Investing in local markets to nurture safer and more resilient food systems in Mbeya, Tanzania

Markets are the heartbeat of communities, bridging the gap between producers and consumers. However, they often grapple with significant challenges in ensuring food safety and providing access to nutritious food.

Nestled in the heart of Tanzania's Southern Highlands, Mbeya's fertile soils have transformed the surrounding landscape into a major production hub for maize, potatoes, rice, beans, horticulture and various other crops. However, the city also has a population of more than 500,000, and this is set to double by 2030. Rapid urbanisation strains existing infrastructure, leading to overcrowding, waste management issues and inadequate sanitation facilities at food markets, hampering access to fresh and quality food. Moreover, poor food safety practices prevail in the area, with locally sold produce often contaminated with pathogens such as E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, along with heavy metals (Nelson Mandela, 2021 Food Risk Assessment Report).

The situation is exacerbated by fragmented distribution systems, high post-harvest losses and poor traceability as well by fragmented responsibility for food governance among city departments. These factors leave small-scale actors such as farmers and market vendors vulnerable to market shocks and add to the vulnerability of groups such as women, youth and low-income earners in the agricultural sector. Rikolto's DGD-funded Good Food for Cities programme in Tanzania aims to address these challenges, striving for a safer, more sustainable and inclusive food system.

Enhancing food safety through collective action

Recognising the critical role of food environments in encouraging the consumption of safer and more nutritious food, Rikolto and its local partners - MIICO (a consortium of organisations working with smallholder farmers), TCCIA (Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture) and Mbeya City Council - are focusing their intervention on making Mbeya's food environments, including its local markets, more conducive to healthy and safer diets.

In 2020, the Mbeya Food Smart City Platform was launched with the support of the EU-funded AGRI-CONNECT programme. The platform brings together different stakeholders, including NGOs, agrifood businesses, government departments and farmers' associations, who share a common goal: to enhance the safety and quality of fresh fruit and vegetables within Mbeya and its neighbouring areas, while strengthening the city's food governance system. It serves as a hub for discussion and collaboration to improve food market infrastructure, foster inclusive business practices within shorter value chains and promote knowledge exchange with other urban centres. Thanks to their collaboration, an innovative initiative, the Participatory Food Safety System (PFSS), was launched in 2022/23.

"The implementation of the Mbeya Participatory Food Safety System has significantly increased awareness among vegetable and fruit vendors in local markets regarding food safety standards and the critical importance of selling clean and safe produce."

‍Lilian Mbilinyi

‍Commodity Platforms Coordinator |TCCIA Mbeya.

The Participatory Food Safety System (PFSS) is a holistic approach that involves multiple stakeholders in the validation and certification of the safety of products in public markets, fostering a collective commitment to food safety. It operates as a cyclical process, aligned with production and harvest cycles. Groups of farmers, market vendors, city officials and other stakeholders are first trained in essential food safety practices using a "training of trainers" methodology, agree on the procedures and then pass on their knowledge and support to additional farmers and vendors - more than 300 so far - organised into cohesive clusters. At the heart of the PFSS is an internal peer assessment process, followed by an external assessment conducted by a committee of the Food Smart City Platform. Those who demonstrate compliance with the safety protocols receive tangible recognition in the form of a "Chakula Bora" certificate, attesting to excellent food safety practices and the higher quality of their products.

Rikolto, in partnership with the food safety expert Kilicert, MIICO, TCCIA and Mbeya City Council, rolled out the PFSS in key public markets in Mbeya such as Sokoine, Soweto and Igawilo, involving production clusters in Mwakibete, Kalobe, Igawilo, Inyala and Igale. Farmers were encouraged to adopt sustainable water management practices and use organic pesticides. In markets, vendors were supported in selling their produce on raised platforms following improvements made to their stalls, and encouraged to wear specific aprons when handling food to prevent contamination. Additionally, the initiative helped improve the availability of clean water for washing fresh produce. The repetition of the PFSS cycles is expected to reduce food contamination but also strengthen field-to-fork safety protocols and ultimately ensure a safer food supply.

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