Overview
This project aimed to identify and characterise the nature and scale of food and nutrition loss in urban agrifood chains in Mzuzu City and define its drivers and implications.
The project achieved 3 significant outcomes. These achievements demonstrate the positive impact of the research project in improving food governance, fostering partnerships with relevant stakeholders, and promoting gender inclusivity within market governance structures:
- Successfully fulfilled the purpose of improving food governance, food handling practices, and reducing food losses: Through stakeholder engagement and collaboration, there has been an enhanced understanding of the roles and responsibilities of actors within the fresh food value chain. This increased interaction and dialogue among stakeholders, including value chain actors, food regulators, and supporters, has resulted in the resolution of issues that previously hindered efficiency.
- Established productive partnership linkages with the Government of Malawi (GoM), Mzuzu City Council, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (SMEDI), Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS), and the Department of Road Traffic. The implementation team also worked closely with the Department of Fisheries, and Mzuzu Agricultural Development Division (ADD). This collaboration is crucial for the long-term sustainability of the project and the development of an exit strategy.
- Empowered women in market committees (which has also been incorporated into the Mzuzu City By-Law) where previously, the market governance provisions in the Mzuzu City By-Laws lacked gender representation and women's involvement in decision-making processes within market committees. The project has successfully mainstreamed gender issues and ensured greater female participation in market committees, aligning with the findings that highlighted the underrepresentation of women in these roles.
View the project page
