IFPRI’s 2020 Annual Report presents highlights from our research work around the world. Cutting-edge research on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and related policies, and on our strategic research areas—climate resilience and sustainability, healthy diets and nutrition, inclusive and efficient food systems, institutions and governance, and rural transformation, as well as cross-cutting work on […]
Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities
How do cities build a social contract with their diverse constituencies and foster political trust among the urban poor? This study by Danielle Resnick and Bhavna Sivasubramanian focuses on informal traders, who constitute a major source of food security and employment in urban Africa. Centered on Ghana’s three main cities, we analyze interviews with metropolitan […]
COVID-19 Lockdowns threaten Africa’s vital informal urban food trade
Informal food markets are vital to feeding African cities, they are venues the poor rely on to buy and sell fresh food. Danielle Resnick argues that as governments impose COVID-19 restrictions, informal food traders should be helped rather than persecuted. Her suggestions include: Developing hygiene practices and clean water supplies with market associations, allowing more dispersed market sites during epidemics, and extending safety nets and health benefits found in formal markets to informal market workers.—John McDermott, series co-editor and Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)
Is Ghana serious about decentralization?
By Danielle Resnick On March 15, Ghana celebrated the creation of 38 new metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDA), increasing the total number from 216 to 254. Since 2000, the number of districts has more than doubled with new MMDAs also created in 2004, 2008, and 2012. As in each prior case, the government justified […]