018/19
Senegal

8. Diversified foods - Differences across income groups
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Quantile
1
Quantile
2
Quantile
3
Quantile
4
Quantile
5
Mali
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Quantile
1
Quantile
2
Quantile
3
Quantile
4
Quantile
5
Senegal
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Nigeria
Figure 7. Number of food groups consumed across expenditure
quintiles, 2018/19

9. Demand for convenient foods – Processed foods
Figure 8. Share of processed food items consumed by households, 2018/19
(%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets. Note: Adapted from the processed food
classification in HLPE (2017:27).
Mali
Unprocessed processed
Basically processed
Moderately processed
Highly processed
Nigeria
Unprocessed processed
Basically processed
Moderately processed
Highly processed
Senegal
Unprocessed processed Basically processed
Moderately processed Highly processed

10. Demand for convenient foods – Food-away-from-home (FAFH)
Figure 9. Share of HHs who consumed
FAFH in the previous 7 days, 2018/19 (%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS
datasets
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Mali Nigeria Senegal
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack Non-alcoholic
beverage
Alcoholic
beverage
Mali Nigeria Senegal
Figure 10. Share of HHs who consumed a meal/snack/drink
in the previous 7 days, 2018/19 (%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS

11. High reliance on markets
Figure 11. Sources of food items consumed in the previous 7 days, 2018/19 (%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets.
Note: Quantities in kgs. Maize shelled/off the cob in Nigeria.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Mali
Production Purchases Others
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Senegal
Production Purchases Others
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Nigeria
Production Purchases Others

12. High reliance on markets in rural areas
Figure 12. Sources of food items consumed in the previous 7 days in rural areas, 2018/19 (%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets.
Note: Note: Quantities in kgs. Maize shelled/off the cob in Nigeria.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Mali
Production Purchases Others
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Nigeria
Production Purchases Others
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Senegal
Production Purchases Others

13. High reliance on markets across all income groups
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Quintile 1 Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5
Mali
Production Purchases
Figure 13. Sources of millet consumed in the previous 7 days across expenditure
quintiles, 2018/19 (%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Quintile 1 Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5
Senegal
Production Purchases Other sources
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Quintile 1Quintile 2Quintile 3Quintile 4Quintile 5
Nigeria
Production Purchase Others

14. Wide variety of food retailing outlets
Food retailing outlets:
Open-air markets
Kiosks
Street vendors
Traditional stores
Convenient/Grocery stores
Independent supermarkets
Chain supermarkets
Bakeries
Restaurants
Others
Food retailing in Senegal
~10,000-15,000 traditional stores, kiosks, open-
air markets in rural and urban areas
~1000-1,500 convenient/grocery stores in Dakar
and largest cities
~250 to 300 supermarkets in Dakar
Source: Knight and Sylla (2013)

15. Wide variety of food retailing outlets
Figure 14. Sources of purchased food, 2023 (%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from MSU/USSGB and MSU/ISRA-BAME datasets (2023)
Mali
Supermarket
Bakery
Other
Street vendor
Senegal
Bakery
Other
Supermarket
Street vendor
Store
Open-air market
but open-air markets remain the main outlet.

16. Diversity of food group purchases
Figure 15. Share of the budget allocated to food group purchases in the last 30 days,
2018/19 (%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Mali
Urban Rural
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Nigeria
Urban Rural
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Senegal
Urban Rural

17. High budget share for food
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Urban Rural
Mali
Food Non-Food
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Urban Rural
Nigeria
Food Non-Food
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Urban Rural
Senegal
Food Non-Food
Figure 16. Share of the budget allocated to food in rural and urban areas,
2018/19 (%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets

18. High budget share for food
Figure 17. Share of the budget allocated to food across expenditure quintiles,
2018/19 (%)
Source: Authors’ calculations from World Bank’s LSMS datasets
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Quintile 1 Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5
Mali
Food Non-Food
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Quintile 1 Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5
Nigeria
Food Non-Food
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Quintile 1 Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5
Senegal
Food Non-Food

19. Conclusions
Rapid changes in food consumption patterns.
• The frequency of food group consumption differs more widely across
expenditure quintiles than between rural and urban areas.
• The frequency of consumption of milk/milk products/eggs,
meat/fish/seafood, and fruits increases the most with urbanization and
income.
• Grains and grain products remain regularly consumed by most
households.
The number of food groups consumed over a 7-day period went up in Mali and
Nigeria from 2014/15-2015/16 to 2018/19. On average, urban and wealthier
households consume more food groups.

20. Conclusions
Food away from home is an important consumption source
Wide variety of food retailing outlets reflect increases in demand for
diversified and convenient foods.
Both urban and rural households rely on food retailing outlets. The reliance
on food retailing outlets goes up with total household expenditure.
Open-air markets remain important for food purchases.

21. Implications
Diets are changing as are food environments.
More and better data, ideally representative at the national level, is needed to
understand the scope and scale of those changes and assess their impacts,
particularly on food and nutrition security.
• What types of food is purchased, where, and by whom?
• What types of food is consumed away from home, where, and by whom?
• What is the availability, affordability, and quality of food supplied across food retailing
outlets?
• Does a wider variety of food retailing outlets translate into more, safer, healthier, and
cheaper food for consumers?
• Are healthy convenient foods available (and affordable)?
• Where are located the different food retailing outlets?
• Are poorer or rural households more likely to live in “food deserts”?

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23. References
• Cellule de Planification et de Statistiques. Enquête Agricole de Conjoncture Intégrée (ECAI) 2014. Ref.
MLI_2014_EACI_M_v03_M. Dataset downloaded from from www.microdata.worldbank.org on 10/3/2023.
• HLPE. 2017. Nutrition and food systems. A report by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and
Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security, Rome.
• Knight, R. and Sylla, F. 2012. Retail Food Sector 2012. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Global Agricultural
Information Network. Gain Report.
• MSU-USSGB. 2023. Cowpea Consumer Survey in Mali. Dataset.
• MSU-ISRA/BAME. 2023. Cowpea Consumer Survey in Senegal. Dataset.
• WAEMU Commission, Harmonized Survey on Households Living Standards, Mali 2018-2019. Ref.
MLI_2018_EHCVM_v02_M. Dataset downloaded from www.microdata.worldbank.org on 10/3/2023.
• WAEMU Commission, Harmonized Survey on Households Living Standards, Senegal 2018-2019. Ref.
SEN_2018_EHCVM_v02_M. Dataset downloaded from www.microdata.worldbank.org on 10/3/2023.
• Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics. General Household Survey, Panel (GHS-Panel) 2018-2019. Dataset
downloaded from www.microdata.worldbank.org on 10/3/2023.
• Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics. General Household Survey, Panel (GHS-Panel) 2015-2016 . Ref.
NGA_2015_GHSP-W3_v02_M. Dataset downloaded from www.microdata.worldbank.org on 10/3/2023.

24. Thank you!!